Jephthah's vow demonstrates the seriousness with which God regards promises made to Him. When faced with a military threat, Jephthah vowed to sacrifice the first thing that came to meet him upon his victorious return. His only daughter emerged, and despite his deep distress, Jephthah honored his vow, dedicating her to perpetual service at the tabernacle rather than a literal burnt offering, aligning with Old Testament laws regarding vows and service. The sermon emphasizes that God expects His people to fulfill their vows, as demonstrated by Jephthah's integrity and his daughter's willing submission, highlighting the importance of keeping one's word to God.
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judges eleven and verse thirty where we read and Jebsah vowed a vow unto the Lord and said if thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands then it shall be that whatsoever comeeth forth of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon shall surely be the Lord's and I will offer it up for a burnt offering verse thirty four and Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house and behold his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances and she was his only child beside her he had neither son nor daughter and it came to pass when he saw her that he rent his clothes and said alas my daughter thou hast brought me very low and thou art one of them that trouble me For I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.
And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth. For as much as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me. let me alone two months that I may go up and down upon the mountains and bewail my virginity I and my fellows and he said go and he sent her away for two months and she went with her companions and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains and it came to pass at the end of two months that she returned unto her father who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she knew no man.
And it was a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jebta, the Gileadite, four days in a year. Let me the Lord bless his word to our hearts. Let's pray again. Our Father, we realize that we have a difficult portion of your word. And We ask you to graciously enable us to examine what it says and to draw the practical lesson that is here for us. We ask this for the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and our own spiritual growth in the grace and knowledge of him.
Hear us in this for Jesus' sake. Amen. Jephthah, as we noticed for two Sunday nights, is presented in Hebrews chapter eleven with the other men of faith as a person of faith. He's among the heroes there. Now we have seen from Judges chapter eleven that Jebhthah was a godly man because the Holy Spirit came upon him for service. And as we noted last Sunday night, that the Holy Spirit coming upon him for service is like being filled with the Holy Spirit in our day.
Now also the actions of Jebta in relation to his own brethren. How that they made that pact before the Lord. And then his negotiation with the Yemenites to try to prevent war. Jebta was not a troublemaker. He was a peacemaker. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Now, of all that we study in relation to the life of Jebta, we have the most difficult portion of this man's life before us tonight. The vow that he made unto the Lord. Now, the reason for the vow is clear enough.
Jebta wanted to assure the blessing of God on his military endeavor against the Ammonites. And of course, he believed that a vow would help. Have you ever made a vow to the Lord? You see, we don't sit in judgment tonight on Jebda. I met many people who when they get in a tight jam, they make vows to the Lord. Lord, if you get me out of the hospital, I'll do this and I'll do that. Lord, if you enable me to do this, then I'll do this for you.
And after they have the victory, they forget all about their vow that they made unto the Lord. It's so easy to do this. So let us be very careful when we talk about Jebza. You see, Jebza wanted to assure the blessing of God, and he thought that the vow would help. Now Jebza moved into the battle, but the first one to meet him when he returned from his victory over the Yemenites was his own daughter, and he was sore distressed. There are four things we want to notice very quickly.
First, he was serious when he made his vow. He meant business. The second thing, he told his daughter the vow. She knew about it. Third, he could not go back on his vow to the Lord. And fourth, his daughter agreed with him. She must have been a godly girl. Now with those things before us, I'm thinking of a psalm where there's a sequence, and I think it's the fiftieth psalm.
I'm going to invite you to turn to it. I could be wrong. But if I'm wrong, you'll just have to forgive me. I didn't jot it down. In fact, I didn't think about it when I was studying this portion. But in the fiftieth psalm... No, it isn't the fiftieth psalm. No, that's a fifty-second I'm looking at. I'm sorry. verse fourteen Psalm fifty verse fourteen here's what God says offer unto God thanksgiving and pay my thy vows unto the most high and call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me in the book of Ecclesiastes it says if you vow unto the Lord be sure to pay it It's better not to vow than to vow and not to do.
