Judges 11 - Foolish Vows

Jephthah lived a God honoring life, but had a pitiful upbringing. As the son of a harlot he was effectively excluded from the ranks of his half brothers who assured him he would have no part in the family inheritance. He was an outcast from the society and became a leader of outcasts. Chapter 11 introduces him as a mighty warrior, and so when the Gileadites needed rescuing from the Ammonites the half brothers sought him out to help. 

Even though Jephthah was a mighty warrior, he also understood that all battles are not settled in bloody conflict. He first reaches out to the King of the Ammonites and asks why he is attacking the people. 

When the king breaks off negotiations, Jephthah turns to the Lord making a vow to sacrifice whatever come out of his house first on his return.  Now Jephthah was not generally a foolish man, he looked to God for his deliverance, but even believers can place themselves in careless dealings with God. Where Jephthah went wrong was in asking God to give him victory. He didn't ask God what to do but went to God with his plan in hand asking for God to give him success. The promise he made was foolish, as he had no way of knowing what might come from his house first.  When we come to God, we are merely participants in His grace. The story of our lives is His to direct and our mission should be to seek out His plan rather than presenting Him with our plans. Yet we do establish plans and we look to God for their fulfillment. 

Jephthah's story took a tragic turn after the victory over Ammon. The glory he sought was his, but on return to his home the first out of his house was his only child, his daughter. The one light of his life now would be sacrificed to God. Jephthah paid a terrible price to gain a place of stature among his people. 

Jephthah's daughter modeled a submission to God that is very rare. She tells her father to honor his vow, but to allow her an opportunity to mourn the fact that she would never know the joy of a family or the love of a husband.  She willingly accepted her lot though it was not what she would have wished and did not come without pain.  Some commentators speculate that rather than burning her as an offering that she would have been brought to the temple and placed in service there.  In either case the line of Jephthah ended because of careless words spoken before God. I believe that God would have settled the skirmish between the two nations without such a vow. 

If we consider our own prayers before God we may see that we too can fall prey to the temptation to ask God for something that benefits us rather than laying ourselves before God and asking His direction. Our goal should be to live out our lives walking in the Spirit, so closely connected to God thinking that we do not veer off course. We should willingly yield ourselves to God's plan even though it might result in sacrifice on our part. While salvation is a free gift of God, we are redeemed to be His people. Our lives are His to direct. 

Anything that has us in such desperate circumstances that we would make deals with God should cause us to consider whether we are on God's side or if we are asking Him to be on ours. Please be careful with your promises no matter who you give them to. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him.