Judges 11:29-39
Then the LORD's Spirit took control of Jephthah, and Jephthah went through Gilead and Manasseh, raising an army. Finally, he arrived at Mizpah in Gilead, where he promised the LORD, "If you will let me defeat the Ammonites and come home safely, I will sacrifice to you whoever comes out to meet me first."
From Mizpah, Jephthah attacked the Ammonites, and the LORD helped him defeat them. Jephthah and his army destroyed the twenty towns between Aroer and Minnith, and others as far as Abel-Keramim. After that, the Ammonites could not invade Israel any more.
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, the first one to meet him was his daughter. She was playing a tambourine and dancing to celebrate his victory, and she was his only child.
"Oh!" Jephthah cried. Then he tore his clothes in sorrow and said to his daughter, "I made a sacred promise to the LORD, and I must keep it. Your coming out to meet me has broken my heart."
"Father," she said, "you made a sacred promise to the LORD, and he let you defeat the Ammonites. Now, you must do what you promised, even if it means I must die.
But first, please let me spend two months, wandering in the hill country with my friends. We will cry together, because I can never get married and have children." "Yes, you may have two months," Jephthah said. She and some other girls left, and for two months they wandered in the hill country, crying because she could never get married and have children. Then she went back to her father. He did what he had promised, and she never got married.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Okay, first of all, if our father promised someone something that involved a sacrifice on our part, I seriously doubt we would be so agreeable, don’t you?! Even if it didn’t involve human sacrifice – OUR human sacrifice – I still don’t think we would be so accommodating. We would hope that our dad would say, “You’re right… I really didn’t mean it! I would never think of allowing you (or your friends or possessions) to be harmed, just because I promised.” Never mind that God had saved an entire clan of people because of Jephthah’s promise…after all, we bargain with God all the time, don’t we? Surely we don’t mean to follow through… even if He delivers!
This passage illustrates a very important point… if we are going to bargain with God, we better be ready, willing, and able to deliver on our end… because God doesn’t play around! Moreover, if we do bargain with God, we had better be careful what we offer in return for whatever we ask of Him. I am pretty certain I could not have done what Jephthah’s daughter did. For one thing, she really had nothing to do with her father’s bargain with God… she was an innocent bystander caught in the cross-hairs.
On the other hand, had I been Jephthah… even considering his daughter’s willingness… I am not sure I could have followed through with killing her. I would probably have been on my knees, asking God to have mercy on me and find a suitable substitute. But that is not where we want to be, is it? We don’t want to be in a relationship with God where we are making promises we can’t possibly deliver, and hoping He will be merciful and accept something else!
Because of the blood of Jesus, living sacrifices are no longer necessary from us mere mortals. But there are plenty of times we do come before God and ask for His help, promising all sorts of things in return… “Just let me lose this 10 pounds, and I promise I will give up ice cream and start jogging every day.” We tell Him, “Please heal my loved one, and I will never miss another Sunday of worship services!” We ask, “Can you just help me make it through these finals, and I promise that next semester, I will study really hard and be ready!”
When we make promises to God in return for requesting His help, we had better be ready, willing, and able to deliver. If we don’t have the courage and fortitude of Jephthah and his daughter to fully make good on our vows, we better rethink what we are asking – and how we ask for it. Is your word your bond… with people in everyday life – and especially with God? Shouldn’t it be?
©2011 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment