Vows

Judges 11.29-40

As much in me that wants to write about Samson today, I am compelled to makes some notes about Jephthah - namely Jephthah's vow.

As the story goes, Jephthah vowed that if God would give him victory over the Ammonites, then he would offer as a sacrifice whatever came out of his house first upon his return from battle.

Okay, so what was Jephthah really thinking? Admittedly not knowing the customs of the land, I can only assume that no livestock lived in the house with Jephthah's family so surely Jephthah was  not thinking possibly his favorite lamb or cow would come running out of the house. And, I am highly disinclined to imagine Jephthah's dog or cat would even be considered as an acceptable sacrifice to God. That would pretty much leave only the human occupants of the house which reveals a further oddity. The narrative reveals that Jephthah had only one daughter and more than likely only one wife (or there would very possibly have been more children).

See where I am going with this? When Jephthah made his vow, it would seem there could only be two possible candidates for Jephthah's sacrifice vow: his only daughter, or his wife!

This is one of two stories in the Bible about human sacrifice as it relates to a relationship with God. The other story is the story of Abraham and Isaac. However, Abraham ultimately did not sacrifice Isaac, but Jephthah did sacrifice his daughter. The difference is found in who initiated the human sacrifice and what the purpose for it was.

God laid out the plan of human sacrifice to Abraham as a test of faith. For the record, because God  knows everything, He knew what Abraham would do, but Abraham is the one who needed to know. Abraham would need to have that faith-confidence to further accomplish what God wanted him to accomplish.

In contrast, Jephthah laid out the plan of human sacrifice in an attempt to coerce God to give him military victory. The reason God didn't shut him down is because of the Kingdom value of a vow - God takes vows more seriously than life itself (thus the sacrifice of His own Son in fulfillment of a Promise). The unfortunate loss of his daughter paled in comparison to Jephthah's fulfillment of his vow to God. Even though human sacrifice was wrong and Jephthah should never have done it, it was still less wrong than breaking a vow. Hard as that pill is to swallow, we must realize that a vow is of ultimate importance to God because that is how He sees His own commitments.

Ever wonder then, why God says He hates divorce? Because marriage contains vows.

Some points to ponder...

God's justice yielded His vow to punish sin. It would not be broken.

God's love yielded His vow to redeem man. It would not be broken.

Father, I find myself in awe of the vow You made to redeem mankind. Help me to comprehend Your character regarding vows as I contemplate every Promise found in the Bible.