Like Gideon, he attacked the enemy before they attacked him. All Content 2023 Israel My Glory is an outreach ministry of the friends of israel gospel ministry, Outrage at Gibeah: A Spiritual and Societal Breakdown, Slated for Destruction: Life in Gush Katif, Marc Saperstein, Jews and Christians: Intolerance and Creative Competition in the Middle Ages, <. What the Bible Says About Racial Injustice and the Church, The Overwhelming Evidence of Gods Goodness, Why Playing the What If Game is the Wrong Thing to Do, The Extraordinary Gift of Letting Jesus Breathe on You. [8] Her throat is slit by the priest and a messenger extols her heroism. God instituted sacrifices and vows as an appropriate means for people to thank Him for what faith has wrought. It also was intended to accrue honor and recognition to the person who made the vow. [5] Jephthah's wife affirms the priest's argument, while adding that sacrificing their daughter would amount to paganism. When Jephthahs daughter returned from her trip, Judges 11:39 tells us her father kept his promise to God. 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Jephthah further stresses his point by asking why the Ammonites have not made a claim on the conquered lands for the last 300 years. Jephthah was victorious in the battle against the Ammonites ( Judges 11:32-33 ). Likewise, Proverbs 14:15 says a prudent person considers well his steps. Jephthah reminds us to be wise before the Lord, to think before we speak, and never give in to hastiness. Has God used The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry in your life? With clues drawn from the breadth and width of scripture, 99 Bible Crosswords will challenge and expand your knowledge of the Good Book. to the anointing of Saul as king (1050 B.C.). [6], Jephthah's daughter is initially anxious to avoid death but she later accepts her fate. It is interesting to note the contrast between Jephthah and the judges immediately before and after him. 1:2627). 1001 Bible trivia questions to test your scriptural knowledge! function ml_webform_success_2847088(){var r=ml_jQuery||jQuery;r(".ml-subscribe-form-2847088 .row-success").show(),r(".ml-subscribe-form-2847088 .row-form").hide()}, "Take charge! Knowing this custom, Jephthah made his promise. A Study of Jacobs Life: Are You Seeking Your Blessings from the Right One? He left his family, the only begotten child of God. He had an too many wives. He then launches an attack against Ephraim whereby the tribe loses the life of 42,000 men (verse 6). Jephthah was considered a very honorable man. Now becomes very clear the grief of Jephthah (for he would have no inheritor) and of his daughter (for she would have no children) and of her friends (for their friend would never become "a mother in Israel," and possibly mother of the promised Messiah) and of the people of Israel (for their hero would not leave them descendants and his name would "perish out of Israel")! Jephthah vowed to God that if the Lord would grant him victory over the evil Ammonites, the first thing that came out to meet him upon his return home, would be Jehovah's, and/or it would be offered as a burnt sacrifice. Thus it is clearly possible, and more likely probable, that Jephthah, under the Spirits guidance, was using the language of sacrifice symbolically in this context, symbolic of complete and total dedication to the LORD. And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. He said, "If you give me victory over the Ammonites, English Standard Version And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, Jephthah's Vow | Answers in Genesis Again, immediately after sending the ambassadors to Ammon "the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah" (verse 29). 1:11, 2228). Obviously, Jephthah knew that human sacrifice is a detestable and hated act to God (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31). It was the sort of thing that generals and kings have done throughout history. They both had 30 sons (Judges 10:3-4; 12:8-9), while Jephthah had just this one and only daughter. Jephthah, a Hero of Faith - Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations This means growing in His image and bearing fruit, putting on the holy character of God and helping our brethren in their development. As we know, the Israelites viewed barrenness as a stigma, and for the family line to end was considered virtually a curse from God. That is not meant as an excuse but as a context in which to evaluate a great man of faith who was humbled by a flaw and is often remembered for that flaw alone. But if this is so, how could a person led by the Holy Spirit be so absolutely callous as to sacrifice his own child? Nevertheless, He allowed Jephthah to suffer the consequences for his irresponsible pledge. In the years before God established Saul as the first king of Israel, the Lord sent judges to rule and administer justice (hence the book of Judges). Jephthahs story does not begin with him but with Joshua. Ammon had accused the Israelites of confiscating land from both Ammon and Moab. In their message, however, the Ammonites left out some vital information regarding why their land was taken by Israel (Judges 11:12 - 22). Subscribe now or log in for access. Barrenness was a source of great distress and grief to the Israelites. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. Jephthah replied that he had summoned them, but they had not reacted. The Hebrew of verse 31 is the source of the difficultyor rather, the translation of the Hebrew text is the source of the difficulty. With regard to their callings, however, they were faithful by Gods grace through the power of his Spirit. The gospel has always been most attractive to and most effective for the poor in spirit. The unconditional promises of God cannot be earned; they can only be freely received. What is the Church, and What is Your Part in It? They showed up after the battle was won, and rather than help Jephthah, they fought against him. While I agree that God commanded Israel to not sacrifice their children and the Jephthah ought to have broken his vow, the text seems to indicate that he did kill his daughter. Our lives are not our own to do with as we please (I Corinthians 6:19-20). Incidentally, human sacrifice, though known among the pagans, was not introduced to Israel until the reign of Manasseh of Judah (c. 697-642 BC). Describe Jephthah's early life-. (Judges 11:7, HBFV). Ecclesiastes 5 : 4 - 7, says: When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it . His daughter calmly asks permission to