Be Careful What You Vow

Prayer – Lord, when we say vows, we need to mean them. In our days, about fifty percent of the marriages end in divorce with those couples breaking the vows they promised to each other and to God. “Until death do us part.” My vows were for a lifetime—and we have more than 50 years of commitment that have been honored so far. You, Lord Jesus, have been a been a guiding force in the relationship between my husband and me. You were such an example—with “may Your will be done, not mine.” Likewise, in all my relationships…may Your will be done, not mine. If I make any vows, guide me to be careful to chose my words carefully so as not to bring grief to anyone, but glory to You and to our Heavenly Father.

Fire is needed for a
burnt offering.

Be careful what you vow.

At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, "If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the LORD whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory. He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites. When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters. When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. "Oh, my daughter!" he cried out. "You have completely destroyed me! You've brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the LORD, and I cannot take it back." And she said, "Father, if you have made a vow to the LORD, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites. But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin." "You may go," Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children. When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin. So it has become a custom in Israel for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter. Judges 11:29-40

 

Meditate. Consider what you have vowed to the Lord and God’s victories in your life.

 

What was Jephthah thinking? A sacrifice from his own home? What did he expect to walk out of his door…a calf or lamb worthy of burnt offering sacrifice to the Lord? The power of the Holy Spirit had been laid upon him—shouldn’t that have given him confidence that God was going to have victory in this battle with the Ammonites? Did he really need to make this little secret vow to the Lord about a sacrifice to seal the deal for success on the battlefield? So many questions—but no real answer. There is a verse in Psalms that encourages us to make a vow to the Lord, but use this example of Jephthah to seriously consider what vow you make. It is best to consider the consequences before making a promise that is going to be hard to keep.

Make vows to the LORD your God, and keep them. Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One. Psalm 76:11   

 

It is amazing that Jephthah’s daughter was so obedient, truly following the commandment to “Honor your father and mother” yet Jephthah was breaking another commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” The girl’s friends were true friends to go with her to the mountains to mourn. To mourn the loss of her future—no wedding…no husband…no children. All the things that were important to young girls. Loyal friends are so highly valuable to teens—to be loved and accepted—especially for an only child, in earlier times and now, too.

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17

Do you consider yourself to be a loyal friend—in times of joy and mourning?

 

Verse of Salvation ~ The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! Psalm

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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