Judges 11

In I Samuel 12 and Hebrews 11 Jephthah is remembered as a man of faith sent by God. This savior for Israel was not one that would fit any profile for greatness that we might write. But then no one expected that anything good could come from Nazareth.

Jephthah was a mighty warrior. So was Jesus. Jephthah experienced his greatest victory at the cost of his daughter's future. Jesus brought us His greatest accomplishment through the free offering of His own life for our sins.

Jephthah was the son of a prostitute, a man who was despised by his father's sons. But when the elders of the Israelites who lived to the east of the Jordan river needed someone who could lead them against their enemies, the Ammonites, they thought of this mighty leader of “worthless men.”

Jephthah did not immediately proceed with force against the Ammonites, but sent ambassadors to them. In all that he said, Jephthah acknowledged that the Lord was the God of the conquest. He was the one who had given the land east of the Jordan into the hands of His people. The other peoples who had come against Israel could have what their gods might give them. Israel was not in a position to give away what the Lord had determined to be Israel's inheritance. The king of the Ammonites did not have his facts right, but he was not interested in the Word of truth that God brought from this most unlikely prophet.

Notice that Jephthah spoke faithfully about the Lord, had a correct understanding of the Word of the Lord, had the Spirit of the Lord, and made a vow to the Lord. We must not forget all of these facts and pay attention only to the content of Jephthah's confusing vow, especially since Jephthah is not condemned anywhere in the later Scriptures.

What was this vow of Jephthah? “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:30-31)

Jephthah sought the Lord for victory against the Ammonites. He made a promise that cost him dearly. Jesus sought His Father for victory over the enemies that assailed us. He made a vow that cost Him His life.

The Lord gave Jephthah victory over the Ammonites. The sovereign God of the universe also knew who would be coming out from the doors of Jephthah's house to meet him after that victory, his only child.

What exactly happened to Jephthah's daughter? That part is somewhat confusing. She mourned her virginity for two months with her friends, not her impending sacrificial death. She was willing to give herself as the promised offering, but could it be that she became a dedicated servant of the Lord, remained unmarried and childless, but lived entirely for Him? Did her father's promise lead to her actual death?

When the Father made a promise to save us through the death of His only-begotten, He made a covenant that He would not break. His child, Jesus, gave Himself willingly to fulfill that promise. That vow did cost a life. There is no confusion concerning that death. But now, Jesus lives, and a resurrection kingdom has been born.