Judges 11-12

Thursday Evening Bible Study

October 13, 2011

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision

We are watching Israel go through its cycles of trusting God and rebelling. The time of the judges was a period of 400 years between the time of Moses and the Kings of Israel. These “judges” were men and women that God used at various times to get the nation back on track, and then to deliver them from their enemies.

We’ve seen “good guys” like Gideon be raised up to deliver Israel.

We’ve seen “bad guys” like Gideon’s son Abimelech, who caused much trouble.

11:1-28 Jephthah

:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.

:1 Jephthah – Yiphtach – “he opens”

:1 a mighty man of valor

Jephthah had a reputation as a warrior.

:1 son of a harlot

We might call him a “bastard”.

There have been times in human history where this was considered a bad thing.

We’re going to see that God can use anyone.

:1 Gilead – Gil’ad – “rocky region”

Not only was this the name of the region in northeast Israel, named after a grandson of Manasseh, but this is also the name of Jephthah’s father.

:2 Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”

:2 they drove Jephthah out

I find it interesting that Jephthah was raised in his father’s family, even though his mother was a harlot.

Jephthah was rejected by his own family.

Lesson

God uses outcasts

It seems that God has this habit of using people that have been rejected by others.

Joseph was rejected by his brothers.

David was rejected by his boss, Saul.

Jeremiah and many of the prophets were rejected because of their message.

Jesus was rejected by His people, the Jews.

Paul wrote,

(1 Co 1:26–27 NKJV) —26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

:3 Tob – Towb – good”

See map.

:3 worthless men banded together

Jephthah passes the time as a type of “warlord” with his own private little army.

Perhaps it was something like Robin Hood? or even David while he was fleeing from Saul and would make raids on the Amalekites.

:4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.

:4 Ammon

These were descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot. They lived on the eastern side of the Jordan, north of the Moabites.

:5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

Somebody remembered about Jephthah and what kind of a fighter he was.

:6 Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

:7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

:8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

:9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”

:9 shall I be your head?

It might sound as if Jephthah is out for power, and there may be some of that here, but keep in mind that this is a fellow who has led a rough life. He was rejected by his own family. He probably doesn’t trust too many people. Some of these elders might even be his brothers.

:10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”

:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.

:11 before the Lord

Even though you see some similarities between Abimelech (Judges 9) and Jephthah in that they both had a bad family life (Abimelech was the son of a concubine), they also have some differences.

Jephthah didn’t seek leadership like Abimelech, he was sought out.

Jephthah seems to have some sort of grounding in Yahweh.

Jephthah will be mentioned in the “hall of fame” of the faithful:

(Heb 11:32 NKJV) —32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:

:11 Mizpah – “watchtower”. It will be the capitol of Gilead.

See map. This is probably the same place that Jacob had his final meeting with his father-in-law Laban (Gen. 31:49).

:12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, “What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?”

:12 Jephthah sent messengers

Lesson

Try peace first

Jephthah’s first move is to negotiate, to offer to make peace with the Ammonites. This is the proper thing to do –

(Dt 20:10 NKJV) “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.

Paul writes,

(Ro 12:18 NKJV) If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

When there is conflict, there is always the possibility that there has been a misunderstanding.

(Pr 18:13 NKJV) He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

Sometimes we get all upset and angry over situations when all there has been is a simple misunderstanding.

Illustration

Two moose hunters from Texas are flown into a remote lake in Alaska. They have a good hunt, and both manage to get a large moose. When the plane returns to pick them up, the pilot looks at the animals and says, “This little plane won’t lift all of us, the equipment, and both of those animals. You’ll have to leave one. We’d never make it over the trees on the take off.” “That’s baloney”, says one of the hunters. “Yeah,” the other agrees, “you’re just chicken: we came out here last year and got two moose and that pilot had some guts: He wasn’t afraid to take off!” “Yeah”, said the first hunter, “and his plane wasn’t any bigger than yours!” The pilot got angry, and said, “If he did it, then I can do it. I can fly as well as anybody!” They loaded up, taxied at full throttle, and the plane almost made it, but didn’t have the lift to clear the trees at the end of the lake. It clipped the tops, then flipped, then broke up, scattering the baggage, animal carcasses, and passengers all through the brush. Still alive, but hurt and dazed, the pilot sat up, shook his head to clear it, and said, “Where are we?” One of the hunters rolled out from being thrown into a bush, looked around, and said, “I’d say about a hundred yards further than last year.”

Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to make sure you’ve understood what the person meant before you go off and do something stupid.

:13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.”

:13 Arnon … Jabbok

See map. The king of Ammon was claiming that the land between the Jabbok River and the Arnon River originally belonged to them. They want it back.

:14 So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon,

:15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon;

:16 for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

:17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh.

:17 to the king of Edom

This account is found in Numbers 20:14-21, and Deuteronomy 2:1-8.

