Why Is Jephthah in The Faith Chapter (Heb. 11)?

A Wonderful Lesson On Jephthah

I happened to read a chapter in E. W. Bullinger's book, Great Cloud of Witnesses, a book about the faith of the people listed in Hebrews 11. In the book he had a chapter about Jephthah, and I thought it made a lot of sense. So, I'm going to tell you what he says. The rest of this article is taken verbatim (excerpts) from Bullinger's book.

Jephthah is introduced to us under the same title as Gideon, "a mighty man of valour" (Judges 11:1).

This is the exceedingly simple account of Jephthah's overcoming faith; and there is little to be added to it. He had simply read what Jehovah had done, and thus heard what He had said. He believed what he had thus read and heard.

But in the case of Jephthah, as in no other, we feel compelled to go out of our way to vindicate him from what we shall show to be the unjust judgment of men. His God-wrought faith must not be tarnished without the sure and certain warrant of the Word of God itself.

Like Moses Jephthah "spake unadvisedly with his lips," but this does not touch his faith in what he had heard from God; his vow was made according to his zeal, but not according to knowledge.

That he would sacrifice his daughter, and that God would not reprobate by one word of disapproval a human sacrifice is a theory incredible. It is only a human interpretation, on which theologians have differed in all ages, and which has been reached without a careful examination of the text.

It is important to remember that the ancient Jewish Commentator Rabbi David Kimchi (1160-1232) renders the words of the vow (Judges 11:31) very differently from the AV and RV, and he tells us that his father Rabbi Joseph Kimchi held the same view. Both father and son, together with Rabbi Levi ben Gerson, all of them among the most eminent of Hebrew grammarians and commentators, who ought to know better than any Gentile commentator, gave their unqualified approval to the rendering of the words of the vow which, instead of making it relate to one object, translate and interpret it as consisting of two distinct parts.

This is done by observing the well known rule that the connective particle (vau, our English v) is often used as a disjunctive, and means "or," when there is a second proposition. Indeed, this rendering is suggested in the margin of the AV.

The following passages may be consulted:

Gen. 41:44. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand OR foot in all the land of Egypt.
Ex. 20:4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, OR any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, OR that is in the earth beneath, OR that is in the water under the earth.
Ex. 21:15. And he that smiteth his father, OR his mother, shall be surely put to death.
Ex. 21:17. And he that curseth his father, OR his mother, shall surely be put to death.
Ex. 21:18.  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, OR with his fist,etc.
Num. 26:14. Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, OR given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: etc.
Num. 22:26. ... when there was no way to turn either to the right hand OR to the left.
Deut. 3:24.  for what God is there in heaven OR in earth, etc.
2 Samuel 3:29.  ...one that hath an issue, OR that is a leper, OR that leaneth on a staff, OR that falleth on the sword, OR that lacketh bread.
1 Kings 18:10. .. there is no nation OR kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee:
1 Kings 18:27. ...either he is talking, OR he is pursuing, OR he is in a journey...

With a negative, the rendering "NOR" is equally correct and conclusive:
Ex. 20:17.  ... thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, NOR his manservant, NOR his maidservant, NOR his ox, NOR his ass, NOR any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Deut. 7:25. Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, NOR take it unto thee..."
2 Sam. 1:21.  ... neither let there be rain, upon you, NOR fields of offerings:..
Psalms 26:9.  Gather not my soul with sinners, NOR  my life with bloody men.
Prov. 6:4. Give not sleep to thine eyes, NOR slumber to thine eyelids.
Prov. 30:3.  I neither learned wisdom, NOR have the knowledge of the holy.

We are now in a position to read and understand the words of Jephthah's vow, where we have the same word, or rather the letter which represents it, in the Hebrew.
     "Jephthah vowed a vow unto Jehovah" which he had a perfect right to do. Such a vow was provided for in the Law which prescribed exactly what was to be done in such cases; and even when the vow affected a person (as it did here) that person could be redeemed if it were so desired. See Lev.27 where in verses 1-8 it affected "persons," and verses 9-13 it affects "beasts"; and verses 14-15 a house.

It thus seems clear that Jephthah's vow consisted of two parts: one alternative to the other. He would either dedicate it to Jehovah (according to Lev. 27); or, if unsuitable for this he would offer it as a burnt offering.

It should be noted also that when he said, "Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me," the word "whatsoever" is masculine. But the issuer from his house was feminine, and therefore could not come, properly, within the sphere of his vow, certainly not according to the literal meaning of his words. 

In any case, it would have been unlawful, and repugnant to Jehovah, to offer a human being to Him as a burnt offering for His acceptance. Such offerings were common to heathen nations at that time, but it is noteworthy that Israel stands out among them with this great peculiarity, that human sacrifices were unknown in Israel.

It is recorded that Jephthah "did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she knew no man" (v.39). What has this to do with a burnt offering, one way or the other? But it has everything to do with the former part of his vow, in dedicating her to Jehovah. This seems to be conclusive. It has nothing to do with a sacrificial death, but it has to do with a dedicated life. She was dedicated to a perpetual virginity.

To what else can the "custom in Israel" refer (v. 39, 40) when "the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year" (v. 40). The word rendered "lament"occurs only in one other passage in the Hebrew Bible, and that happens to be in this very book. So that we could not possibly have a surer guide to its meaning. The passage is in Judges v. 11, "There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah." It means to talk with others hence to rehearse together. This being done annually, the friends of Jephthah's daughter went to rehearse wit her, this continued virginity of her life, and not to mourn over the past fact of her death.''

