A Foolish Vow

Judges 11:29-40

“Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:29-31)

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Jephthah came out of the land of Manasseh to Mizpeh of Gilead, confronting the Ammonite army close by.  Not completely trusting God to give the victory, Jephthah offered an incentive to God to give him the victory.  If they won, he would offer the first thing that came out of his house to greet him as a sacrifice to God.  It was not something God asked him to do, but arose as the result of a lack of faith.  God does what is right, and doesn’t need a bribe to do it.

Clearly he didn’t stop to think about what he was saying.  How many things come out of your home to greet you?  Your dog or cat, your children, your mate or a close friend or relative are about the only things I would expect.  Luke 14 stresses the importance of considering the cost before making a commitment, and especially to God.

"So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.” (Judges 11:32-33)

The Ammonites had completely taken over the eastern side of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and part of Manasseh.  Jephthah was able to defeat them and reclaim an area stretching from Aroer on the south border of Reuben to Minith in the land of Manasseh.  Comprising nearly half the trans Jordan’s property, it included twenty cities, forcing the Ammonites back into their own land.  God did exactly what he had intended to do.

“And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.” (Judges 11:34-35)

When Jephthah saw his only daughter come out to greet him, he was heartbroken because under the law a promise could not be broken.  He was obligated to keep his promise even though it would require the loss of his daughter.  While his making the promise demonstrates a lack of faith, his intention to keep it is a testimony to his commitment to obey God.  He had obviously taught his daughter to have a similar commitment to obey.

“And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. 

And it was a custom in Israel, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.” (Judges 11:36-40)

His daughter did not question his obligation to do as he had promised, asking only that she be allowed to take a two month camping trip with her friends much like a person dying of cancer might wish to take his family to Disneyland  before his death.  After two months she returned and was sacrificed as Jephthah had promised.  For many years, the women of Israel memorialized her sacrifice.

Not only had God not asked for the sacrifice, it was something he didn’t even want, according to Heb 10:5-6.  “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.”

Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 warns, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?”

I am troubled by the youth ministers and “Evangelists” who try to get boys to commit to becoming a pastor or missionary, and the pastors or missionaries who get people to pledge future financial support with no awareness of what it may cost them.  Romans 14:13 warns, “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”  I Corinthians 8:12 says, “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.”