Judges 11: 34-40

The events that follow are just heartbreaking. Jephthah and his wife only had a daughter and had no sons. We never learn of her name or her age but nevertheless the situation doesn't change. Coming home to Mizpah, her daughter comes out to meet her beloved father dancing to the sounds of the tambourine not realizing that he made a foolish and unnecessary vow to the Lord. The vow to sacrifice should have pertained just to animals rather than people which was against the Levitical law. The meeting between the two was poignant and resulted in a two month pause before the deed is done to allow her to weep with her friends before she would die - unmarried and a virgin. This also started an Israelite custom that each year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.  Per the commentary:

The story is about reactions to God’s message. Jephthah had failed to hear God’s message. God had said that people should not sacrifice other people. Jephthah’s promise did not mean that he should not obey that rule. ‘You may obey one law. But that does not give you an excuse not to obey another law.’ That is what Jesus was telling the Pharisees in Mark 7:9-13. One could not refuse to help one’s parents because one gave money to God. But Jephthah did hear God’s message about promises and he obeyed it. God had said that we must do what we have promised to do. And Jephthah did do what he had promised. But he did not know everything. From the Bible we learn this. What he did was a wrong thing. The reason why he did it was right.

 

All in all, another decent day at work. I started to do some minor straightening out in the apartment before my cousin spends a night next Sunday. Should be interesting...

 

Got a chance to catch up with GG and that was good. It will be good to see him next week.

 

Happy Valentine's day to all!

 

Praise for today: I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalm 7:17