In Judges 11, we find the only example of human sacrifice done by an Israelite that wasn’t condemned by God. This is not to say other Israelites did not do human sacrifice; quite the contrary, as God repeatedly punished and chastised them for not only worshiping other gods but for offering their children to those gods.
The story of Jephthah and his daughter is one of the most heart-wrenching stories in the Old Testament to me.
Jephthah doesn’t start off well in life, through no fault of his own… he is a bastard. Not only that, but his mother was a prostitute. Not a well-favored social position in his time. After he married and time had passed, his own sons, when they had grown, turned on him and basically ran him out of town and out of inheriting.
Later after he had left Gilead, a problem arose between the Gileadites and the Ammonites. Solution: Jephthah was a mighty man of valor and they needed help, so the elders of Gilead went out to obtain Jephthah’s assistance.
His answer was predictably, “No way! You kicked me out and now that things are bad, you’re all nice to me?!” Jephthah’s condition for helping subdue the Ammonites was to be given headship over Gilead… but only if he won. The elders of Gilead agreed.
In the heat of the moment, right before he went into battle with the Ammonites, Jephthah cried out to the Lord with an impulsive vow. I can imagine his thought process. He needed so desperately to win this battle in order to regain his position and earn lordship over those who had so despised him that he was willing to promise God anything in order to have his honor restored.
He promised he would sacrifice, as a burnt offering, whatever first came out of the doors of his house upon his peaceful return, having beaten the Ammonites.
God listened and the Ammonites were thoroughly beaten that day. Triumphant, Jephthah returned to his house, only to have his only daughter, his only child, come out to greet him with excitement.
A promise was a promise and his daughter agreed that he needed to perform his oath to the Lord, especially since the Lord has fulfilled His end of the agreement. What strength of character! She knew the fulfillment of her father’s oath would involve a horrible death for her, but her focus was on keeping a promise to God.
After two months of bewailing her virginity with her friends, she returned to her father and he sacrificed her to the Lord in fulfillment of the impulsive vow he had made.
Pride and impulsiveness do not go well together. It was only because of his shattered honor and reputation and the possibility of not only regaining this, but in being able to lord it over those who had turned him out, that Jephthah accepted his mission in the first place.
His moment of revenge meant so much to him and so clouded his judgment that he rashly promised God the life of whatever came out of his house to meet him. What a terrible thing! What was he thinking would come out the door first? A cat? A goat? His servant? The horror is unimaginable!
Jephthah’s impulsiveness is highlighted by the strength of character his daughter had. I have to wonder if Jephthah would have gone through with the sacrifice if his daughter had not been so strong of character and honor. Her first response to him was not of selfishness, but one of firm honor and commitment to God. Her father must do what he had promised, especially since the Lord had delivered Jephthah’s enemies into his hands. Her personal requests were second.
Not only did Jephthah’s daughter yield to her father’s oath, but after the two months of lamenting she had requested, she returned to her father. She didn’t run away, but with honor, dignity and strong character she came back to what awaited her.
As horrible as it was, Jephthah’s honor and character were strong too… he fulfilled the oath he had made to the Lord and sacrificed his daughter to Him.
The only example of human sacrifice to God in the entire Bible… a direct result of pride.
