Misguided Devotion

Have you ever known anyone who did something in the Lord’s name, but you knew that what this person had done could not have been what God would have wanted? Often these types of acts are done with a complete lack of thought. There is a story of a man in the bible; his name is Jephthah and he was a judge of Israel. Jephthah was not an evil man, in fact he was a man that God moved upon when the Israelites fought the people of Ammon. I gather he was a man devoted to God and wanted to please God. The problem with Jephthah I believe is that he got a little excited and made vows to God that he did not think through. In Judges 11:30-31 Jephthah makes a vow to God; he tells God that he will sacrifice the first thing out his door to meet him, if God would deliver Israel from the people of Ammon. This vow does not sound to bad at first, but the problem arises after the battle when Jephthah gets home. I believe he truly thought an animal would be there to greet him, however this was not the case. A person greeted him at his door and it was his daughter, not just any daughter; his only child. What a foolish vow to make to God. Now there is much debate over what Jephthah actually did to his daughter. In God’s law human sacrifice was strictly forbidden, but I believe that Jephthah was not to knowledgeable on God’s law. If he was I think he would have offered silver in place of his daughter. Some say he sacrificed her others say that he sent her to the sanctuary to live out a life of virginity. Either way his vow cost him and his daughter greatly. I am not telling you to never make a vow to God to show your love or devotion to Him. What I am saying is when you do make a vow to God be sure it is one that He would have you do and that it does not go against what God has commanded. We often make silly promises to God that He knows and we know that we will never be able to keep. A vow to God should never been done in haste, it is always best to think it through and most of all pray to God about your offering. Sometimes or promises effect others in ways God would not want.