take a vacation with her friends to mourn the fact that she will never marry or have children. By the end, Gideon must forsake his family, Jephthah must offer up his only child (cf. For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Hebrews 11:32-34, Judges 11:29 tells us the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah just before he made his vow. A site with articles that delve deeper into the Bible for a greater understanding. The vow itself has been misunderstood too. What it shows is that this aspect of Christian spirituality, far removed as it was from most Jewish sources and actual behavior, apparently had some impact.3. The next phrase could just as well be translated, "shall surely be the Lord's, OR I will offer it a burnt-offering." No, he did not offer his daughter as a burnt sacrifice. Part Two, What Do the 8 Beatitudes in the Bible Mean? The tribe of Ephraim complained to Jephthah that he had not asked them to help him against the Ammonites, and they threatened to burn down his house. And further, how could a man who was so scrupulous to keep his vow (verse 35) be so unscrupulous as to murder his innocent child in flagrant disobedience to God's law? Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon JephthahThe calm wisdom, sagacious forethought, and indomitable energy which he was enabled to display, were a pledge to himself and a convincing evidence to his countrymen, that he was qualified by higher resources than his own for the momentous duties of his office. For many, the answer to this question is a troubling yes. But there is another option. Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter as a burnt offering to the Lord Why? But that is another story. Moreover, if the common understanding of the story is correct, God gave Jephthah the victory over Ammon knowing full well that Jephthah would sacrifice his child, and yet He never said a wordnot in person, not in a dream, not by a prophet. We will have to endure the birth pangs of the Great Tribulation if Israel's experience with the plagues in Egypt are a type. Which judge vowed his daughter to the Lord as a burnt offering? Each is more flawed than his predecessor. Jephthah could not control who would come out of the doors of his house to greet him (or whether anyone would), just as Abraham's servant had no control over who would give him drink (see Genesis 24:12-14). In Judges 11:29, it is recorded that the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and then in the next verse (11:30), Jephthah makes his infamous vow. Bible puzzles are a great way to pass time while learning scriptureand heres a brand-new collection of 99 crosswords sure to satisfy. Jephthah carried out the vow when she returned. Rather, Jewish intellectuals derived their interpretation from the Christian practice of nuns in cloisters. Verses 39-40 tell us that it became customary for young Israeli women to commemorate Jephthahs daughter for four days each year. In 11:37, Jephthahs daughter requests a two-month leave in order to lament her virginity. This is why the maidens of Israel praised her so much! Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. 20). This brings us to the next apparent problem in translation. The word is consistently used in the Old Testament to refer to ceremonial sacrifices, not to walking somewhere, such as to a mountain. The word used for burnt offering means that which goes up. This is perhaps related to the concept of smoke going up as an animal is burned or to the fact that it goes up to God. He dies after serving six years as a Judge in the eastern part of Israel (verse 7). Sign up for weekly devotions, relevant Christian news, and special offers! Jephthah gathered an army of Gileadites and defeated the Ephraimites. So, Jephthah and his army set out to defend Gilead and Israel (v12-22). Jephthah's daughter is the victim of her father's vow to sacrifice a person in return for victory in battle, although the text does not explicitly state that he killed her. Generally, the Bible speaks too highly of Jephthah to infer that he participated in a human sacrifice. It is unfortunate that he made the vow at all. List the 4 judges in the book of Judges that were section topics in your textbook-. A final proof is that Jephthah is listed as a hero of faith in Hebrews 11:32. What is confusing about this passage for many people is what comes next. Jdg). How then are we to understand Jephthah's vow? Another factor is the term "burnt offering" (Hebrew olah), which has no connotation of fire or burning. Judges 11:30 Commentaries: Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said Another troubling episode recorded in the book of Judges appears in 11:29-40, when the judge Jephthah makes a vow that many have argued cost him the life of his daughter and only childa human sacrifice. I believe that the use of the word "vow" in the Bible conveys the sense of a conscious, deliberate, promise to do something, sometimes conditioned by an "if": Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, "If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 31 then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me . Does this not sound like the gospel promised beforehand, a sure testimony to the person and work of Jesus? Yet these men were heroes of the faith. Understanding the custom, Jephthah probably had human sacrifice on his mind, a widely used practice that expressed profound devotion. The sacred historian records that Jephthah "carried out his vow with her which he had vowed" and then adds, "she knew no man." Jephthah had apparently not thought this through well enough. And you may be the decisive factor. Unfortunately, the Ammonite King did not agree that Israel had a divine right to own the land that was once possessed by them (Judges 11:28). We can conclude, then, that the vow was divinely ordained. What Do the 8 Beatitudes in the Bible Mean? The Israelites "again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . Submit your prayer requests here! It is also possible that Jephthah never intended to sacrificially kill anyone or anything that came out of his house after he had returned from battle. If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the people of Ammon shall surely be the LORDs, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering. (v30-31). Jephthah was one of ancient Israel's eighteen Judges who sporadically governed God's people from the time of Joshua (who became the first Judge in 1398 B.C.) Which king of Judah was married to the daughter of the king of Israel?