SCRIPTURE
Judges 11:29-40 (NRSV)
Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, "If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord's, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering." So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.
Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow." She said to him, "My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites." And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I." "Go," he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
DEVOTION
Today's scripture reading is a very important reminder that we ought to be very careful about what we promise to God.
I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say, "If God gets me out of this one, I will...
- Go to church every Sunday
- Remember to always give my tithes
- Marry my partner
- Tell my friend the truth, etc
In Jephthah's case, his vow was atrocious. He promised to murder a human being in exchange for a military victory. To add insult to injury, when it was his daughter who fell into this horrible trap, he felt compelled to keep his vow, rather than confess the sin of making such a murderous vow to begin with.
Isnt' it amazing how we get ourselves in trouble with our mouths coming and going?! We sin by not keeping our vow. We sin by keeping our vow.
I truly believe this is why the New Testament teaches, "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." (James 5:12)
And again in Matthew 5:37 we read, "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
We need to be TRULY careful about swearing to do anything! Yes or No is a sufficient answer in all cases.
Today, I want to challenge all of us to be careful what we promise! We'll be glad we did!
Let's pray: Good and Gracious Lord, thank you for teaching me to choose my words carefully. Please teach me to give a simple yes or no to requests, lest I fall into condemnation. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
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