We may conclude from the whole tenor of scripture, as well as from Ps. 106:35-38, and others, that human sacrifices were abomination in the sight of God; and we cannot imagine that God would accept, or that Jephthah would offer, human blood.

To uphold this idea is a libel on Jehovah as well as on Jephthah.

We can understand Voltaire and other infidels doing this, though they reason in a circle, and depend on the two cases of Isaac and Jephthah's daughter (which we dispute) to support their contention. Their object is clear. But what are we to say of the "higher" critics, most of whose conclusions are to be found, in some shape or another, in the writings of French and English atheists and deists of the 19th century. 

On the other hand, it is worthy of note to remark how the enemy of God's Word has used even innocent persons to perpetuate traditions which bring a slur on Jehovah's works and words. 

Milton's words, again, combined with Handel's music (the Oratorio of "Jephthah") have perpetuated the tradition that an Israelite father offered his daughter as a burnt offering to Jehovah.

It is too much to hope that these words of ours can do much to break the tether of tradition with regard to either of the above important subjects.

We need something of Jephthah's faith in the inspired records of God's Word and words. He believed what Jehovah had caused to be written in "the book of the Law." He had read and pondered over those records of Jehovah's words and works, or he could not have spoken so strongly and so truly of what had been written for his learning.

May it be ours to have a like faith, so that when we have to contend with those who oppose us, we may not depend on our own arguments or our own wisdom, but quote God's Word written, and use "the sword of the Spirit - the God-breathed words which are so profitable to equip the man of God, and all who would speak for Him, when we meet with those who "resist the truth."

Jephthah had heard, Jephthah had believed, and Jephthah was one of that group of overcomers who conquered through God.

___________________End of Article

ROYAL HEIR

Has The Lord Forgotten Us?

NO!

Right now we Christians are on center stage. The spotlight is on us. We are the only reason that all hell hasn't broken loose on earth ... because it's ready to do just that.

If you could see across that thin veil that separates us from the other dimensions you would see that we are being watched with great interest by the largest audience in the history of the entire cosmos. 

God, of course, who knows each one of us, and every thought we have, is watching us. The angels are waiting to see what will happen next, and specifically how you and I will react to each of the final steps leading up to the great Tribulation period. The angels are very busy, too - attending to us in our needs - as they did when Paul was in prison for instance. The saints of all ages have their eyes on us - yes, even those who have died and have not yet had their bodies raised; they are watching. They have a huge stake in this, too, and are no doubt excited beyond words, doing such things as wondering how God decided to choose each one of us specifically to live on earth at this cosmic moment. They are awaiting the resurrections of their own bodies, when they will meet us in the atmosphere.

And Christ is eagerly awaiting His bride - the Church.

We are also being watched by Satan and his team, some of who are waiting to get out of the dimensional pit in the middle of earth in order to play their final dastardly roles. There are also millions upon millions of demonic presences 'in the air,' and there are also millions right here on earth, many embodied in those humans of power in politics, religion, the media, the militaries, and in other positions of influence. Some entities are desperately trying to 'get in' on the action - they are courting the New Age people around the clock - but some of those people are beginning to get a little leery about those lying spirits, even though they attempt to lure with  words so sweet that honey drips from whatever passes as their lips.

You might say that the population of the entire Cosmos is parked right above (and below) the earth ... as near as they can get until God gives the Word that dimensions may be crossed. His Word reigns above all. When He says the Word, the Church and Satan's People will be as ships literally passing in the night. It's going to be a very busy moment.

Yes, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Other than the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, this is the absolute culmination of God's Plan. Literally everyone is watching. Think of it as the Spiritual Super Bowl if that helps. (Whatever works, for the pragmatists.)

Therefore, we should not be preoccupied about earthly things any more than circumstances require, even though they may be screaming at us for attention. They are merely distractions. There is absolutely no need for fear. This should be a time of unparalleled anticipation for the things that are about to take place! Those watching are giving us more support than any group of people in history has received. 

Except the enemy camp ... which hates us beyond all human comprehension. This is the very reason we need to keep our spiritual powder dry and our full armor on, clean and shiny, soon to be replaced by white linen robes of righteousness. The enemy would love to see us dead, dead, dead - but will settle for gone, gone, gone.

We - the Christians - are the huge impediment to their plans. Apparently we have caused them even more trouble than they had anticipated. Keep up the good work! So never tire, never fear, never get bogged down with the cares of life, never take your eyes off our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ - and make excellent use of every minute and every circumstance in which you find yourself, sharing the Gospel and snatching unbelievers right out of the fire. You are being prayed for by Heaven itself, where our conversation is (or certainly should be).

Yes ... we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses! Make them proud of your faith and commitment; it will bring glory to God since it is through Him that we live, and breathe, and have our being. Your reward waits for you.

I've waited my whole life for this moment. I've always known I would be right here ... right now. It's the greatest honor I could ever dream of to be a part of the Church of the Last Day! 

We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. 

The battle was already won at the cross. We have just a few last skirmishes. Remember, the Lord is not only watching - he's with us. He will sustain us. Keep your eye and focus on Jesus Christ, who has promised never to leave us or forsake us.

We're headed for the finish line. 

Headed For Heaven 

NOTE: Please read the important post below this one.