Give Me A Minute – Be Careful What You Ask For

I’m reading through the Old Testament. There are so many stories about how Israel “did what was evil in the site of the Lord.” In the book of Judges, there’s a story about a man named Jephthah. “He was a mighty warrior.” His mother was a prostitute and when he got older, his brothers drove him out so he couldn’t share their inheritance. Jephthah left and started hanging around with “worthless fellows.”

A neighboring country made war against Israel and they needed someone to help them fight back. They approached Jephthah and he agreed…provided they would make him head of the nation of Israel if he won the war. They said they would. As the battle approached, Jephthah made a vow. A promise. He asked God to give him victory over the enemy. If God did that, Jephthah promised to make a sacrifice of the first person who came out of his house when he returned home. God agreed. Israel won. And the first person out of Jephthah’s house was his only child. His young daughter.

Jephthah did what he promised God. Be careful what you ask for…