If God would grant him victory, Jephthah vowed to sacrifice whatever came out of his house
… his own daughter.
This series of Bible studies seeks to retell the stories of women who were divinely called and empowered to do great things. Many of them rose to the occasion, and a few very famously did not. Often, the tragedies and triumphs in their lives are missed, and their stories are told from perspectives other than with the honor and dignity they deserve.
After excavating their narratives from millennia of obfuscation, now meet the freshly restored, valiant, vivid (and sometimes villainous) women of the Bible.
Given to God: Jephthah’s Daughter
The account of Jephthah’s daughter as a young woman of faith, and God’s call on her life is one of the more controversial in the Bible. And yet the impact her courageous faith had on the women in her community lasted for centuries.
How could God sanction, let alone inspire, a vow that could seemingly only be fulfilled by child sacrifice? By literally putting the knife to a human being, and shedding their blood on the altar of a vow made to God? Yet that is how the narrative seems to be written in Judges 11.
This thirty-page book includes the retelling of Jephthah’s daughter’s story, a fifteen-question Bible study, and link to a twenty-minute multi-media presentation of her faithful sacrifice, and the festival that grew out of her service to God. Is it possible that God provided another way, just as the Lord provided for Abraham when he climbed Mount Moriah with his son Isaac to offer a similar sacrifice?
Human Sacrifice … Or Living Sacrifice?
The account of Jephthah’s daughter has unsettled theologians and scholars for thousands of years. How could God sanction, let alone inspire, a vow that could seemingly only be fulfilled by child sacrifice? By literally putting the knife to a human being, and shedding their blood on the altar of a vow made to God? Yet that is how the narrative seems to be written in Judges 11.
However, understanding this story requires understanding another story that has also troubled theologians: the record of Abraham’s own journey with Isaac up Mount Moriah, that Israel’s first patriarch might sacrifice his own son. In both cases, what was initially inferred concerning God’s intentions did not indicate how the story would conclude.
In the first case, God provided a substitute. I propose God again provided an unexpected way forward that would fulfill Jephthah’s vow, honor his daughter’s faith and fidelity, and establish a spiritual practice for the women in their region for centuries to come.
Nearly forty free Bible studies on a woman in the scriptures are available through signing up to the newsletter below. What’s included:
- Access to all the Bible studies that have been made available so far.
- One new study each month.
- Early announcement of new books, published by the author.
If you are using your mobile phone, use the link below to sign up:
