Then He Opened His Mouth

Judges 11:29-40 - Episode 137

Jephthah’s name meant “he opens.” One time when he opened his mouth, he spoke eloquently, with intelligence. Then, the next time, he spoke thoughtlessly and it cost him his daughters life (which was wrong of him to do by the way.) So, what about you? What happens when you open your mouth? That’s not a pleasant question to think about sometimes, is it? It is hard to control our tongues, so it is just something we will have to continue working on. But it’s good to be reminded that we need to.

A Reckless Vow - Judges 11:29-40

Jephthah had been called to be the next judge for Israel. His name means “he opens.” Before he went into to battle with the Ammonites, he opened his mouth and gave a detailed historical account of Israel’s journey into the Promised Land. But after the Ammonite king dismissed their claim to the land, and it was clear they were going to battle, Jephthah opened his mouth, making a reckless vow to the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord was already on the new judge, and He would have certainly brought them victory against their enemies. But for assurance, Jephthah promised to sacrifice the first one who came from his house after the battle if God would only make him victorious.

Then, the Israelites crossed into the Ammonite land and fought against their enemies. They defeated the people of twenty cities and the Ammonites were subdued before them. So, Jephthah went home victorious. But on his arrival, his only child came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She was celebrating her father’s safe return. But instead of joining in the celebration, Jephthah was devastated. He explained to his daughter that before the battle he had opened his mouth and promised the Lord that he would sacrifice the first to come from his house if God would only bring him victory. Even though this was a thoughtless vow to make, Jephthah did not believe he could retract it. Although he obviously did not want to kill his only child, he also did not want to lie to the Lord. He reasoned that it would be worse to sin against God than his daughter, so he told her he must keep the vow.

Out of reverence for her father and trust in the Lord’s laws, Jephthah’s daughter did not fight against her fate. Instead, she asked that she be allowed two months to mourn her virginity before her death. So, Jephthah let released her for a time of mourning. When the two months were complete, she honored her word and returned home, while Jephthah also honored his, offering his daughter as a burnt offering to the Lord. Then, every year thereafter, the daughters of Israel spent four days mourning her death, along with the fact that she was not allowed to be with a man or bear children before she died.

It’s odd that his daughter only asked for a couple of months to mourn her virginity. It seems she was mostly upset about not having a family before her death than the fact that she was going to die. Because she was Jephthah’s only child, I am sure he was also sad about her virginity since it meant his name would not live on. Also, it seems like she could have gotten married in that two-month period and not died a virgin, although I assume she would have still died childless because her father would not have put off fulfilling his vow long enough for her to get pregnant and have the child. I assume they thought it would be unfair to the man if he would have sacrificed her after only a couple of months of marriage and it definitely would have been unfair to leave behind both a husband and an infant child but allowing her any time at is bizarre.

Because the focus seemed to be on her virginity even more than her death, some scholars believe that Jephthah did not sacrifice her life to God but that he offered her as a perpetual virgin. That definitely makes his actions more palatable, so I wish that were the case. But in his vow, he promised to offer her as a burnt offering. That vow could have only been fulfilled with her death. Jephthah could not have burned her dream of a family. It could not be the death of her life as she wanted it. All available evidence points to that fact that he actually offered her life to the Lord.

Was Jephthah Right or Wrong?

            Jephthah was wrong to make the vow in the first place and he was also wrong to keep it. The way the vow was worded, sounds like he was talking about a person, but just never considered that it would be his daughter. But even if he thought the first thing he would see was an animal, it obviously could have been a person. God strictly forbid the sacrifice of people, specifically children. So, Jephthah had promised God that he would sin. Therefore, he should have obviously repented of his promise to sin and not honored the vow to do wrong.

            But even if Jephthah’s promise would not have caused him to sin, God made provision for rash promises, though Jephthah may not have known the law well enough to know it. Leviticus 5:4-6 says “If a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it – when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters. It shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing, and he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb, or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So, the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.” Once they realized they had done wrong in making a thoughtless oath, whether the vow was a sin or not, a price had to be paid. But Jephthah should have sacrificed an animal for breaking his promise instead of sacrificing his daughter to keep the vow. God does not hold us to our stupid decisions. Instead, he calls on us to repent and commit ourselves to what is better.