Jebta was an honorable man. He was serious when he made the vow. His daughter was a godly girl. She agreed with her father. Now that presents a real problem in the life of Jebta that we need to deal with tonight. And the problem is there are some who believe that she was sacrificed by her father. as a burnt offering and then there are others who believe that she was offered unto the Lord for sacrifice at the tabernacle of the not for sacrifice but for service at the tabernacle of the congregation now I belong to the second group I don't believe that Jephthah's daughter is offered as a burnt offering I plan to show that tonight I do believe that she was offered unto the Lord for tabernacle service and we're going to look at reasons for that belief first then we're going to look at reasons to believe that she was offered as many present and then finally we want to look at what egypt does vow really mean we want to look at the doctrine of vows from the Old Testament it's
very important we're living in a day when people make vows and they don't intend to keep them. God is serious with vows. This is one of the reasons that I do not believe in making pledges. And I'm thinking of pledges of money to places like Christian Radio. And I thank God for Christian Radio. I thank God for them. But I do not pledge what I don't have. I believe it is wrong to presume upon God. Furthermore, I believe that the scriptures are clear.
Upon the first day of the week, let a man lay by in store as the Lord has prospered him. Now, where is the storehouse? I do not believe the storehouse is a local church either. I believe the text tells us where the storehouse is. On the first day of the week, let a man lay by in store. And if he lays it by him, where is it? It's in the home. And it's between the person and the Lord that he is responsible for what God has entrusted to him. And I don't care what high-pressure men say in one way or another in order to extract money.
And I believe in giving. I believe giving is one of the most blessed things that the child of God can ever do. It is a gift. It is listed among the gifts in Romans chapter twelve. And I have never met a Christian who has really grown in the Lord. That was stingy. If you want to grow in the Lord, you give. You can't grow in the Lord without giving. Because the spirit of God is the enablement of growth. And the one thing that we know about God is God's soul of the world that he gave.
And a spiritual person gives. They give of their time. They give of their money. They give in many, many ways. They're given to hospitality. And you can go down the list. A giving Christian. Now, vows are important. We make vows when we get married. We make vows in various ways. We make promises to God. Let us keep our word with God. Offer unto God thanksgiving. We read in the fiftieth psalm. Pay thy vows unto God, then call upon me.
A lot of God's people would like to call upon God. but not pay their vows. God says, you pay your vow first. Then you call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things that you know not. Call upon me. God invites us to call, but he invites us to keep our books straight with him. Now, I want to, from the life of Jebza in Judges XI, Give you some reasons why I believe that Jeb's vow, involving his daughter, that she was given for tabernacle service.
Two things. First of all, in Exodus thirty-eight, verse eight, we learn that women served at the tabernacle of the congregation. And this is important to realize. Exodus thirty-eight and verse eight, where we read, and he met. and he made the labor of brass and the foot of it a brass of the looking glasses of the women assembling which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation now it's an interesting word there in the Hebrew that word assembled for that word assembled really means served they served at the tabernacle of the congregation now in first Samuel chapter two and verse twenty two The women are again mentioned as being at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Now, what were the tasks of the women at the tabernacle? They're not listed in the Word of God. But in all probability they cooked meals. They made and they mended garments. They washed clothes. And they did, I believe, general cleaning around the house of God. There are those who served in this capacity. Now, the second reason that I believe that Jeb's daughter was given to tabernacle service was that human sacrifice was contrary to Israelite law and practice. Leviticus eighteen and verse twenty one. We'll notice that verse for a moment.
We'll just read it. Leviticus eighteen and verse twenty one. Where we read and thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Moloch, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord. And the children passing through the fire to Moloch was giving your children as a burnt offering as they did to Moloch, the God of the Moabites. So... You have the same truth in Leviticus twenty verses two through five and in Deuteronomy twelve and verse thirty one. Now, apart from the two wicked reigns of kings, that of Manasseh and that of Ahab, you find no indication of human sacrifice in Israel.
So, when you talk about human sacrifice, it was contrary to Israelite law. and it was contrary to Israelite practice. But there's a third reason. And the third reason is this. Jebta had respect for God and the will of God. Of all the things that you can say about Jebta, it is this. The covenant that he made with a Gileadite men, the men of Gilead, was before the Lord in Mizpah. They made the covenant before the Lord. Furthermore, when Jebza made his vow, he made his vow to God.
Also, Jebza had the integrity to keep the vow. And then there's another reason. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jebza. And Jebza is mentioned by Samuel in a context of divine approval in I Samuel chapter twelve and verse eleven. where God speaks to the nation of Israel and he speaks of how he delivered them by Samson and by Gideon and by Jebta. And here Jebta is mentioned in a good light.
