If he was trying to persuade God to give him a victory, why would he offer to do something that he knew was contemptible in God’s sight? It makes no sense at all.Īs for the “ I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering” part of the vow. They even sacrifice their children in the fires on their altars. Leviticus 18:21 GNTĭo not worship the Lord your God in the way they worship their gods, for in the worship of their gods they do all the disgusting things that the Lord hates. So he must have known that God abhorred human sacrifice.ĭo not hand over any of your children to be used in the worship of the god Molech, because that would bring disgrace on the name of God, the Lord. Is it reasonable to think that Jephthah had in mind to offer a human sacrifice, as some people think? It certainly seems as if he knew God’s Word, because of the way he negotiated with the Ammonites. “If you’ll give me victory, then I will make an offering to you.” Can this be an effective approach to God? I hardly think so. It’s almost as if Jephthah was trying to offer God a bribe. We are still responsible for our actions.
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The Holy Spirit does not control us or take us over. Having the Holy Spirit in us does not guarantee that we won’t be stupid. Even though verse 29 said that the spirit of the Lord came upon him, he still acted foolishly. Once you speak the vow, it is set in stone. Numbers 30:2 When a man makes a vow to give something to the Lord or takes an oath to abstain from something, he must not break his promise, but must do everything that he said he would. A vow should always be done thoughtfully and seriously. Making vows or oaths or promises to God should never be done rashly, hastily, lightly, thoughtlessly or emotionally. Different forms of what or whatever (230).
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Different forms of who, whom, whoever or whomever (1219 times). By far, the most used is which or whichever (1928 times). There are many English words that this Hebrew word are translated into. So I looked up the original Hebrew word, which is ‘aher. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” Judges 11:31 NLTģ1then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon - it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it - a burnt-offering.’ Judges 11:31 Young’s Literal Translation Judges 11:30-31 KJVģ0 Jephthah made this vow to the Lord: “If You will hand over the Ammonites to me, 31 whatever comes out of the doors of my house to greet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer it as a burnt offering.” Judges 11:30-31 HCSBģ0 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” Judges 11:30-31 NIVģ1I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will offer that person to you as a sacrifice.” Judges 11:29-30 GNTģ0 And 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. “29 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” This is where his courage came from as he went forward to accomplish his victory over Ammon…ģ0 Jephthah promised the Lord: “If you will give me victory over the Ammonites, 31I will burn as an offering the first person that comes out of my house to meet me, when I come back from the victory.
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I want to focus on the vow Jephthah made. Worthless men probably means that these were men who were poor…men without means. We’re told in verse 3 that “…he attracted a group of worthless men…”. Jephthah was the illegitimate son of Gilead and a prostitute, and was a brave soldier. Our reading today is Judges 7-11, and I’m calling the episode “Think Before You Speak”.