Judges 11:30-40 – A Rash Vow
Just as having the Holy Spirit does not prevent Christians today from sinning or acting unwisely, the fact that the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah in this special way to empower him as God’s instrument to defeat the Ammonites does not mean that everything Jephthah did was wise and good. It is by the Spirit’s power that Jephthah gains victory over Ammon, but, even after the Spirit comes upon him, Jephthah makes a foolish vow. As if he could bribe God, he promises to sacrifice to Him the first thing he sees coming from his gates if he returns home victorious over the Ammonites.
It is wicked to take any oath or vow that would bind us to sin. An oath or vow is taken rashly if the one taking it gives no thought to the possible sins to which he is binding himself. As if to illustrate the rash nature of his vow, the first thing Jephthah sees coming from his gate when he returns home victorious is his only child, his beloved daughter. Leviticus 5 not only warns against rash oaths and vows, it sets forth the appropriate sacrifices that were to be made in Jephthah’s time as offerings to the LORD if a rash vow had been made. However, rather than repent of his sin and make the appropriate sacrifices, Jephthah adds to his sinful vow the sin of carrying it out. He offers his daughter as a sacrifice – a sacrifice that he should know, as Deuteronomy 12:31 says, that God abominates. (Some have argued that she was offered as a “living sacrifice,” never to marry, but verse 31 makes it clear that Jephthah’s vow was to offer her as a “burnt offering”).
If we find that we have rashly taken an oath or vow that binds us to sin, we must not follow through with it. We must repent, ask God’s forgiveness, and willingly accept any consequences that might come from not keeping the vow.
Questions
- What makes Jephthah’s vow so rash?
- Why should he not have kept this vow?
- What should he have done instead?
Prayer Points
1.Pray for the wisdom never to take a rash oath or vow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.