Have you ever heard the story of Jephthah’s vow? It has to be one of the most tragic tales in the Bible.

In Judges 11, Jephthah is fighting a war against the Ammonites when he decides to make a vow. If God will give him the victory, Jephthah will offer the first thing that comes out of his door as a burnt offering. Surprisingly, it was not a goat, or a lamb, or some other pet that came to meet Jephthah on the pathway. it was his one and only child — a daughter.

Some people try to airbrush this passage by saying Jephthah didn’t kill his daughter. Maybe he just dedicated her to a life of celibacy and she was never permitted to marry. Perhaps that’s why it says she and her friends “wept for her virginity” (v. 37).

As much as I wish that was true, more than likely, the plain reading of the text is the correct one. Jephthah probably did offer his daughter as a human sacrifice. Not because it was right. Not because God approved it. Simply because Jephthah made the vow and chose to keep it, no matter the cost.

I think this story in the book of Judges is meant to shake the reader. It certainly shook me. The takeaway is that sin always leads down a dangerous pathway. It will cause you to do the unthinkable. Those little compromises will gradually shift your thinking, sear your conscience, and lead — even in a short time — to irreversible damage.

I preached this passage several months ago at Calvary Church. In this study of Judges 11-12, we learned…

• What happens when we’re indecisive?
• How did Jephthah end up leader of Israel?
• Who has rights to the land of Palestine?
• Did Jephthah really offer his daughter as a human sacrifice?
• Should we be making vows at all?

Here’s the audio…

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