God’s Spirit came upon Jephthah. He went across Gilead and Manasseh, went through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there approached the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow before God: “If you give me a clear victory over the Ammonites, then I’ll give to God whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in one piece from among the Ammonites—I’ll offer it up in a sacrificial burnt offering.”
Then Jephthah was off to fight the Ammonites. And God gave them to him. He beat them soundly, all the way from Aroer to the area around Minnith as far as Abel Keramim—twenty cities! A massacre! Ammonites brought to their knees by the People of Israel.
Jephthah came home to Mizpah. His daughter ran from the house to welcome him home—dancing to tambourines! She was his only child. He had no son or daughter except her. When he realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, “Ah, dearest daughter—I’m dirt. I’m despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can’t take it back!”
She said, “Dear father, if you made a vow to God, do to me what you vowed; God did his part and saved you from your Ammonite enemies.”
And then she said to her father, “But let this one thing be done for me. Give me two months to wander through the hills and lament my virginity since I will never marry, I and my dear friends.”
“Oh yes, go,” he said. He sent her off for two months. She and her dear girlfriends went among the hills, lamenting that she would never marry. At the end of the two months, she came back to her father. He fulfilled the vow with her that he had made. She had never slept with a man.
It became a custom in Israel that for four days every year the young women of Israel went out to mourn for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Such a theme throughout the scripture, history, life - God does a miracle, brings you out of a valley to sit you up on a mountain THEN you do something really stupid.
Jephthah was a great warrior, God used him to bring victory, he went from junk to judge, he walked in his true identity of what God made him to be - THEN he did something a little crazy.
When you make a vow, it's a promise that you will uphold your end of the deal. For Jephthah, he made a promise to God that was not to be broken, and this was a very foolish promise. He vowed that "if you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give you whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."
He was probably thinking a goat or sheep would come walking out of his front door. But, it was his daughter, his only child. Goodness.
His deal with the Lord brought him great grief. Sometimes we can make vows based on what our emotion is at the time. They may sound super spiritual, but they only bring frustration, guilt, and even grief when we are forced to uphold our end of the deal.
I can remember times when I have made "deals" with God.
"Lord, if you get me out of this mess, I will never do it again."
"God, if you will give me this one thing I want, I will give you (fill in the blank)."
"Jesus, if you will THIS, then I will THIS."
And the Lord fully expected me to do what I told him I would do. And when I didn't uphold my end of the deal, there were lots of consequences.
If you are going to ask the Lord for a victory over something in your life, then make sure that what you offer him in return is not going to make you a Jephthah.
God doesn't want promises for the future, he wants obedience for today.
I said 1 year ago, "Lord, if you will restore this home.......... I will live here, invest for the long-haul, love without expecting anything in return, stand firm on the front line of battle, and give myself over to you in every detail of my life."
He's doing his part, so I have to keep doing mine.
I mean, just look at these three. This is MUCH better than frustration and grief!
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