Bible History.

From: Messages of God's Love: 1912

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Chapter 94. Judges 11:29-40²⁹Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. ³⁰And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, ³¹Then 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. ³²So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. ³³And 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. ³⁴And 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. ³⁵And 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. ³⁶And 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. ³⁷And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. ³⁸And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. ³⁹And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, ⁴⁰That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. (Judges 11:29‑40). Jephthah’s Daughter.

BEFORE Jephthah set out to fight the Ammonites with his brothers, the Gileadites, he vowed a vow unto the Lord and said: “If Thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, then, whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace, shall surely be the Lord’s and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” What a thoughtless promise to make! As if saying: If God will do me this favor, I will return it with another. Shall we bargain with the great Giver of all good? King David in the 116th Psalm says, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” And that is what He wants of each of us, that we should accept with thankfulness what He offers. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23).

Jephthah then set out to fight the Ammonites in their own country, and the Lord gave him victory and delivered that people into his hands. He destroyed twenty cities as well as the plains and the vineyards, and so subdued their enemies for that time.

When the battle was ended, Jephthah went back to his house in Mizpeh. He had one daughter, his only child, and she was very dear to him. This daughter loved her father very much, and when she heard of the victory, she thought she should see her dear father again. So she waited and looked for him, and when she saw him coming, she ran out to meet him, dancing and singing for joy.

When her poor father saw her, he tore his clothes in his distress at the remembrance of his vow, and cried out: Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, thou troublest me. I have made a promise unto the Lord, and I cannot break my vow. But his daughter answered that he must keep his vow, since God had given him victory over the children of Ammon. But she begged that she might, for two months, go with her companions and mourn among the mountains. She went and came back at the appointed time to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed,” which no doubt was done according to Lev. 27, by a substitute being provided in her place. We cannot for a moment think that God would allow him to offer her as a sacrifice, or that He could accept it, but He allows us short times to learn lessons in a very painful way. What if a dog or any other unclean animal had first passed the doorsill of that house to meet him? Would it not have been an insult to offer it to God? It would, and God has made provision for one making such a vow; (see Lev. 27:11-15¹¹And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord, then he shall present the beast before the priest: ¹²And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be. ¹³But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation. ¹⁴And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. ¹⁵And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his. (Leviticus 27:11‑15).) Let us remember then, that all we have, we have received from Him, and is His for us, to use for Him, but the first thing for us to give Him, and that He can accept, is the undivided obedience of our hearts, for, He says “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Sam. 15:22²²And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22). After this vow was performed on Jephthah’s daughter, (whom we must admire for her submission to her father) it became a custom in Israel, that the young girls should lament her during four days out of each year, evidently to celebrate her continued sorrow that she had to remain single the rest of her life. This condition in Israel accounts sufficiently for Jephthah’s grief.

ML 06/09/1912

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