3. Jephtah
Jdg 11:29 At that time the Spirit of the LORD came
upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land
of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in
Gilead, and from there he led an army against the
Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the
LORD. He said, "If You give me victory over the
Ammonites, 31 I will give to the LORD whatever
comes out of my house to meet me when I return
in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
4. Judges 11:32-34
32 So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and
the LORD gave him victory. 33 He crushed the
Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from
Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-
keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites. 34
When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter
came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and
dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had
no other sons or daughters.
5. Judges 11:35-37
35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. "Oh,
my daughter!" he cried out. "You have completely
destroyed me! You've brought disaster on me! For I have
made a vow to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.” 36
And she said, "Father, if you have made a vow to the
LORD, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the
LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies,
the Ammonites. 37 But first let me do this one thing: Let
me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends
for two months, because I will die a virgin."
6. Judges 11:38-40
38"You may go," Jephthah said. And he sent her
away for two months. She and her friends went into
the hills and wept because she would never have
children. 39 When she returned home, her father
kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin. So
it has become a custom in Israel 40 for young
Israelite women to go away for four days each year
to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter.
7. Spinning Jephtah
• Maybe He didn’t know it was wrong to make
a vow.
• Maybe he was a sinful reprobate.
• Maybe he didn’t think his daughter would
meet him.
• Maybe he didn’t really kill her.
8. Zeal Running Wild
• Disconnected Zeal: Overestimating our part
• Dealing not Kneeling: God operates from want we
operate from need
• Pressure Points: Godly Sacrifice vs Human Sacrifice
Because of syncretism with the other faith’s he was ignorant. In verses 12-28 we however see that he was well educated, he was a bright guy that knew the law. He actually in part of his negotiations he recited Israel’s history. He knew that in Deu 12:31 "You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
He came from a rough background, his father was Gilead and his mother a harlot. His father had a wife with other sons that chased him away. He grew up marginalized but became a self made man with incredible leadership and diplomatic skills. As he was negotiating with the enemy they realized he was a very clever man and a man of wieght as a general in Israel’s army. He also had the Spirit of the Lord upon him (verse 29).
The pronoun used in verse 31 was it so perhaps he meant an animal or something else but scholars agreed that the he knew that a person would meet him.
Perhaps she was just to be exiled but in verse 39 it said he did what he promised.
Why is this story in the bible what do we learn from this?
In his Zeal for God Jephtah became disconnected from God’s will and isolated from Godly accountability. Zeal untethered from obedience got Jephtah into this place. He got to a place where he thought he could help God. He stopped treating God as sovereign and started treating God as a business partner that we negotiate with. When our zeal outstrips our character we end up overestimating our contribution. This story serves as a graphic reminder of what can happen when we think that we are acting in a way that God approves but we are actually getting him to play along with our schemes. We think that God is our co-pilot that he is there to bless us in our endeavors.
We think that some ill conceived sacrifices will please God and get him to do what we want. We try to manipulate God with our deals. God being sovereign by definition means that He needs no one. God chooses to use us and it is our obedience that aligns us with His sovereign plans. In verse 23, It is the Lord who wins the victory. In verse 24 it is the Lord that gives the spoils and in 27 it is the Lord that judges what is right. Jephtah knew that ultimately the battle belonged to the Lord but in zeal he tried to seal the deal. When our zeal trumps our trust in God we must watch out we are on a dangerous road.
Jehtah was a self made man that changed his life around, he came out of difficulty and made something of himself and became highly regarded and motivated for kingdom. The problem is that self made people under pressure can easily fall back on their own power. Outwardly they look fine but inwardly they are under pressure to make things work and to get God to work for them. Can you think of a more painful result than that which Jephtah’s vow led to. Because of the pressure he was under he bargained with God, in the heat of the battle his real value system was exposed. We are to kneel before God not deal with God. God is not interested in our bartering and our wheeling an dealing.
We are not in a transaction with God but in a covenant with the sovereign God. If we try and deal with God we reduce him to a puny idol that is at our beck and call. God desires sacrifice but sacrifice in line with his will that is guided by obedience. We can easily become driven people that believe we need to do whatever it takes to get the job done, that as long as the objective is holy then the method doesn’t matter. We must have both a vision and a value system if we are to get where we need to be.
