Judges
11:29-35 (NIV) Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He crossed
Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he
advanced against the Ammonites. 30 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."
32 Then
Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his
hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as
far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When
Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but
his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child.
Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his
clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and
wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break."
NOTE: The decay in
Israel continues. Jephthah knows Israel's history as evidenced by 7:14-28, but
he does not know Israel's laws. He has not been taught God's word. First of
all, human sacrifice of any kind is forbidden by God's word. Secondly, the law
makes provision for getting out of a vow. Thirdly, God's performance cannot be
tied to some human action. God is not controlled by human beings. And while God
does sometimes answer poor prayers, the bible does not teach quid-pro-quo
prayers. Of note is that Jepthah is filled with the Spirit and it causes him to
move out, but it does not stop him from making stupid decisions. Filling of the
spirit is no guarantee that the words you say or the thoughts that you have
will be correct. The only correct word from God are the ones found in the Word
of God. There is a great danger when people starting giving others "words
from God," unless they are repeating a command of scripture. The real
message of this passage is the total lack of teaching, independent of any
filling of the spirit. The people don't know the word and the descent into new
levels of sin continues.
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