Making rash promises can come back to haunt you big time. In today's passage, Jephthah made one of the most rashest of promises to God. A lot of us have made those promises to God like, "God get me out of this mess and I'll never cuss again." Most of the time those desperate prayers are really meaningless and to be honest we really never intended to keep the rash promise we made to God. It's often been called "foxhole religion."
But Jephthah's promise to God was a little different. His prayer to God was that if God gave them victory over the Ammonites, he would sacrifice as a burnt offering the first thing that came out of the door of his house to greet him when he returned. First of all that is really a stupid vow. What in the world was Jephthah thinking? I know he was pumped about going out to fight against the Ammonites, but give me a break. Was he hoping his wife's cat would open the door upon his return and charge out to greet him. "But Honey, I have to sacrifice the cat, I made a vow to the Lord." Maybe he was hoping it would be one of his brothers who ran him off when he was younger because his mother was a prostitute.
The Lord gave Jephthah the victory alright. But the first thing that came out to greet him upon his return was his only child, his daughter. "What a moron!" Jephthah had to be thinking to himself, "Why did I make such a stupid vow?" Unlike a lot of us who make rash promises, Jephthah made good on his promise. His daughter willingly gave herself up for her father.
To be honest I don't understand why God didn't stop Jephthah from sacrificing his daughter. It was those very kind of practices by the people living in the land that God abhorred and why He had the Israelites totally destroy them. But He didn't and Jephthah made good on his vow.
Let's be honest, we make rash promises when we're desperate or in trouble or when we're not really thinking clearly. We make them not only to God but to others as well. At those moments we don't consider what the full aspects or consequences of our promises are. More often than not, we're forced to renege because we can't keep our promise. And when that happens either we're trying to rationalize why we couldn't keep our promise or we lose trust and respect from those around us or both. Jesus said to let our yeses be yes and our nos be no.
God, I've made some really stupid promises to you in the past that both of us knew I couldn't keep. I've never made any as rash as Jephthah, but I've made some nonetheless. Help me through your spirit maintain my integrity with you and with others. Help me trust you more, be more honest with myself and realistic about my dreams and life itself. Allow me to think clearly about my promises, especially those tied to my goals and aspirations.
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