So we notice he had respect for God and the will of God. Therefore matters suggest that whatever he did with his daughter was something that was approved of God. and he has right, and that he was right in his relationship with God. And it's important to keep this before us. The fourth reason that I think that his daughter was given the tabernacle service is that Jebtha was a balanced man. He was emotionally balanced. His negotiation with the Yemenite king represented careful reasoning. He reasoned with him of all the Lord's dealings with the nation of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.
Furthermore, the attitude and response of his daughter shows that she is also well balanced and that she had a good upbringing and that she had a good relationship with her father. Jebsah was well balanced. For you'll find that both the daughter and the father had great respect for the word of God in relation to the payment of vows. In relation to the payment of vows, I'd like you to turn to Numbers for a moment. Chapter thirty in verse two. The book of Numbers chapter thirty verse two. The book of Numbers in chapter thirty has to do with vows that are made by a man, vows that are made by a woman, etc.
And Moses spake, verse one, unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord has commanded. If a man vow, a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. Now notice verse three. If a woman also vow unto the Lord and bind herself by a bond being in her father's house in her youth, and her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand.
and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, not any of her vows or her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand, and the Lord shall forgive her because her father disallowed it. And this comes under that heading of the commandment, Honor thy father and thy mother. that thou mayest live long in the earth. So we find that the daughter approved what Jebsah did. There's a fourth reason why I believe that Jebsah's daughter was given to tabernacle service is that the priests and public opinion would have opposed to it, would have been opposed.
And the two months that she was allahed to bewail her virginity upon the mountains with her companions, would have been time enough for the word to get around what Jebda had vowed and what was going to happen to the daughter. Now, when we come to those two months that the daughter used, this suited well her being devoted to perpetual celibacy, that she was going to be an unmarried virgin for the remainder of our days serving the Lord. There's another reason that I believe that she was given the tabernacle service, and that is this.
There is no statement in the text that human sacrifice was involved. All that says he did according to his vow, and then in verse thirty nine, she knew no man. In other words, she was a virgin. And she remained a virgin until her death. Now I presented the one side of it. Now I want to present the other side. Because I think we need to be fair. And that is this. Those who believe that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering to God is because, first of all, his excessive grief.
When his daughter came forth from the house, he was deeply troubled because he was the first to meet him and the first that would meet him upon his return that came forth from the doors of his house he said would be offered unto the Lord but he could have expressed this same grief seeing his daughter devoted to a life of celibacy you see he could have expressed that same grief But there are those who believe that she was offered as a burnt offering that his excessive grief points in that direction.
Now the second reason is this, the fact of the mourning of the daughters of Israel. You see, four days out of every year they spent mourning for Jeb to his daughter. But this could have been in connection with a victory. that Jebtha won over the Yemenites and how that his daughter was willing to yield to the vow that her father made and gave herself to tabernacle service. But then there are those who say that they believe that Jebtha gave his daughter as a burnt sacrifice because it took place on the other side of the Jordan River.
That the two and a half tribes that where Jebtah lived they lived on the eastern side of the Jordan River and they did not know the law as fully as the people did on the western side of the Jordan River because the tabernacle of God and the instruction of the priesthood was on that side because they were removed from the tabernacle but you see that doesn't really fit too well because we found out already that Jebtah was a godly man And he himself knew God in a delightful way. And he ministered unto the Lord and the Spirit of God filled him. And there's another reason that those who believe that she was definitely offered was that Jeb's action was not divinely approved.
But when you look at the record, there's something that we have to take into account. There is nothing in the divine record. that Jephthah's action was approved of God, and there's nothing in the divine record that his action was not approved of God. It works both ways. So that brings us to the critical test, the very words of the vow. So we come to that, and they take the very words of the vow. You see, the crucial words of the vow that Jephthah made, surely... It shall be the Lord's in verse thirty one and offer it up as a burnt sacrifice.
Now the question is this. What did Jebza mean by these words? Here a few centuries later, quite a few, we're trying to figure out what Jebza really meant by the words that he uttered. Now that brings us to the meaning of the words. And I believe that in dealing with them, we can get some insight. And I think you'll understand why I believe that he yielded his daughter to perpetual celibacy. That means she would never marry. And that she served the Lord at the door of the tabernacle.
Whenever you speak of a burnt offering in Scripture, the only thing suitable would have been an animal. The only thing suitable. And we have to ask ourselves the question. Did Jeb to think that an animal would be the first to meet him in coming from the doors of his house? Did he really think that? Most likely he thought it would be a person, a servant. Now the giving up of his daughter demonstrates the sincerity of his heart. at the time of the vow. For he knew that he made a vow.
