Judges 11:29-40
Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’ So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighbourhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’ She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’ And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’ ‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Reflection
Here we find Jephthah opening his mouth again. This time, not as a peacemaker but to make a rash vow. He’s been equipped with the divine spirit; but showing a lack of faith he bargains with God about the coming conflict with the Ammonites, as if the outcome is in doubt. He promises to sacrifice as a burnt offering to God whomever comes out to greet him if he returns as victor.
The story subsequently reveals that his daughter was his only child. Given the Old Testament tradition that women led victory celebrations with singing and dancing (e.g. Miriam, Exod.15:20-21, Deborah, Judg.5:1), the first person to come out of his house would most probably be his daughter!
When she welcomes him home, he immediately blames her for causing him trouble because of what he has vowed. She confronts him with the consequences of making a vow to God – it cannot be retracted – and submits, effectively offering herself in self-sacrifice. It is worth noting that unlike Isaac, Jacob’s son, (Genesis 22) she isn’t redeemed with a ram – she goes faithfully to death (v.39), as did God’s son, Jesus.
This abhorrent story reminds us that there was a time when human sacrifice was practised (2 Kings 21:6; 23:10).
Verses 35 and 36 emphasise ‘opening one’s mouth’. Do we ever make promises rashly without thinking through what the consequences might be, or who might have to bear the weight of them? Do we ever try to wriggle out of responsibility, when we realise the negative consequences, by transferring the blame for a situation onto someone else? Do we ever make vows (promises) lightly, without thinking whether we will be able to keep them?
Jephthah opened his mouth once too often when he took the Lord’s name in vain; and in so doing brought his blood line to an end.
This is a cautionary tale. We should think carefully before making promises, whether in God’s name or not; and then we should keep them.
Prayer
Gracious God,
forgive me when I speak without thinking and end up saying hurtful things I regret.
Forgive me when I fail to keep my word and let someone down.
Forgive me if I ever take your name in vain.
Renew me by your Spirit that I may open my mouth to proclaim your good news;
to express words of comfort and hope;
to further your purposes of justice and peace; in Jesus’ name, Amen