Jephthah and His Daughter

Our introduction to Jephthah in scripture is he was a mighty man of valour, but this fact is largely overlooked.  He was a son of a harlot, and for a season was cast out of his family but later asked to return.  Like the elders of his hometown, it is high time for the church to receive Jephthah back again as the man of faith he was.  It seems most references to him in sermons are negative, and he is touted as the poster boy of rashness, a power-hungry or even ignorant man whose folly outweighs any virtue.  It is ironic God does not say one negative thing about Jephthah in the Bible.  In fact, the exact opposite is true.  After discussing the faith of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab, the writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 11:32-34:  “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: ³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” 

Of all the righteous men and women who could have been listed in what is often called the “Hall of Faith,” Jephthah was one selected by the Holy Spirit.  We human beings tend to focus on outward faults, but God looks upon the heart of faith in God which is accounted by Him as righteousness.  There is much to be learned from the mistakes of others, but to relegate Jephthah to a byword when God provides him as a prime example of faith is a massive error.  Through Jephthah and especially his daughter we are blessed with a foreshadowing of Jesus which greatly challenges and enriches us, all for the glory of God.

Jephthah was a man of Gilead called by men to be their captain.  He came to terms with the elders who sought his leadership and Judges 11:11 reads, “Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.”  Whatever Jephthah said, he spoke in the hearing of the LORD.  Regardless of what men may contrive of Jephthah’s motives – for who among us knows fully his own heart and it is not written – the Spirit of God came upon Jephthah (Judges 11:29).  Judges 11:30-31 says, “And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, ³¹ then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."  The verse begins with a connecting word which continues the thought.  The Spirit came upon Jephthah, and he made a vow.  There was a clear connection between the two.  It was common for people to keep their prized animals in their homes, so this was not as strange as you might think.

Was Jephthah rash to make such a vow?  I don’t know.  But what happened after God did grant Jephthah the victory is the part everyone remembers.  After he returned from the slaughter of the enemy, his one and only child – his precious daughter - came out to greet him celebrating and dancing with her tambourine.  When he saw her, he immediately tore his clothes and cried out in anguish:  “Alas my daughter!  I have given God my word and I cannot go back on it!”  The daughter of Jephthah (her name is not provided us in scripture) did not scold Jephthah or charge him with wrong.  Judges 11:36-38 says, “So she said to him, "My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon." ³⁷ Then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I." ³⁸ So he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.”

Before the LORD Jephthah promised to offer up the first thing which came out of his house as a burnt offering to the LORD, never expecting it to be his only child whom I suspect was in her teen years.  She said, “If you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth.”  God had fulfilled His part in the matter, and she urged her father to do to her according to his promise.  There are tears in my eyes as I consider the faith and love of this young woman.  It is one thing to say such a thing, but the revelations in the next verse blows me away.  Judges 11:39-40 says, “And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel ⁴⁰ that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.”

Jephthah’s daughter came back.  Let that sink into your soul.  She could have run, knowing what awaited her.  Even as Isaac was bound by Abraham on the altar on Mt. Moriah, and Abraham took up the killing knife, her father would do to her.  But this time there would be no voice from heaven, no ram caught in the thicket.  Two months earlier she said, “Do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth.”  Did you see the difference in verse 39?  After she returned, “he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed.”  Dear friends, they did it together.  He did not do anything “to” her; Jephthah kept his vow before the LORD “with” her.  I wept many tears when I understood this.  I see the man sobbing, weeping at his loss as she waited bound.  Perhaps as his resolve faltered at the prospect of offering his only daughter as a sacrifice, she with gleaming eyes guided the knife to the spot.  He had given his word to God, and it must be finished.  God had not commanded human sacrifice, and the death of any human being is not God’s will.  But this picture has been included for a divine purpose.  Such a display of reverence and faith is not easily swept aside, for it points directly to Jesus Christ.

Even as Jephthah’s daughter returned with the knowledge she would be offered as a sacrifice, so Jesus Christ came as the Lamb of God to be a sacrifice for sin.  Jephthah’s virgin daughter bewailed her virginity two months with her friends, and Jesus wept knowing what awaited Him on Calvary.  Hebrews 5:7-9 says of Jesus, “…who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…”  Jesus was God the Father’s only begotten Son, the One in whom He was well pleased.  God had promised a Saviour, a Messiah, and kept His word.  Jephthah’s daughter was remembered four days in Israel every year, and we remember the death of Jesus Christ when we obey Him in celebrating Communion together.

We do not fault Abraham for binding Isaac to the altar and picking up a knife with the intent to slay his only son in obedience to God:  should we fault the faithful Jephthah for doing the same?  God doesn’t.  The context makes it clear Jephthah followed the leading of the Holy Spirit upon him in this very singular event in history which points to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  I cannot fault Jephthah with wrong before his God before Whom he spoke and stands to this day.  It appears the people at the time did not fault this man who willing to pay such a high price to keep his word to the LORD, for he remained a judge until his death.  Jephthah was a valiant man, a man of faith.  When I read of his precious daughter I see a picture of my willing Saviour, and I feel unworthy to read the words – because I am.  We all are.  Who among us would demonstrate the faith of Jephthah, his daughter, or my Saviour?

