5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Judges 11-12
Luke 12:22-48

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Judges 11:29-31 (CSB): “The Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead. Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: ‘If you in fact hand over the Ammonites to me, whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

Jephthah didn’t have a fair shot at life. He was born nine months after his dad had sex with a prostitute. Jephthah had absolutely no control over his father’s sinful choice, but he bore the consequences. When his brothers (born of their mom) grew up, they chased Jephthah out of their house and away from their inheritance. They did this, they said, “because you are the son of another woman.”

For some unknown reason, his family eventually went and found him. The Ammonites attacked Israel, and they wanted Jephthah to lead them to victory. It’s possible that Jephthah was already demonstrating his leadership prowess when they chased him off.

Sometime later, Jephthah uttered the words in the verses I chose for today. He basically made a deal with the Lord and said he would sacrifice whatever came to meet him when he got back home if the Lord would give him victory. The Lord gave Jephthah victory, and when he got back home, his daughter came out to meet him. What did he do? According to Judges 11:39, after letting her mourn for two months that she never married anyone, he “kept the vow he had made about her.”

When we read this story and others like it in the Bible, we must understand quite a few principles. Here are two that come to mind:

  • Just because the Bible recounts an event doesn’t mean the Lord approved of it. The Bible gives us the good, bad, and ugly about most of its characters, oftentimes without commenting on whether their actions were right or wrong. It simply states the event as it happened to provide an honest recounting of it.
  • Just because the Lord is present doesn’t mean He approves. We are told in Judges 11:29 that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” The next thing we know, Jephthah is making a stupid, deadly vow. The Holy Spirit often filled “dirty vessels” in the Old Testament (Samson is a good example). The purpose of the Holy Spirit was often to empower someone to accomplish God’s agenda, while the one being empowered was sometimes making stupid, sinful choices.

Besides this, Bible stories let us examine someone else’s life and learn some life lessons. We can learn life lessons at our own expense, but it’s much better to learn them at other people’s expense.

So, as we read about a dad who made a stupid vow and then fulfilled it even though it meant that he killed his daughter, we can cultivate righteous anger. We can learn about the dangers of making stupid promises and vows. We can learn about the stupidity of following through on a reckless, deadly vow. The Bible does tell us that if we make a vow to the Lord, we had better keep it (Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21). But the Ten Commandments had already been written, and “You shall not kill” was well known. If Jephthah was truly righteous, he should have pleaded with the Lord for forgiveness, spared his daughter’s life, and been willing to take the consequences on himself (if God even saw fit to send them).

Friend, keep your mind engaged as you read the Bible. God doesn’t approve of everything people did. But the blessing is that we can learn from their sins, mistakes, and stupidity.

1 Corinthians 10:11 (CSB): “These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you not merely read God’s Word but study it.
  • Ask God to help you see the examples of the Biblical characters and understand what you should learn from their words and actions.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into how Jephthah fulfilled his vow to the Lord, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter to the Lord?

Sharing

If this post has been helpful to you or if you think it could help others, please consider tapping one of the social media buttons below to share it on your favorite platform.

____________________

Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)