He Vowed A Vow To The Lord

[tyndale1946]

Judges 11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

11:31 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.

11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

11:33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

11:34 And 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.

11:35 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.

11:36 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.

Did Jephthah carry out the vow he made unto the Lord?
If he did would not that contradict the act of Abraham offering up his only son Issac?
Would God also accept the sacrifice of a daughter?
Jephthah is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 with Gideon, Samuel, Samson and David as great in the faith... If he in fact offered up his daughter would that also refer to the sacrifices to the other gods the children of Israel worshipped offering their sons and daughters which to the Lord God was an abomination and a stench in his nostrils according to scripture?... Your comments... Brother Glen

 

[Deacon]

Here's a good start on a previous thread...
Jephthah's Vow [link]

Note that each Judge was a brigand of one kind or another - even those noted in Hebrews as being hero's of the faith.

In Hebrews it was God that was the faithful one and he worked strongly in the weakness of those he chose.

Rob

 

[agedman]

Did Jephthah carry out the vow he made unto the Lord?

There is no indication that it was not carried out. Status as a leader would not allow the vow to be dismissed.

If he did would not that contradict the act of Abraham offering up his only son Issac?

No, two unrelated events and circumstances. Abraham was faithful and trusted God would provide, because God told him what to do. Jephthah was rash, and the vow was made in the heat of the moment. Often people make a vow in emergency and then don't realize God expects it to be kept.

Would God also accept the sacrifice of a daughter?

How would God accept that which He specifically states in the law is forbidden?

Jephthah is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 with Gideon, Samuel, Samson and David as great in the faith... If he in fact offered up his daughter would that also refer to the sacrifices to the other gods the children of Israel worshiped offering their sons and daughters which to the Lord God was an abomination and a stench in his nostrils according to scripture?... Your comments... Brother Glen

The law of Israel specified that no human sacrifice to other gods was acceptable.

God was extremely specific on what constituted an acceptable sacrifice.

It is important for those reading to understand the daughter likely did not "suffer" in sacrifice as the heathen sacrifices were apt to do.

The sacrifice of the Israeli was humanely done. The animal was quickly dispatched, and then sacrificed.

The human sacrifices to the heathen images were not so humane.

 

[OldRegular]

Jephthah made a foolish vow. I do not believe GOD allowed Jepthah to perform the sacrifice because it would establish a precedent!

 

[agedman]

Jephthah made a foolish vow. I do not believe GOD allowed Jepthah to perform the sacrifice because it would establish a precedent!

It is that very rational that I use to support that Jephthah did perform the vow.

Jephthah was a tribal leader, a judge. Had he not performed what he vowed, he would have lost credibility and status.

 

[tyndale1946]

Jephthah made a foolish vow. I do not believe GOD allowed Jepthah to perform the sacrifice because it would establish a precedent!

I had no idea that this same topic was discussed a year ago and I read the post and thank you Deacon for the link... I tend to agree with Old Regular although there were some excellent points made in the previous post and also in this one I started... Brother Glen

 

[OldRegular]

I had no idea that this same topic was discussed a year ago and I read the post and thank you Deacon for the link... I tend to agree with Old Regular although there were some excellent points made in the previous post and also in this one I started... Brother Glen

There is only one human sacrifice acceptable to GOD, the sacrifice of the human nature of the GOD-Man, Jesus Christ. GOD told Abraham to offer up Isaac which foreshadowed the acceptable offering of Jesus Christ. Notice what Abraham tells Isaac:

Genesis 22:6-8
6. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16. And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17. That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

And GOD through the Apostle Paul tells us of that "seed":

Galatians 3:16. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

All the promises to Abraham and his "earthly seed of promise" were thus fulfilled in Jesus Christ!

 

[Deacon]

So lets presume that he did not offer her as a burnt offering and just gave her for service of the Lord.

What would this look like?

