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The story of Jephthah
and his daughter is
painful reading.
Jephthah is portrayed as
a man who loved God but
knew the painful lack
of human love. He was
used and abused by his
brothers. They tossed
him aside when they
decided he was not
“pure” enough for them
since he was only a
half-brother. Then they
clamored for his help
when they needed his
military expertise. But
Jephthah loved God. He
loved God so much that
he wanted to prove that
love, and vowed that if
he won in battle, when
he returned home, he
would sacrifice
whatever he first saw.
Surely Jephthah thought
that he was offering to
sacrifice an animal.
But to his horror, the
first thing out of his
house was his precious
daughter!
Vows are not easily
broken. In the Old
Testament world, one’s
honor hinged on keeping
one’s vows, and honor
was everything.
Therefore, even though
we joke about the
promises we’ve made to
God under duress and
fully expect God to “let
us off the hook” when we
fail to keep them, not
keeping his vow was
inconceivable to
Jephthah, a man of
integrity.
Jephthah’s daughter
understood. She
understood! She was
willing to die for her
father’s integrity and
honor. She only asked to
postpone her death long
enough to lament that
she was never married,
never a mother. Her
friends lamented with
her. When she returned,
she was sacrificed - a
burnt offering, a
holocaust.
Theologians wrestle with
this story. Where was
God? In Genesis, God
stops Abraham from
killing Isaac. In this
story, Jephthah’s
daughter is indeed
sacrificed. Why didn’t
God stop this death?
Notice as you read the
story that when Jephthah
made his vow, God did
not respond. In the
story we hear what
Jephthah said to God,
but we do not hear what
God said to Jephthah. Is
that because Jephthah
did not hear? Was
Jephthah setting the
agenda, proving
something God never
asked him to prove?
Since we cannot conceive
of God approving of this
death, we are left with
the sad and tragic sight
of a faithful man
seeking to be like
Abraham and trying hard
to be so faithful and
religious that he
violates God’s command
not to kill.
Still today we, in our
effort to show our
faith, go too far. We
see, after September 11,
the tragic effects of
religious zealots. Do
we see when we ourselves
cross the line? Do those
who kill abortion
doctors “in the name of
life” see what they are
doing? Did those who
participated in Hitler’s
holocaust see what they
were doing? Do we, in
our religious culture
wars, keep the command
to love above all other
commands, or do we try
to “prove” our doctrinal
purity and faith and in
so doing violate
Christ’s law of love?
Jephthah stands as a
tragic symbol to warn us
about the dangers of our
religious agendas, for
our ability to hear our
own agenda far outweighs
our ability to hear God.
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