Having made it, he must keep it. Now with that before us, thinking of what can be offered in sacrifice to God, Jebza had a way out. Did you get that? Jebza had a way out. And I'd like you to turn with me to the book of Leviticus chapter twenty seven Leviticus chapter twenty seven now I'm not going to read this whole chapter but it would be very important to read it Leviticus twenty seven we have the law governing vows and you'll notice that there are four things that can be vowed unto the Lord.
In verses one through eight it is persons. Persons could be vowed unto the Lord. Then in verses nine through thirteen animals could be vowed unto the Lord. In other words if a person vowed an animal unto the Lord. And the animal was perfect for sacrifice for if an animal was to be sacrificed it had to be without blemish and without spot for it pictured the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ now if a man had an animal that he vowed unto God and now the time came for him to offer the sacrifice and the animal was suited for sacrifice that's the animal that he had to give however if he didn't want to give that animal You may read it in the text.
He could redeem that animal, but he had to give the amount of money that the animal was worth plus one-fifth more in order to keep it. The same was true of land, which we read about in verses sixteen through twenty-five, and the same is true with houses in verses fourteen and fifteen. Everything that was vowed unto God became holy. Now, since the vow of Jebza deals with a person, his daughter, we want to read the first eight verses. I'm not going to go into animals and we'll be here all night.
And I'm not going to do that, but we want to go into that which governs a person. I mentioned that Jebza would have had a way out. Notice verse one. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the person shall be for the Lord by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old, even unto sixty years old. Even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.
and if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels and of the female ten shekels and if it be from a month old even unto five years old then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver and if it be from sixty years old and above If it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him, according to his ability, that vowed shall the priest value him.
So now there are two options that Jephthah has. He could take his daughter to the tabernacle, present his vow, and depending on the age of his daughter, he can pay the number of shekels that the law required, and his vow would be fulfilled. It would be fulfilled. But there was an exception. He didn't do that. I believe that he presented his daughter to the Lord for tabernacle service, for service unto the Lord, as she would have done as one of these, as one of those who served the Lord at the tabernacle.
Now, let us notice the action of Jebta. He wanted God's blessing as he went into the battle. Therefore, he would devote to God on the basis of Leviticus chapter twenty-seven. What he devoted, he would devote on the basis of Leviticus twenty-seven, because what he devoted, he would have to devote according to the word of God. Now, in relation to his daughter, he did not take the easy route. Often we try to take the easiest route possible. What's the easiest way out of this dilemma?
This is the way we look at things often in our day. Oh, if I can only get out of this jam that I'm in. But Jephthah did not take the easy route. He took the more difficult one. He could have redeemed his daughter in money. But he took the harder route. He devoted her. for tabernacle service now the fact that there are women who were devoted to tabernacle service remember that the tribe of Benjamin at the close of the book of Judges is almost exterminated and you know and the children of Israel had made a vow that none of the other tribes because of their awful iniquity would give their daughters in marriage.
And then they wished afterward that they hadn't made the vow. So what they did, they tried, they got together and they decided, well, there's one place where that wasn't represented in the vow, the people of Jabesh-Gilead. So when they had their annual feast, they instructed the men of Benjamin to go and get themselves wives from the people of Jabesh Pilate. And they did. They captured them at the dance and took them home and they became their wife.
But then there weren't enough. young women at Jebus Gilead to provide wives for all the men of Benjamin. So they needed more. And what they did, they took the women, the virgins, some of the virgins who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. You may read it for yourself. And I believe that Jebus's daughter was given by him. How many A mother says, oh Lord, if you give me a son, I'd like him to be a preacher. I'd like him to be a missionary. But the son is born and you never instruct that child.
The child is not instructed. The mission field is a subject that you don't talk about in your home. You just couldn't give them up. You see, there's a cost involved in a vow. when J. Hudson Taylor left for China and his mother met him to say goodbye and as they hugged and kissed each other as he boarded the ship he said my mother learned more in five minutes of what it meant for God to give Christ to be the Savior's sinners than she had learned all her life when she gave her son to missionary service.
We live so comfortably and we fail to see that serving God is most important. Now we come to the close and that is this. What does this lesson teach us? I must confess this has not been an easy lesson. This is a difficult lesson. This is a difficult lesson. This isn't as easy as Sunday school was this morning. This is difficult. But, beloved, we should be asking ourselves a question. Boy, what's a practical lesson for me? Is there a lesson here that I need as a child of God?