Where would she go? ...perhaps to serve at the Tabernacle in Shiloh, the territory of the Ephraimites.

Read the next episode of Jephthah's story in Judges 12, the Shibboleth episode.

....At that time forty two thousand from Ephraim were executed. (Judges 12:6)

...and Jephthah just sent his daughter to live among them???

The unnamed daughter thanks her dad.... :tear:

Rob

 

[wpe3bql]

I checked out the link that Deacon provided for us and found it to be very enlightening.

IMHO opinion, I personally believed that Jepthah's didn't literally sacrifice his daughter, but rather decreed her to be a virgin while living here on earth.

Back in that day's culture, for a woman to remain a virgin was almost essentially a death sentence for her.

Moreover, when you read the text, her friends didn't mourn her death, but her virginity.

 

[OldRegular]

It is that very rational that I use to support that Jephthah did perform the vow.

Jephthah was a tribal leader, a judge. Had he not performed what he vowed, he would have lost credibility and status.

And had he murdered his daughter he would have encouraged the Israelites to engage in a pagan practice forbidden by GOD! { Lev. 18:21; Deut 12:29-32; 2Kings 16:3,4; 2Chronicles 28:1-4; Psalms 106 34-43}

 

[Yeshua1]

Judges 11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

11:31 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.

11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

11:33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

11:34 And 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.

11:35 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.

11:36 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.

Did Jephthah carry out the vow he made unto the Lord?
If he did would not that contradict the act of Abraham offering up his only son Issac?
Would God also accept the sacrifice of a daughter?
Jephthah is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 with Gideon, Samuel, Samson and David as great in the faith... If he in fact offered up his daughter would that also refer to the sacrifices to the other gods the children of Israel worshipped offering their sons and daughters which to the Lord God was an abomination and a stench in his nostrils according to scripture?... Your comments... Brother Glen

many conservative commentaries on this issue beleive that his daughter was forced to be a perpetual Virgin all of her days, like a nun, and as such, his line died with her!

 

[tyndale1946]

many conservative commentaries on this issue beleive that his daughter was forced to be a perpetual Virgin all of her days, like a nun, and as such, his line died with her!

I agree and as Old Regular stated... And had he murdered his daughter he would have encouraged the Israelites to engage in a pagan practice forbidden by GOD!... Brother Glen

 

[wpe3bql]

I agree and as Old Regular stated... And had he murdered his daughter he would have encouraged the Israelites to engage in a pagan practice forbidden by GOD!... Brother Glen

I'll add my hearty agreement to this interpretation of how Jephthah carried out his vow.

If he'd actually murdered his only daughter, it just wouldn't make much sense to me why her girlfriends and possibly other women in her neighborhood would annually set aside a time to wail the virginity of a dead woman.

Moreover, this drives home to me the importance of being sure you've spent a lot of serious meditation and prayer before you make an unconditional vow to God.

BTW, I always liked to way that the old KJV phrases Abraham's response to Isaac's question concerning who would be the real sacrifice in Genesis 22:8. "And Abraham said, my son, God will provide HIMSELF a lamb." Many commentators say that the actual mountain on which this incident took place was the very mount upon which Solomon's temple was built, and wherein on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur occurred. In John 8:56 Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that "Your father, Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad."

If the temple mound where the Temple was still standing in Jerusalem at that time, it probably wouldn't have been impossible for Abraham to look across the valley that separates the Temple Mound to see by faith Mount Calvary on which thousands of years later God did provide Himself that sacrificial Lamb who took upon Himself to shed His precious, saving blood and consummate for all time all of the pictures of those OT sacrifices portrayed. When Jesus said in John 19:30, "It is finished," His death finished for all times the sacrifices that Abraham could only dream about.

When the angel of God stopped him from killing Isaac, what a beautiful picture we see of how Christ's death on the cross ended, in His Father's eyes the death we as lost sinners so justly deserve. When we receive Jesus as our personal Savior, we truly are passed from death to life!