God had told Moses that he shouldn’t give the Edomites trouble,

:17 to the king of Moab

Moses mentions the Moabites in Deuteronomy 2:9; that God had commanded them not to give trouble to the Moabites because He had given their land to them.

:18 And they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

:18 the Arnon

See map. Israel went around Edom and Moab.

:19 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land into our place.”

:19 Sihon king of the Amorites

The account of the battle is in Numbers 21

(Nu 21:24 NKJV) Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified.

Moses was careful to record that they DIDN’T take the land of the Ammonites.

The Ammonites are now claiming that ALL the land from the Jabbok to the Arnon was theirs, when in fact a lot of it had belonged to Sihon.

:19 Heshbon

See map. This was Sihon’s capital. It is right in the middle of the land that the Ammonites are claiming had always been theirs.

:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

:21 And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.

:22 They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

:22 Arnon to the Jabbok

This land that the Ammonites are claiming was land that Israel had taken when they conquered Sihon, king of the Amorites.

This is land that is currently a part of Jordan, whose capitol city is “Amman”. Sound familiar? The Ammonite capitol Rabbah is the same city.

:23 ‘And now the Lord God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel; should you then possess it?

:24 Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God takes possession of before us, we will possess.

:24 Chemosh – “The destroyer”, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the Moabites (the Ammonite version was named “Molech”)

:25 And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

:25 Balak – this was the king that hired Balaam (Numbers 22) to bring a curse on Israel.

Jephthah’s point is that even though Balak tried to bring a curse on Israel, he never claimed that Israel was in his land, nor did he ever fight to take that land.

:26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

:26 three hundred years

This gives us a rough date for Jephthah.

Remember that not all of Judges is chronological. The story at the end of the book takes place when Aaron’s grandson was still the high priest (Judge 20:28)

(Jdg 20:28 NKJV) —28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

Moses led the people out of Egypt around 1400 BC. David comes to the throne around 1000 BC. Jephthah would be around 1100 BC.

:27 Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the Lord, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.’ ”

:28 However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him.

:28 did not heed

People don’t always listen to reason. You find out that they are just going to do what they are going to do, no matter how stupid it is.

:13 Israel took away my land

Lesson

Rewriting History

There’s nothing new here. People have long tried to win their arguments by rewriting history.

You’re seeing it today when the schools are being very careful to leave out references to God in the history of the founding of our nation.

We saw this last summer with the Truth Project in how the Mayflower Compact has been “edited” in modern history books.

The New School Version has it written this way:

We whose names are underwritten … having undertaken, a voyage to plant the first colony…”

The actual original version reads:

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God…

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony…

I am concerned about this “gay history” agenda – trying to insert “facts” into history. I wonder just what is going to be rewritten.

You’re seeing it today when the Palestinians claim that the Jews never lived in Israel and there was never a king named Solomon who built a temple on the Temple Mount.

Jephthah knew his history. He wasn’t going to fall for this silliness.

11:29-33 Jephthah’s Vow

:29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon.

:29 the Spirit of the Lord

The Holy Spirit is going to be involved in Jephthah’s life.

:30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands,

:31 then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

:31 burnt offering – ‘olah – whole burnt offering

:30 If You will

Lesson

Let’s make a deal

Jephthah is simply doing what was common among ancient generals on the eve of battle. It was common to promise your “god” something costly or valuable if victory should occur.

Actually, it is not all that bad of a thing to make a promise to God.

Jacob made a vow when he had a vision of God after leaving home –

(Ge 28:20–22 NKJV) —20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Hannah made a vow, which resulted in the birth of Samuel –

(1 Sa 1:11 NKJV) Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

But we need to be careful what we promise to God, and then be careful that we learn to follow through on our word. Solomon wrote,

(Ec 5:4–5 NKJV) When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

In reading the biography of Louie Zamperini, the old fellow that shared at the Harvest Crusade – when he and his pilot were adrift in the Pacific Ocean, he made a vow to God – that if God would allow them to live, that Louie would serve Him the rest of his life.

It wasn’t until he got through prison camp and back to the United States, and became an alcoholic, that Louie was brought to a Billy Graham Crusade, and he remembered the vow he had made.

:32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

:33 And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

:33 he defeated them

See map. Look at the gold lines. God kept His end of the bargain.

11:34-40 Jephthah’s Daughter

:34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

:34 his daughter, coming out to meet him

Remember that Jephthah had vowed to offer up as a burnt offering the first thing that came out of his house when he returned.

What did he expect? Perhaps a pet dog? That cat that always leaves hairballs on the carpet?

:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.”

:36 So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.”

:37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I.”

:38 So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.

:39 And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel

:40 that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

:39 he carried out his vow

Does this mean that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter? A human sacrifice?

Two Views:

1. Yes.

This was a very depraved period of time. It is very possible that he did this.

