You Promised!
The book of Judges (chapters l0—12) includes a strange story about keeping your promises and not breaking your vows. It’s the story of Jephthah the Gileadite—a most unusual hero.
The Bible says, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute" (Judges 1l:l).
Needless to say, this illegitimate son was not exactly the family favorite. In fact, Gilead’s other sons expelled him from the family Hurt by their rejection, Jephthah fled to the land of Tob, on the edge of the wilderness. There he gathered a band of rogues and rebels around him.
After a while, the Ammonites, marauders from the area attacked Jephthah’s town, and the family sent for Jephthah to come rescue them.
“Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites" (Judges 11:6).
What audacity! What hypocrisy! What desperation! His own relatives threw him out, and now they wanted him to come back and defend them.
“Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house?" Jephthah said. “Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?" (Judges 11:7).
So they promised to make him their captain and put him over all the cities of Gilead. Jephthah accepted their offer.
Jephthah had a heart for God despite his background as the illegitimate son of a prostitute, a desert bandit, and a social outcast. And yet, he was a person of great faith in God.
Perhaps the rejection Jephthah felt had driven him closer to God. He may have turned to the Lord as the only One who would accept him.
It is clear, however, that somewhere along the line, he had made peace with God over these issues.
Jephthah took his case to God. “Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites" (Judges 11:27).
I think, even though the scripture may not tell us much about Jephthah’s faith, this shows he had a great faith.
Unfortunately, the Ammonite king rejected Jephthah’s appeal, and he continued to advance toward the Israelites.
Then, “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah” (Judges 11:29). He rallied a great army and crossed Gilead and Manasseh to meet the enemy at Mizpah.
MAIN POINT
In route to the battle, he made a solemn vow to God: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, OR some translations have “or" I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering" (Judges 11:30, 31).
And he did, in fact, win a great triumph over the Ammonites. He returned home in triumph as Israel’s great hero, lauded by his neighbors and welcomed by the excited throng.
But when Jephthah reached his house, to his utter dismay, his own daughter ran out to meet him dancing and playing a tambourine (Judges 11:34).
It wasn’t a sheep or a goat. It was his only child! He had promised to sacrifice her to God as a burnt offering.
Now what would he do?
A vow was a solemn promise to God. Such vows were not to be made or taken lightly
The keeping of one’s word was viewed as a serious matter. It meant the keeping of a covenant and, ultimately the honor of one’s character.
What did Jephthah vow? And how did he fulfill his vow?
The issue is whether he actually slew his own daughter and offered her as a burnt sacrifice to God.
Commentaries on this passage are equally divided over whether he did or did not actually kill his daughter.
It hinges on the interpretation of Judges 11:30, 31
One view is that he promised to sacrifice whatever came out of his house as a burnt offering to God.
The other view says the passage should be translated: “Whatever comes out of my house . . . WILL BE THE LORD’S ((will belong to or be given to the Lord)).
The original Hebrew allows for either translation.
Why would he even make such a promise?
Maybe he was hoping his mother-in-law would be first!!!
In those days, animals were often kept in the house. Anything could have come out of his house: a sheep, a goat, or a cow (which happen to be appropriate sacrifices).A dog, a cat, or even a mouse could have come running out of his house as well. Those animals would not have been an appropriate sacrifice to God.
I believe he was promising WHATever, not WHOever…
WHATever could be an animal
WHOever would mean a person
I do not believe Jephthah meant to say he would offer a person.
And I don’t think he did offer his daughter as a sacrifice to God.
WHY? Several reasons
1. Child sacrifice was forbidden by the Law of Moses
(Deuteronomy 18:10).
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire...
2. Child killers are universally condemned in Scripture: king of Moab (2 Kings 3:26, 27), Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:3), Manasseh (2 Kings 21:6), and Herod (Matthew 2:16).
3. The daughter too willingly accepted the consequences of the vow - perpetual virginity (not death).
4. The Israelites commemorated this vow every year as an annual practice (Judges 11:40). It is highly unlikely they would have celebrated a wrong or sinful decision.
But here is a fact:
NOT ONE SINGLE TIME in all of scripture did God EVER DEMAND OR ACCEPT a child sacrifice
The closest He came was with Abraham almost killing Isaac
God would not have accepted the sacrifice or blessed Jephthah
It MUST be translated: whatever comes out of the house first will BE GIVEN TO YOU
I believe the main reason some people interpret the verse to say I will offer as a sacrifice the first thing out the door… was because He was so brokenhearted over the vow (verse 35).
For them that surely proves his promise was to kill the first thing
But that is not the only way to interpret Jephthah’s extreme sadness.
