Jephthah's Daughter

       I just read a story from the Bible about Jephthah. I know...who is this guy? I went to Bible college and somehow managed to let this story slip between my fingers. I sat here after reading it wondering what in the world I might reap from a story like this one. Ok...so you might have to look up Judges 11 and read it but I will give you the quick version:

       So this guy "Jeph" was born to a prostitute and his half brothers dropped him from the family like a bad egg.  He was set out and basically left for dead. Lucky for him he was a tough bird and so he went out and met other outcasts and became their ringleader. He was so impressive that when his previous clan got into a fight with the Ammonites they came back and wanted him to lead the cause.  He was perplexed by the offer but accepted. Off Jeph goes to fight for the same people who kicked him out in the first place. What an idiot.
       Well Jeph must have had a real desire for acceptance because he took the offer and made a promise to God that if God would let him conquer the Ammonites he would sacrifice whatever came out of his front door first when he came home.
("If you give me a clear victory over the Ammonites, then I'll give to God whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in one piece from among the Ammonites—I'll offer it up in a sacrificial burnt offering." )
      Jeph goes to war, wins by a landslide, and returns home. Dun duh duh...the plot thickens! Guess who comes dancing out of his house when he returns? His one and only virgin daughter! Does he know that is what is going to happen? Did he expect it to be his wife, mother-in-law, or the family dog? The Bible doesn't say that part but what I do know is that he freaks out and blames the daughter for being the first one out the door. HE makes a promise to God and then when God not only delivers but helps him conquer 20 more cities he starts blaming her. So basically Jeph was willing to give up a family member so he could look good in the eyes of others.
      Now this is where I get really interested! If it were me and my father made a promise like that to God I would be begging him to renege on his vow. But when the unnamed daughter finds out what is at stake she tells him to follow through with his vow. What???? Did she really just say that? She does do something that I think is really interesting though. She tells her dad that she wants to go to the mountains with her friends and mourn her inability to ever marry and have children. The daughter goes to the mountains with her most trusted friends rather than spending the rest of her days with her own father. She returns and is sacrificed. Or is she...it seems kind of vague whether she was literally sacrificed or whether she went the rest of her life unmarried and childless. This in itself was like a death sentence for Jewish women. They wanted nothing more than to have a child. Either way she paid the price.
     All this to say that sometimes, or most of the time, we do stupid things to impress people we don't even like. I find myself trying to please others all the time. Its happening less and less these days but its still a vicious cycle we get ourselves into. When our motive is more about pleasing people than pleasing God we end up unhappy and unfulfilled. Jeph made a promise to God to impress people who were horrible to him in the first place.  Jeph did great things for God in his time as a judge but sometimes he let his ego get in the way. I do that, too. God help me to do things for you and not to please man.

"I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant." Galatians 1:10