Sacrifices
Sacrifices In Judges, chapter eleventh, starting with verse 30, we find the story of Jephthah and his daughter which has been widely misunderstood. Jephthah was fighting the people of Ammon. Judges 11:30, 31 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. Now this does not mean that the person will be killed and burned on the altar, as many have thought. God has never required that mankind bring human sacrifices. A person who is dedicated to the Lord is sent to serve in the temple and they will never marry. It is like the nuns and priests which we see in the Roman Catholic Church today. The basis for this is found in Lev. 27:2: "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the person shall be for the LORD...." Judges 11:32-38 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes (this should be mantle) and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me, for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; fora
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is laying aside the glory of her head so that she may serve God. Her fashionable clothes are exchanged for the white robe which is the symbol of purity and sanctity. And so it was with Jephthah's daughter. Judges 11:39, 40 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel. That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. This word lament is a misplaced word. Some of you may have Bibles with a marginal note saying that this word should be "talk with". It seems strange to me that the truth is in the margin and the lie is left in the text. When are they going to throw out the mistake and put the truth in the text? www.kcpillai.org 2 There is another much misunderstood passage relating to this