Jephthah's Daughter
Judges Chapter 11:1-40
It is important to
remember, in the events that follow, that in the time of the judges, "In
those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in
his own eyes" (Judges 21:25) This book
is filled with the consequences of people who did not look to the LORD in all
their decisions. Thankfully, now we have
these words to live by: Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths."
In Judges Chapter 11,
we have the tragic story of Jephthah and his beloved daughter, whose name we are
not told.
Judges 11 opens with
the first mention of Jephthah. V1
"Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son
of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah". So we know that Jephthah was
born with a strike against him, he was not the son of his father's wife, and indeed in V2-3 we learn that in the
passage of time, "Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up,
and they thrust out Jephthah and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our
father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and
dwelt in the land of Tob..." But
then V4-6 "And it came to pass in the process of time, that the children
of Ammon made war against Israel and it was so that.....the elders of Gilead
went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob. And they said unto Jephthah,
Come, and be our captain that we may fight with the children of Ammon." And
remembering that these are the same ones who drove him out and now come to ask
his help with the enemy, Jephthah asks for glory for himself, even knowing that
a victory would come from the LORD. V9 "If ye bring me home again to fight
against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be
your head?" So Jephthah is given a
place of honor and respect, V10-11 "And the elders of Gilead said unto
Jephthah, the LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy
words. Then Jephthah went with the
elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and
Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh"
And so V15-23
Jephthah sends word to the king of the Ammonites, relating the events leading
up to the possession of the land by Israel: Israel coming out of the land of Egypt, walking through the wilderness and the crossing of the Red Sea, all the peoples the LORD had delivered into Israel's hand, and saying V23 "So now the LORD
God of Israel hath dispossess the Amorites from before his people Israel, and
shouldest thou possess it?
But in Verse 24
Jephthah makes a rather strange remark "Wilt not thou possess that which
Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess?
So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will
we possess." Jephthah seems to be
saying that they believe that their god is powerful enough to give them what they now
possess. It seems as if he is contrasting him with the LORD, a very foolish thing to do. He would have done well to remember the words
of Deuteronomy 6:16 “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God…..”
Verse 30-31 Jephthah
makes a very, very rash vow, one which will have severe consequences “And
Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail
deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that
whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in
peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s and I will offer
it up for a burnt offering.” Notice he says "whatsoever" not
"whosoever"
Deuteronomy 23:21 “When
thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it; for
the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
Ecclesiastes 5:2
"Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any
thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy
words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, deter not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure
in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow
and not pay”
Matthew 5:37 “But let
your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these
cometh of evil.” James 5:12 “But above all things, my brethren, swear not,
neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let
your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest
he fall into condemnation.”
Jephthah has made a
very foolish vow, to sacrifice as a burnt offering, the first thing that comes
from his house. It was the practice to
sacrifice animals as a burnt offering, Psalm 66:13 “I will go into thy house
with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and
my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of
rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.”
What was it that Jephthah expected to come from his house?
The LORD gives Jephthah the victory
V32-33 "So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight
against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. And he smote them...... with a very great
slaughter......" and then tragedy occurs. In V34 "
Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house and behold, his daughter came out to
meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her
he had neither son nor daughter.” Under normal circumstances, what would be more wonderful after a war and
victory, than to come home and be met by
his beloved daughter, lovingly and happily with instruments and dancing. But
now the full extent of the foolishness of his vow becomes apparent. V35
"And it came to pass, when he saw
her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought
me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my
mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back."
Jephthah must fulfill his vow and offer up as a burnt offering his only child. We think of Abraham whose faith was tested by
being commanded to offer up Isaac, and yet a ram was provided in his
stead. Here is no commandment of God,
Jephthah has made a rash vow, one to cause much sorrow.
Now we learn in a few
brief verses, of his daughter. She was
obedient, brave, and accepting of what must surely happen to her. Verse 36 “And
she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do
to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the
LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of
Ammon.” There is no anger, or fear in
her voice, she is ready to do the will of her father, and the will of the
LORD. This girl is one who has great
faith. The only request she makes is to
V37 “let me alone two months that I may
go up and down upon the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows” She now realizes that she will never be a
wife, or a mother, and wishes to have some time to mourn that fact with her
friends. V38 "and he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she
went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains." and V39 "and it came to pass at the end
of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to
his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man...."
After that it was the
custom that V40 “the daughters of Israel
went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a
year.” We do not know this brave girl’s
name, only that she was mourned by her
friends. –
Now it is said by some that Jephthah could not have
offered his daughter as a burnt offering, as this was forbidden, yet we must
take the word of God, our Holy Bible, for what it says, and it clearly
states that her father V39 “did with her according to his vow which he had vowed”. and what was that vow? V31 "whatsoever cometh forth of the
doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of
Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's and I will offer it up for a burnt
offering." There seems no getting
around it by trying to change the meaning or offer other scenarios.
And so Jephthah would
spend the rest of his days mourning his beloved daughter, and regretting his
rash vow.
Galatians 6:7
"Be not deceived God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap"
vcg/July 2015
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