In a later time, when Jehoshaphat battled against the Moabites, the King of Moab sacrificed his eldest son (2Ki. 3:26-27)

(2 Ki 3:26–27 NKJV) —26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land.

Josephus records that he sacrificed his daughter,

Accordingly, when that time was over, he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering, offering such an oblation as was neither conformable to the law nor acceptable to God.

If this was truly the case, the sad thing was that he didn’t have to – there was an out. Leviticus ends with a chapter on how to get out of a foolish vow where you promise to give someone to the Lord:

(Lev 27:2 NLT) "Give the following instructions to the Israelites: If you make a special vow to dedicate someone to the LORD by paying the value of that person,

God then gives how much you pay to “redeem” someone from a vow. Jephthah could have paid somewhere between 3 to 30 pieces of silver, depending on his daughter’s age.

2. No.

I’m beginning to lean toward this view. Didn’t used to think so.

The word translated “and” in the vow (actually, it’s a letter, the waw), could be translated “or”. Like –

(Jdg 11:31 NKJV) …when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, OR I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

The language may mean that in lieu of giving her as a burnt offering, she simply remained a virgin for her entire life and never married.

Remember that she asked her dad,

(Jdg 11:37 NKJV) …let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I.”

When Hannah made her bargain with God, she said,

(1 Sa 1:11 NKJV) …then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

For Samuel, being “given to the LORD” meant that she took him to Eli the priest and he was raised at the Tabernacle.

Lesson

Don’t sacrifice the kids

I think that sometimes we tend to not think too much about how our decisions and actions will influence our kids.

In reality, we only have a few short years to impact the lives of our kids and teach them the things that they need for their lives. We need to make sure we give them what they need from us.

We have been given a charge by God to raise our kids, not destroy them.

Illustration

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while”. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?” The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.” The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15-20 years.” “But what then?” The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.” “Millions.. Then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

12:1-7 Jephthah’s vs. Ephraim

:1 Then the men of Ephraim gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the people of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you with fire!”

:1 did not call us

Does this sound familiar?

This is what had happened with Gideon, when he fought the Midianites.

(Jdg 8:1 NKJV) Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.

Gideon was able to talk to the Ephraimites and they walked away peacefully.

Jephthah won’t have such success.

:2 And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.

:2 when I called you

Jephthah did call the Ephraimites, but they didn’t respond.

:3 So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”

:4 Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.”

:4 You Gileadites are fugitives

They’re insulting the people from Gilead, saying that they are the outcasts from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

:5 The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”

:6 then they would say to him, “Then say, ‘Shibboleth’!” And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites.

:7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.

:6 Shibboleth – shibbol – flowing stream.

This word has actually made it into our English language. It’s in the dictionary. It stands for any kind of test that a group gives to outsiders to see whether they really belong.

:6 Sibboleth – cibboleth – an ear of grain or wheat

Some people don’t know how to talk correctly.

Play “Pink Panther – dog bite” clip

It was a tricky way of telling the Ephraimites from the Gileadites. The Ephraimites had an “accent”. Kind of like the person who says “warsh the caw” instead of “wash the car”.

12:8-10 Ibzan

:8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

:9 He had thirty sons. And he gave away thirty daughters in marriage, and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.

:10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

:8 Bethlehem – Yes, that Bethlehem. See map.

:8 Ibzan

:8 Ibzan – “their whiteness”

Josephus records,

He had sixty children, thirty of them sons and the rest daughters: all whom he left alive behind him, giving the daughters in marriage to husbands, and taking wives for his sons. He did nothing in the seven years of his administration that was worth recording, or deserved a memorial.

12:11-12 Elon

:11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years.

:12 And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.

:12 Zebulun – to the west of the Sea of Galilee

:11 Elon – “terebinth, mighty”

Just as with Ibzan, Josephus tells us of Elon,

When Ibzan was dead after this manner, neither did Helon, who succeeded him in the government, and kept it ten years, do anything remarkable;

12:13-15 Abdon

:13 After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy young donkeys. He judged Israel eight years.

:15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mountains of the Amalekites.

:13 Abdon – “servile”

:13 Pirathonite – a city in Ephraim (see map)

:14 who rode on seventy young donkeys

Josephus tells us,

He marched in state with these seventy; who were all very skilful in riding horses:

He was known for … “marching”???

Lesson

Nothing remarkable

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I guess you could say that at least they didn’t do anything horrible. At least they didn’t get written up like Abimelech, who was nothing but trouble.

But does that mean that God would rather have us do nothing rather than do something horrible?

In the parable of the “talents”, Jesus told of one man who had been entrusted with one “talent” (a sum of money) by his master but he was afraid of not doing well with it –

(Mat 25:24-25 NLT) "Then the servant with the one bag of gold came and said, 'Sir, I know you are a hard man, harvesting crops you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. {25} I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth and here it is.'

Jesus said the master of that servant rebuked him!

William Carey (1761–1834), the first modern missionary, said,

“Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God.”