We all know the Bible story of Abraham and his son, Isaac, told in Genesis 22. God tells Abraham to take his only son, Issac, and sacrifice him on an altar in Moriah. As Abraham raises his knife, an angel appears and tells him: "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
It's one of the most famous stories in the Bible and has a happy ending. But I was reading the Book of Judges yesterday and came across a disturbing passage about a man named Jephtheh of Gilead. He was a mighty warrior and son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute so the brothers drove Jephthah away, to the land of Tob.
Then, when the brothers find themselves in trouble, they come to Jephthah and ask for his help. Jephtheh gives them a piece of his mind and then says he will rescue them if they agree to name him their ruler if he wins.
Later, he says this prayer to God before fighting the Ammonite armies: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 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." (Judges 11:30-31, NIV).
After conquering the Ammonites, Jephthah heads home and "who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child..." (verse 34).
Jephthah weeps and tears his clothes in grief, and his daughter, who is not named in the Bible, tells him: "My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites."
She asks for two months to "roam the hills" with her friends because she will die a virgin. After the two months are up, "she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin." (verse 39).
As I was reading it, I was expecting an angel to step in and tell him he did not have to kill his only child. But no such intervention. The Bible is so understated here, just saying "he did to her as he had vowed." So puzzling, so shocking.
You can read the King James Version of the story here.
There are a few other interesting twists and turns in Jephthah's life story if you read Judges 11 and 12.
I've never heard a preacher give a sermon about Jephthah and his daughter, and I don't think I ever will. It's not a neat, happy, uplifting Scripture like Abraham and Issac. Above all, it makes you wonder why Jephthah would have made such a vow in the first place. I would say that the moral of this story is to be extremely careful when you make a vow to the Lord.
Toledo, Ohio April 21, 2007.