Judges 11:28-40 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 11:28-40. Let’s go!
Judges 11:28-31 (NIV)
28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands,
31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
On verses 28-31: The king of Ammon ignores Jephthah’s attempt to resolve their dispute peacefully. Verse 29 says that, empowered by the Spirit of the LORD, Jephthah advances against the Ammonites. But whereas Jephthah was thoughtful and measured in the way he first corresponded with the king of the Ammonites (v12-27), Jephthah is not so careful when he makes a vow in verses 30-31. He vows to the LORD that if the LORD gives the Ammonites into Jephthah’s hands, Jephthah will sacrifice as a burnt offering whatever comes out of the door of his house to meet him when he returns. Notice that the LORD never required Jephthah to make such a vow. Rather this was Jephthah trying to strike a bargain with God. Here’s the thing with trying to strike a bargain with God: you can never win. God can’t be bought. And what was God’s response to Jephthah’s offer? Apparent silence.
Judges 11:32-40 (NIV)
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands.
33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.
35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.”
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.
37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”
38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry.
39 After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom
40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
On verses 32-40: The LORD gives the Ammonites into Jephthah’s hands – not necessarily because of Jephthah’s vow in verses 30-31, but because of God’s sovereign will. When Jephthah returns home, his only child, a young unnamed daughter, meets him. Jephthah then realizes the foolishness of the vow he had made. Committed to letting her father honour his vow, the daughter tells her father to do as he had promised, and only asks that she be given two months to be with her friends. Jephthah grants her daughter’s request. Her daughter returns after two months and Jephthah sacrifices her as a burnt offering.
Notice that through all of this – in fact, throughout the entire story of Jephthah in the book of Judges – the LORD’s voice is not heard. That’s not necessarily because God was not speaking, but more because there is no indication that Jephthah was trying to hear from God. The fact is that so much of what Jephthah did was misguided.
First, it was foolish of Jephthah to make such a vow to the LORD. As Proverbs 20:25 says, “It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows.” Deuteronomy 23:21-23 speaks of the importance of keeping one’s vows. It’s a reminder that before we make a promise we need to think through its practical implications for our lives.
Second, how could Jephthah think that him sacrificing his child as a burnt offering was pleasing to God? Rather than requiring or condoning child sacrifice, God detests it. With the exception of Abraham in Genesis 22, where God tested Abraham’s faith with the result being that no child was sacrificed, nowhere in the Bible does God ever require His people to sacrifice their children. In fact, the Bible specifically, repeatedly and vehemently condemns child sacrifice (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; 2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Kings 17:30-41). Had Jephthah sought the heart of God, he may have realized that what he was doing was not pleasing to God.
Third, and this could just be the lawyer in me speaking, but did Jephthah really have to sacrifice his daughter? For example, Leviticus 27 seems to provide a potential avenue by which people or animals dedicated to God could be redeemed by paying a price. Had Jephthah paid attention to the law of the LORD and the Scriptures, Jephthah may have been able to redeem his daughter so that she did not have to die. Yet it seems that Jephthah did not consider any other alternative ways by which he could fulfill his vow without sacrificing his own daughter. Jephthath’s daughter was more creative in delaying her own death than her father was. I’m so glad that we, on the other hand, have a heavenly Father who creatively found a way to rescue us from destruction, redeeming us through His own Son Jesus Christ.
Jephthah’s story in Judges 11 teaches us that a little bit of spirituality, combined with a lack of wisdom and a lack of knowing God’s Word, can be a very dangerous thing. As a result of not thinking it through and not knowing the Scriptures or God’s heart, Jephthah, in the name of God, created a system that didn’t have God in it.
Likewise, when we don’t think through our decisions, when we don’t know God’s heart, and when we don’t consult God for wisdom, we too can end up doing foolish, abominable things. So let’s count the cost before we make promises, let’s know God’s heart and God’s word well, and let’s look to God not to negotiate for our desired outcomes but for wisdom on how to get to where He wants us to go.
Thank You Father for the lessons we could learn from this passage. Please give us wisdom to count the cost before we make a promise. In our zeal may we not make important decisions rashly without knowing Your word and knowing Your heart. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
