His name is Jephthah the Gileadite. He was a valiant warrior. His mother was a harlot. Because of his mothers reputation, Jephthah was driven out of Israel and from among his own family. Those who left with him were called "worthless fellows." (Judges 11) Suddenly, Israel found herself at war with Ammon and in dire need of help. The elders of Israel come to Jephthah asking him to come be their leader and help them fight against Ammon. Jephthah was confused as to why he was treated the way he was and now they need his leadership!
Jephthah agreed to lead Israel but under one condition: He would be their head! Jephthah spoke before Lord. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. Jephthah made a vow to the Lord God saying, "If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." (Judges 11:30-31) What a vow to make to the Lord! As we read this, we can be sure that Jephthah was thinking an animal or something else to come out of his house upon his return. A burnt offering of such an animal would be offered with a heart of thanksgiving! But what happened next was beyond his thinking!
The Lord gave Jephthah the victory over Ammon and he returned home. The first thing that exited his house was not an animal but his own daughter. Jephthah was devastated! He knew he had made a vow to God and he could not take it back.
How could Jephthah made such a foolish vow? Why did he not think this thing through before he made such vow? It is a horrible thought. Jephthah followed through on his vow. Devastated, heartbroken and brought low, how could he continue knowing what he had done?
We turn our attention to think about our world, every single person that lived and is living on this earth. Sin filled. Wicked. Hearts against God. Mankind following their lusts and doing all sorts of ungodly acts. Haven't we all done things we are ashamed of today? God looked upon our world from the very beginning of His creation and made a vow. I vow to offer MY SON for the sins of the world. It makes us wonder, what did Jehovah God really go through in His heart? What did He have to endure for our sake? That should give us reason to pause and reflect on our relationship to Him, don't you think?
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