I agree with ……. Who says, “I believe that Jephthah fulfilled his vow by dedicating his daughter to God’s service. This would mean she could never marry or bear him any grandchildren. Though victorious in battle, he would have no offspring to perpetuate his family line.
In ancient times, this was considered a grave tragedy. It was a tragedy that was equally as serious as the death of the daughter.
Whatever view one takes on how Jephthah fulfilled the vow the fact remains that he fulfilled it… and it cost him dearly either way.
Either way he would have no grandchildren, no legacy, NO HEIRS.
This was, in his day, the greatest of all tragedies.
If he had meant to offer the first thing as a sacrifice… to kill it… he would have been better off.
There was a legal loophole in that case.
Leviticus 27 gives various amounts to be paid for the redemption of persons who had been vowed to the Lord or animals that had been dedicated to the Tabernacle.
But if it was his vow to give this thing to God, as a thank offering… he had no way out… she would have to live her whole life as a virgin, given to God.
The Bible does not actually say that he sacrificed her. It says only that he kept his promise to the Lord.
OK let’s cut to the chase. This is an entertaining story and we could argue all day about the meaning of Jephthah’s vow and whether or not he truly killed his only child.
But WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE AT SCHOOL… AT WORK… AT THE GROCERY STORE… tomorrow, or the next day?
After all, isn’t that what makes a sermon… application of biblical truth?
As I said when I started out… this is a story about keeping your promises and not breaking your vows… especially your vows to God.
If you are a member of a team you make vows/promises to do more than show up and do your thing. You vow to practice, to help the other members do their best, to abide by the rules, etc.
If you are married you made vows… for better or worse, in sickness and in health, to love honor and cherish and not to stray.
Well… when you became a Christian you made vows too.
I know, we usually think of getting saved as receiving God’s promise to forgive us, to let us into heaven, and some other things we expect Him to do for us.
He did make those promises… AND HE CAN BE TRUSTED TO KEEP HIS PROMISES
But YOU made some promises TO GOD
To allow God to work in you to make you a new creature in Christ
To obey Him… which requires reading the bible, learning what He expects, and doing it
To live/walk a new way… not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit
Maybe you didn’t make any hasty vows like Jephthah. Maybe you didn’t verbally promise to do anything… you just wanted to be saved from your sins.
But getting saved and getting baptized is like putting on this wedding ring… it comes with certain inherent and implied vows.
Today I want to deal with WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T KEEP YOUR VOWS?
Think about the minute after you sin, when you fail to keep your promise to God. What is your feeling? Or better yet… what SHOULD BE your feeling?
Look back at Jephthah… he comes home victorious from battle, the people have lined the road near his house and are cheering and welcoming home the conquering hero. He tops the hill and can see his house. A sense of warmth comes over him. He remembers his vow and is excited to see what comes out the door.
Then out comes his daughter, his only child, his precious baby girl.
What did he do? I believe he fell to his knees and wept
HE WAS BROKEN… he wished he could undo it… go back and change the vow… but he was sorrowful
That should be our response… brokenness, weeping, sorrowful,
wishing we could go back and change
Jephthah was sorrowful for how it would affect his daughter
Never married
Never have children
Never fulfilled
For you and I… as Christians… our brokenness should be for how it affects God… our Father… the One we made promises to… the One we failed.
God our Father loves us more than you can ever imagine.
He has so many riches in heaven and He wants to share them with us. He has just what we want, just what we need, answered prayers.
And He wants to come to us and fellowship with us and give us gifts… like peace, joy, happiness, faith, hope
BUT WE SIN… we break our promises
And God is sorrowful, if you could see His face you would see the pain. Now He can’t have the close fellowship He wanted with us. And He can’t give us the gifts… because He would have to be a liar.
And so… He turns, He takes the gift… and He walks away. He doesn’t want to… but that is the effect of sin.
Now listen up: Not all Christians ever get to the point where they are close and intimate with God. But if you do… if you ever know the joy of his presence… the worst thing in the world you will ever know is seeing God moving away.
And you will run to Him and grab His hand and fall on your knees and cry out… Forgive me Father. Please don’t go! I am sorry for my sin. I regret that I did not keep the vow. But I promise I will do better. Just don’t leave me. Please forgive me.
And what will He do?
Hebrews 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But saying that God will forgive you does not say it takes away His pain
And just being forgiven should not cause you to take you vows lightly… well I’ll try not to sin, but if I do, no big deal, God will forgive me.
Remember the experience of seeing God’s sad face or seeing Him moving away from you.
Be BROKEN… have a broken and contrite (promising never to do it again) heart
Making promises is one thing. Keeping them is another.
Going from a promise maker to a keeper of promises begins in our own hearts.
It begins by giving ourselves totally to God and letting Him become the object of our love and devotion. Only when we are fully committed to Him can we become fully keep our promises