I believe it is. Lesson number one, God expects us to pay the vows we make. If you vow to God, then keep the vow. This is one of the things that bothers me, friends, and I'm honest with it, whenever they have the share-a-thon at WHPE, whenever they have it, they say, we just want you to pledge, but we don't care if you don't keep it. That isn't true. That isn't true. They do care. Now I love WHPE. I'm going to be over there in a couple weeks making tapes. I'm going to be on there every Sunday for thirteen weeks.
I love them. And don't think I'm telling you something. I didn't tell them. They know where I stand. But the thing is this. And I'm not against them, and I hope that you support them. I tell you, I hope that you support them. But there are some things that bother me, and I'm going to be honest with you. I'm bothered by some of the stories they tell when it comes to giving. I really am. One of the stories they tell is if you eat in a restaurant, you don't pay a restaurant down the street. You pay where you eat.
Now, that sounds good on the surface. That sounds good on the surface. I know a preacher who's a godly man. Who labors faithfully week after week. And doesn't ask anybody for anything. And in one month's time he never got paid. The church is that small that he could. He could go get a bigger church. But he feels God wants him there. He can't get on the radio and plead for funds. Now if those people that go to that church pay where they eat, that man's feeding them.
They have a responsibility. But beloved, he can't go, he doesn't go on the radio. And he's as faithful. as I know. You see, beloved, I went to hear that man preach one night. I drove a distance. You know where I went? To put something in the offering for him. It's so easy to go through life, listening to what comes the easy way. Jeb says, Vah teaches us. You pay your Vah.
you pay your vows. The second lesson that's very practical is that God expects us to be people who keep our vows. And we're living in an age when vows don't mean much. But God says, if you don't pay them, you can't pray. That's what we learned in the fiftieth psalm, didn't we? That's what we learned in Psalm fifty. Pay thy vows unto the Lord.
Then call upon me, and I will answer thee. But we'd like to call upon God and forget about the vows. But it doesn't work that way. I've been on both sides of the aisle. in my Christian life I know what it is to work every day and preach every week I know what it is to get up early in the morning and take my family starting out about five o'clock in the morning and driving to another state preaching all day and as soon as you're finished that night people say oh it was wonderful when can you come back never pay a penny toward your gas They go home and they go to bed and they're still in their first sleep and you're still driving to get home and you have to get up the next morning because you're going to serve the Lord.
You're serving the Lord. I've been on that side defense. I know about this business of serving the Lord and God has graciously blessed me through my life. I've never asked anybody for anything. God has provided for me, and God provides for those that he calls into the work. But, beloved, there's a responsibility that God's people have. God's people have a responsibility toward those who serve them and who minister to them. Pay thy vows unto the Lord. Now, I told you that for another reason. You can't imagine the pressures that are on a young man who's gifted.
and that people want you to come and minister the Word of God. I couldn't go everywhere that I was asked to come. It was a burden on the family in those early days. And we served the Lord. Only one preacher. There were multitudes of preachers begged me to go out into the Lord's work. Only one preacher told me not to go. It was Dr. Edgar Ainsley. He said, don't go serving the Lord and running all over the country when your children are young. He said, you have a responsibility to your family.
I respected that man. And when I went out in the Lord's work, beloved, he's the only one who wrote me. And he said to me, burn brightly for God. Of all those who encouraged me to go, he's the only one. He told me not to go. And when I did go, he's the only one who wrote me, congratulating me and urging me to go on for God. For he knew it was the will of God. And by that time he was an old man, almost ninety years of age. But he also told me something else. And I don't know why he told me.
He must have thought that I was in debt. What he didn't realize that was my wife and I did not go into debt. We didn't make debts that we couldn't pay. He said, if you owe a bill to, if you borrow money from a brother in the meeting to pay your bills. And he said, and then you go to the Lord's Supper and you sit together at the Lord's Supper. And then you try to give money to the Lord when the offering basket comes around. He said, you're sinning. He said, the money you're trying to give to the Lord, you owe to your brother. You must pay your brother first and then give to the Lord.
God expects us to pay our vows. Beloved, this is strong meat. And it's in the practical area of Christian living. And we need to take heed to God's word. Pay thy vows unto the Lord. Then call upon me, and I'll hear you. I tell you, these are great lessons. I thank God for men who are faithful in teaching these things.