Human Sacrifice?

[aspen]

Judges 11:29-39:


[sup]29[/sup] Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. [sup]30[/sup] And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, [sup]31[/sup] whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
[sup]32[/sup] Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. [sup]33[/sup] He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

[sup]34[/sup] When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.[sup]35[/sup] When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.”

[sup]36[/sup] “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. [sup]37[/sup] But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

[sup]38[/sup] “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. [sup]39[/sup] After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

Explanation? Is this a literal verse? Is this verse from man's perspective or God's? Why did God condone this?

 

[Rach1370]

Hey Aspen, this certainly got me thinking. My first thought was that it was not God who demanded a human sacrifice, but a man. I also suspect that God allowed him to go through with it, horrible though it was, because He does not stop us from sinning, from harming others etc...we have free will.

I checked out some brief commentary to see what it said:

"whatever comes out." The wording here would indicate that Jephthah intended to offer some animal as a burnt offering. However, the grammar also allows for “whoever”, in which case Jephthah would have intended to offer a human sacrifice all along. If so, what surprised him was not that he had to sacrifice a person, but that it was his daughter. Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden in Israel (Lev. 18:21; 20:2; Deut. 12:31; 18:10; Jer. 19:5; Ezek. 20:30–31; 23:37, 39). Yet, Jephthah's foolishness impelled him to make such a vow and apparently to follow through with this abomination

"I cannot take back my vow". Vows were solemn affairs, made only to God. People were not forced to take them, but, if they did, they had to be kept, under normal circumstances (Deut. 23:21–23; Ps. 15:4; Eccles. 5:4–5). But any vow that would end in sin was not binding; keeping it could not please God, and the Levitical laws provided for such instances (Lev. 5:4–6). Human sacrifice was an abomination, and Jephthah should not have followed through with killing his daughter. http://www.esvbible.org/Judges+11.39

So, I think we can conclude that Jephthah was a foolish and sinful man. As we have daily proof people are sinful, sometimes even sinning in the name of God. It is tragic and we should not think God is approving or happy over it. But sadly, it still happens.

 

[aspen]

Hey Aspen, this certainly got me thinking. My first thought was that it was not God who demanded a human sacrifice, but a man. I also suspect that God allowed him to go through with it, horrible though it was, because He does not stop us from sinning, from harming others etc...we have free will.

I checked out some brief commentary to see what it said:

"whatever comes out." The wording here would indicate that Jephthah intended to offer some animal as a burnt offering. However, the grammar also allows for “whoever”, in which case Jephthah would have intended to offer a human sacrifice all along. If so, what surprised him was not that he had to sacrifice a person, but that it was his daughter. Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden in Israel (Lev. 18:21; 20:2; Deut. 12:31; 18:10; Jer. 19:5; Ezek. 20:30–31; 23:37, 39). Yet, Jephthah's foolishness impelled him to make such a vow and apparently to follow through with this abomination

"I cannot take back my vow". Vows were solemn affairs, made only to God. People were not forced to take them, but, if they did, they had to be kept, under normal circumstances (Deut. 23:21–23; Ps. 15:4; Eccles. 5:4–5). But any vow that would end in sin was not binding; keeping it could not please God, and the Levitical laws provided for such instances (Lev. 5:4–6). Human sacrifice was an abomination, and Jephthah should not have followed through with killing his daughter.

So, I think we can conclude that Jephthah was a foolish and sinful man. As we have daily proof people are sinful, sometimes even sinning in the name of God. It is tragic and we should not think God is approving or happy over it. But sadly, it still happens.

Yeah this story is pretty horrifying. I appreciate your research - I think it provides some insight; especially the part about vows that are sinful, not being binding. I guess I still have difficulty believing God would allow it to unfold in that manner. It seems to me that if a reckless mouth lead a person into that sort of a bind, they would sacrifice themselves rather than killing their daughter. Perhaps it is a foreshadowing of Christ's willingness to sacrifice Himself, despite the fact that humans have a track record of refusing to sacrifice themselves even for their family.

This story just confirms that the Bible is a history of humans screwing up their response to God. It is inspired by God, but from the POV of man.

In any case, it reads like a Grimm's fairytale.

 

[Selene]

Yeah this story is pretty horrifying. I appreciate your research - I think it provides some insight; especially the part about vows that are sinful, not being binding. I guess I still have difficulty believing God would allow it to unfold in that manner. It seems to me that if a reckless mouth lead a person into that sort of a bind, they would sacrifice themselves rather than killing their daughter. Perhaps it is a foreshadowing of Christ's willingness to sacrifice Himself, despite the fact that humans have a track record of refusing to sacrifice themselves even for their family.

This story just confirms that the Bible is a history of humans screwing up their response to God. It is inspired by God, but from the POV of man.

In any case, it reads like a Grimm's fairytale.

I think that God's message to mankind is written perfectly in the Holy Bible. The Holy Spirit is infallible and He uses fallible men to write down His message infallibly. However, to interpret Scripture accurately, one would need the same Holy Spirit that inspired the sacred author to write God's message. Then one should be able to see God's message clearly because the history of man's salvation is written inside Israel's history. Sacred Scripture, on the other hand, cannot be made through individual private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). That was made clear in the Bible.

 

[aspen]

I think that God's message to mankind is written perfectly in the Holy Bible. The Holy Spirit is infallible and He uses fallible men to write down His message infallibly. However, to interpret Scripture accurately, one would need the same Holy Spirit that inspired the sacred author to write God's message. Then one should be able to see God's message clearly because the history of man's salvation is written inside Israel's history. Sacred Scripture, on the other hand, cannot be made through individual private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). That was made clear in the Bible.

I believe it is infallible, but I do not believe it is always clear. I also do not believe that each verse provides one answer - the Holy Spirit uses scripture to minister to us. Private interpretation should never be taught publicly, but it can be used by God to reach us at different stages in our lives based on our individual experiences and our relationship with Him at the moment.