You Belong to Jesus

This week at Camp Kedron we will be exploring our own identity with the question:  “Who am I?”  Ultimately the only way people can know themselves in truth is by first knowing the God who created them.  I am more than a name, a body, a mass of cells without meaning, but an eternal soul breathed into a body God knit together in the womb.  Since God created man He alone supplies the wisdom and power to be the man He created me to be.  God said to His chosen people in Jeremiah 29:11:  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Knowing we belong to God is fundamental in understanding our identity as Christians.  The reality is, however, we can try to find a sense of belonging in far less than God Himself.  We can substitute our accomplishments, goals, relationships, our job, or even being a member of a church.  I recently came across a Scripture Union handout of being a disciple of Jesus based on the Sermon on the Mount.  It was broken into six separate studies in the following order:  belonging, witnessing, God’s Word, relationships, prayer, and possessions.  Admittedly that first one is the concept rarely discussed these days.  In our highly individualistic and increasingly independent society, most people overlook the simple fact we belong to God.  Man expends great effort to try to belong instead of realising in Christ he already finds acceptance and belongs.

All created things belong to God, but most are not aware of this fact.  Our understanding of our identity has direct results in our decisions and desires.  As I heard pastor Steve Mays say, we do not fight for victory, but we fight from victory.  Lack of knowledge leads to us working and praying futilely for what is already ours, and therefore we never progress into practically experiencing what God has already freely provided.  We can try our best to fit in with a particular group, not understanding we have been made in God’s image and we have been accepted into the beloved through Christ by faith.

We will never experience the future God desires for us until we seek and trust God.  When our eyes are opened to see God we see ourselves in truth.  After being exposed to the wisdom and power of God, Job saw himself as vile and Peter asked Jesus to depart from him because Peter recognised his own sinfulness.  “The best men,” Spurgeon quipped, “see themselves in the worst light.”  It is the Light of the World Jesus Christ and the scriptures which illuminate the darkness of our hearts clearly, and lead us to God who awaits us with open arms and joy unspeakable.  How good it is to know we belong to God and live accordingly!

Remember Now Your Creator

How good it is for young people to embrace their duty to love and obey God early in life!  The bar is set very low in general these days when it comes to devotion to God, worship, growing in discipleship, evangelism, and service unto the LORD.  For children and youth the bar is lower still.  Just physically attending a church or youth group is seen as a massive victory in itself.  But God deserves that all His people would be active in seeking Him and engaging in His business interests on earth.  We only have a limited amount of time.  Those who make the most of the time and talents given them by God will certainly not lose their reward.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:1-7, "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": ² while the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain; ³ in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim; ⁴ when the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of grinding is low; when one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of music are brought low; ⁵ also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. ⁶ Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. ⁷ Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it."

Life on earth is over for all people soon after it begins in eternity's light.  The exhortation of the preacher echoes to every soul to this day:  "Remember now your Creator!"  And how do we remember Him?  Solomon concludes his writing with this in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:  "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. ¹⁴ For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil."  Jesus has commanded us to love one another as He has loved us.  Let us praise God in Spirit and truth, living righteously for His glory, for He is seeking such who worship Him.  His eyes go to and fro over the whole earth, looking for any who remain loyal to Him so He can show Himself strong on their behalf.  May our holy conduct and righteous affections draw His loving gaze!

Holy Days

In preparation for my citizenship test, I learned several significant dates in Australian history.  Different countries, cultures, and people tend to distinguish some days over others.  There are traditions, accomplishments, and milestones remembered and celebrated.  There are days of national, personal, and even religious significance.  Having just celebrated Good Friday and Easter (which many Christians have termed "Resurrection Sunday"), I was reminded of a statement by a colleague:  "To me, Easter is the most holy day in the year."  This statement caused me to think.  Is one day "holier" than another?

To be "holy" means to be "dedicated, consecrated, or sacred."  God set aside many days and feasts as "holy convocations," gathering of His people for a prescribed purpose.  These references seen in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are translated a "holy assembly" in the NIV.  Though God saw it important to set aside certain days to be observed according to the Law such as the Sabbath, feasts, and gatherings, it was not that particular days on the calendar were more special than others.  The point was God was holy, and His people had been made holy through His covenant.  It is a holy assembly because it was a gathering of God's people, consecrated and dedicated to Him.

The truth is, this world and its system of time observed with calendars and clocks will someday pass away.  Even now, God operates outside of the confines of time.  The day Jesus was born, died, rose from the dead, or ascended up into heaven are only significant because Jesus is holy Himself.  The day or date is not what is important, for long after the end of this world and time as we know it He will remain holy.  Revelation 13:8 says, "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."  The day we celebrate as Good Friday (which is not always observed on the same date!) was known by God when the world was founded.  In the same way a church is people, not the building, holiness comes from God and not from a service or observance.

Since God instituted feasts and holy observances, sacred assemblies of God's people uniting in faith in Him, there is clearly value in honouring God together as His people.  It is important we do not begin to make our gatherings a source of pride which we believe distinguishes our group as more spiritual than others, or become divisive or combative with believers whose practices vary from our own.  Whether believers observe a day or not should not cause us to judge one another.  As it is written in Romans 14:4-9:  "Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. ⁵ One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living."

The Law tells us to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy."  Under the Law, the Sabbath day was one set apart as sacred, set apart to rest even as God worked for six days in creating the universe and on the seventh day He rested.  But Colossians 2:16-17 tells us Sabbaths and festivals were simply a shadow of what Christ is the substance:  "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."  If you have the substance, one does not need to focus on the shadow.  When we are adopted into God's family by grace through faith, we are made holy unto the LORD.  Every day is equally holy, for we are made holy in Christ.  It is lawful for us to do good, worship, and bring honour to God's name every day, not to be reserved for certain dates on a calendar which will pass away.  Many times in scripture God spoke to His people, "Be holy, for I am holy."  We are positionally holy, are called to be intentionally holy in our conduct, and to be holy every day, perfecting holiness in the fear of the LORD (2 Cor. 7:1).

Psalm 118:19-24 is a passage which well sums up my thoughts:  "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD. ²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. ²¹ I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. ²² The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. ²³ This was the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴ This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."