It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes service for God effective for good. There may be much activity, much feverish anxiety, but unless the labor is sanctified by the presence and power of the Spirit, little lasting good will be accomplished.

 In succession Jephthah toured Gilead and all the territory of Manasseh recruiting additional troops. He swept through the land from end to end to kindle the torch of war and to embolden the population to resist the Ammonite invaders. Chapter 12:2 implies that even the Hebrew tribes across the Jordan in western Palestine were invited to participate in the war.