Key Verse: Verse 30 – “And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,”
Jephthah’s vow to God was in essence “if you will allow me to lead Israel to victory, I’ll sacrifice to you ‘whatsoever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me (verse 30).’” And in verse 34 we read, “...and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him.”
There are two schools of thought here. First of all, there are those who believe that Jephthah’s vow was his daughter would remain a virgin all the days of her life. Secondly, there are those who believe that he literally sacrificed his daughter. Whichever one you believe, we do know that Jephthah kept his vow.
That reminds me of the wealthy oil tycoon who laid on his deathbed, his pastor talked of God’s healing power. “Pastor,” he gasped, “if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars.” Miraculously, the man revived and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital. One day, several months later, he and the pastor chatted on the sidewalk in front of a hardware store. “You know,” the pastor said, “when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven’t got it yet.” “Did I say that?” the tycoon asked. “I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!”
I’m afraid today that our churches are filled with more tycoons than Jephthahs.
What to do:
✞ “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it...” Ecclesiastes 5:4a
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