Consecratory Vow
Thirty verses into Judges 11, and we find Jephthah has been anything but rash and flawed. His vow comes in the middle of a section where he is moving in fellowship with the Spirit of God; note that the phrase “he passed over unto the children of Ammon” (vv29,32) bookends his vow (vv30-31).1 His vow is not made in the heat of a battle, when his back is against the wall, but rather it is made in the preparation stage. He is busy rallying the troops, thus fulfilling the obligations of a dutiful judge. To date, Jephthah has been very careful with his words, a point that the author has stressed repeatedly (vv11,28). In private, therefore, he calls on the name of the Lord by way of a vow, because he knows that it is the Lord who grants victory (vv23-24).
In our day, in which the idol of safety and risk-aversion smothers godly initiative and casting our all on God, vows are either misunderstood or outright frowned upon. However, vows in the Bible are a mark of godliness and fidelity. Far from being prohibited, they are expected and commended, although regulated (Num 30). The only censure on vows is failure to keep them, not the act of making them (Deu 23:21; Ecc 5:4-5). Jephthah joins the likes of the Nazarites (Num 6:2), Hannah (1Sa 1:11) and David (Psa 56:12) in making vows. In fact, Jephthah is following recent precedent before going into battle: “Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver [Arad the Canaanite] into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities” (Num 21:2).
Vows are often made in the Bible when a person acknowledges his own need, aspires for greater devotion to God, and lays hold on the greatness of God to carry out what he himself is unable to do. It is not bribing God but a believing apprehension of God. It is a godly “putting your money where your mouth is.” It is stepping out in faith, where the vower says he is “all in” on God and proves by his actions that his prayer is not mere words. A vow is an act of commitment to God. It arises out of a sense of one’s impotence, but knowing that God is abundantly able to do what he cannot. The vower legally binds himself to the character of God, and in faith expects Him to perform what He alone can accomplish. Vows also have the happy habit of getting more than they bargain for. Jacob vowed for bread (Gen 28:20) but got the Abrahamic blessing. Hannah asked for one child but ended up with a family (1Sa 2:21). Vows immortalised common men as Nazarites (Num 6:2; Amo 2:11; Lam 4:7). God is no man’s debtor; it surely brings Him pleasure when His people, aware of their own need, cast themselves wholeheartedly and unreservedly upon Him, not just in words of prayer but in a legally binding vow. Like a wedding vow, it is an act of great commitment and supreme trust. Since God is intrinsically good, Jephthah was entering into contract with the best of all partners.
Jephthah’s vow says, “If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand, then 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” (11:30-31 YLT).
The vow is deliberately general and slightly ambiguous; it is “whatever” comes out of the house, not “whoever.” The thing that comes out, “it” will be offered, not “he” will be offered. Further, the fact that the thing that comes out of his house will “meet” him can have the idea of accidentally encountering, to befall, like the lion that “comes toward” Samson a few chapters later (14:5). Lions seldom make deliberate plans to greet people on a highway, but unfortunate souls can encounter a lion. This adds to the non-specificity of the vow. The phrase “cometh forth of the doors of my house” should not be pressed too literally either, since this is Jephthah’s way of saying that he was opening his whole house to God. He was essentially saying that the Lord could choose what He saw fit. Anything that belonged to Jephthah could be the Lord’s.
The structure of the vow adds to this idea. There are two parallel concepts, one of committal, the other of returning. Committal language is seen in the words “if thou shalt without fail deliver Ammon into mine hands … shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” “Without fail … deliver” and “shall surely … offer it” are phrases that mirror one another. Jephthah is saying that if the Lord gives all into his hand, he will give anything back into the Lord’s hand. If God fully delivers Ammon to Jephthah, then Jephthah will fully deliver anything of God’s choosing over to Him.
The language of return is seen in the words “whatsoever cometh forth of my house … when I return in peace from Ammon.” The contract is proportionate: “cometh forth” mirrors “return.” If Jephthah comes back from the battle, anything that comes to him will belong to the Lord.
The generality and structure of the vow show that Jephthah is opening up all he owns to the choice of God. He is highly specific in his requirements but is very ambiguous in the terms of payment. He leaves those terms to the Lord’s choosing.
Although the rendering is in the minority, “and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (11:31) can be rendered “or I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (see Young’s translation above). This leaves room for any human to be dedicated to the Lord, and not literally burnt up. If the “and” is the better rendering, it is important to notice that the Old Testament has ample references to spiritual sacrifices. Not every burnt offering is a literal burnt offering. Abraham thought that the Lord was being strictly literal when he said “offer [Isaac] … for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Gen 22:2); however, the Lord had no such literalism in mind. This does happen from time to time in the Bible: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psa 51:17); “Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving” (Psa 107:22); “So will we render the calves of our lips” (Hos 14:2). Paul had a high regard for the literal sacrifices of Old Testament law, but even he had a category for non-physical sacrifices: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1). Jephthah, therefore, has a category of thought called “spiritual sacrifice,” and he was willing to offer or dedicate any person as a spiritual burnt offering to God.
The above dispels the myth that Jeph-thah had adopted Canaanite human sacrifice ideology. Jephthah has shown his intricate knowledge of the Pentateuch, and he knew that human sacrifice was anathema (Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deu 18:10). Any suggestion that he purposed to sacrifice people is unwarranted.
To be continued …
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
