Today's passage continues the story of Israel's judges and focuses primarily on the figure of Jephthah. There are 12 judges mentioned in the book, covering a period of 400 years. In the history of Israel under the judges, we can trace our own spiritual histories: we seek the Lord earnestly during times of trial but neglect Him when skies are blue. Only the coming of further trouble would draw the people back to the Lord. Judges 21:25 tells us: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." God deserved the rightful place as Israel's king, but the people pushed Him aside.
In Chapter 10, we read that the Israelites sought the Lord only out of desperation, having witnessed the Ammonites' approach from across the Jordan. God noted, however, that the Israelites had "forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!" Yet, Israel repents, drawing God's compassion for their "misery."
Then, Jephthah arrives on the scene. His brothers had cast out this "might warrior" because "you are the son of another woman." There is an interesting tie between Israel's desperation choice of following God and the people's choice of Jephthah as their commander. His previous betrayal made him cautious in accepting the leadership assignment before receiving their assurances that he would indeed have their support.
Jephthah receives a special anointing, saved for only a few characters in the Old Testament: "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah." God had anointed Jephthah for his service, bestowing wisdom and insight upon him in order to serve the Israelites. Yet, in the same paragraph, Jephthah then seeks to abuse God's blessing through a foolish vow: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 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."
God does deliver on His end of the vow, and Jephthah faces disappointment when his daughter comes to greet him after the great victory. Jephthah upheld his word, despite the cost.
We do have a puzzling question about the nature of the sacrifice. Did Jephthah offer his daughter as a human sacrifice? Four times in the Scriptures, we read that God disallows human sacrifice, and Jephthah must have had familiarity with the Law. The priests would not have authorized such a sacrifice, and such a blunder would have disqualified him from placement in Hebrews 11's "Hall of Faith."
Instead, Jephthah had vowed or committed his daughter to a life of dedication to the Lord's service. Her two-month wandering allowed her to mourn her inability to marry and bear children, not to mourn her upcoming death. Jephthah's family line would die out with her. The note in Judges 11:39 about her "virgin" status would not make sense in light of a full sacrifice.
Jephthah acted as a man of honor in carrying out his promise and presenting his daughter as a living sacrifice to the Lord. His commitment to God outweighed even family loyalty and personal happiness. Lesser men would have renounced the vow the moment they saw their precious daughter walking through the front door.
QUESTIONS
1. How can you seek the Lord in all seasons, even when the skies are blue?
2. Have you committed to the Lord in something and not yet completed it? How can you take steps towards this goal?
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