One of the tragic eventsfrom Judges 11 I had to leave out Sunday morning (3-11-12) was the vow that Jephthah made. In a moment of emotional excitement he vowed to the LORD that “whoever [whatever] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (Judges 11:31). Let’s start here…

Some have said that Jephthah had an animal sacrifice in mind because the word “whoever” could also be translated “whatever.” The problem is that the Israelites didn’t have cows and goats as pets that would stay inside the house, and can you imagine him willing to offer up the family cat or dog?

We must remember that Jephthah lived in a time when Israel’s priesthood was dysfunctional and corrupt. They had no true spiritual leadership. Spiritually they were used to what was going on with those who “owned” them at the time. For the last 18 years the Ammonites and the Philistines ran the show, and it was their usual practice make human sacrifices.

Another point of view is that Jephthah took advantage of the rules of vows found in their law (Leviticus 27) where a person could renegotiate a foolish vow. He could go to the Temple and offer money in exchange for his daughter’s life. She would be set apart for God’s service and remain unmarried and childless her entire life. This would explain Jephthah’s lament; he would die without an heir and the very inheritance of land he just got back from his half brothers would revert to the family that kicked him out in the first place.

Whatever conclusion we draw God has left just enough ambiguity to cause us to scratch our heads with this one. However I do believe we have a valuable lesson in this story. The vow was unnecessary and dumb because it brought great harm to Jephthah and his family. God didn’t demand a vow. His vow was one that revealed his lack of trust in God. God had already indicated victory by clothing Jephthah with His Spirit (v. 29).

It is a sad day when we foolishly make promises to God. We must stop and think before making a vow to a holy and righteous God, especially when God doesn’t demand it from us in the first place. When we find ourselves in an emotionally charge situation where we think we can tip the scales in our favor by promising God something that will cost us dearly, we need to stop and think and pray. God is not to be trifled with; He isn’t a merchant with whom we need to bargain. He is a majestic beyond our wildest dreams and desires to be treated as such.

Grace & Peace,

Scott