“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets” (Hebrews 11:32 MEV).
Although God enabled Jephthah to secure a resounding victory over one of Israel’s great historic enemies, his foolish vow brought great sorrow in the midst of his triumph. Unfortunately, there are many who continue to follow this example through vows and oaths of their own. For instance, how often have we heard statements like these while engaged in casual conversation…
- “So help me God…”
- “I swear, I’m going to…”
- “As God is my witness…”
Unfortunately, it often seems as if people give little thought to statements like these. However, Jesus issued a solemn warning to those who would take such oaths…
“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:34-37).
It is important to remember that the term, “I swear…” equates to a vow, even when used informally. In addition to Jesus’ warning from the Gospel of Matthew, we also have the following counsel from the New Testament epistle of James…
“But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no so that you will not sin and be condemned for it” (James 5:12 NLT).
So what does Jephthah’s experience tell us? Well, there are several lessons we can glean from Jephthah’s life…
- First, Jephthah’s example tells us that anyone can have a “hall of fame” type of faith, regardless of his or her family origin.
- Next, we should remember that the people of Jephthah’s hometown were content to exile him to a foreign land. But that changed when they needed him to help defeat their enemies. Nevertheless, Jephthah did not hold that slight against them. Instead, he accepted their leadership offer, and God used him to deliver the people from their adversaries.
- Finally, Jephthah’s example reminds us that bad choices often bring terrible consequences. But even a foolish decision (like the one Jephthah made) will not necessarily keep someone from entering God’s Faith Hall Of Fame.