Jeff the Shaman

How to Sacrifice your Daughter

There are some difficult passages in Scripture. These are the passages that some of my atheist friends love to bring out, almost always Old Testament, and point to the barbarism and savagery and say something like “this is why I reject your mythological God. He does or commands or approves of things like this.”

There are some difficult passages in Scripture. These are the passages that some of my atheist friends love to bring out, almost always Old Testament, and point to the barbarism and savagery and say something like “this is why I reject your mythological God. He does or commands or approves of things like this.”

Trying to win after it was already over.

This is one of those go-to stories. It is the story of a leader of Israel sacrificing his daughter to Yawheh as a burnt sacrifice… and no one stop him, and apparently no one ever even says he did something wrong.

Silent approval?

Let me introduce you to my friend. In Hebrew his name is Yiptah, in English we call him Jephthah. As you probably all know, that is Jeff Rood’s full name: Jephthah.

(That’s a falsehood)

So let’s call him Jeff.

Jephthah

The Back Story

Judges 11:1–3 ESV

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

Judges 11:1–6 ESV

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.”

Judges 11:1-

Judges 11:4–6 ESV

After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.”

First Negotiation

Judges 11:7–11 ESV

But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

Second Negotiation

Judges 11:12–13 ESV

Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.”

Judges 11:

Jephthah begins retelling history. We didn’t take land from you, the Ammonites or from Moab.

Remember, 300 years ago, the Israelites in the wilderness?

They went around Edom and they went around Moab. They fought the Amorites, not the Ammonites. And our God gave us the power to possess their land. You hold the land that your God, Chemosh, gave you the power to possess.

And remember Balak, king of Moab back then? He didn’t complain then, why do you complain now?

And then comes Jephthah’s big statement of faith. It ultimately doesn’t matter what happened in history, let Yahweh judge.

Judges 11:12–17 ESV

Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

Statement of faith:

War

Circles around to the east side of Moab.

Tricks them.

God gives Sihon, king of the Amorites, into his hand.

Statement of faith:

Judges 11:27 ESV

I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

Judges 11:

Diplomacy and reconciliation. An appeal to history, an appeal to peace, an appeal to religion, and a statement of faith and confidence in the God of Israel to Judge in favor of Israel.

Judges 11:22

Judges 11:21–22 ESV

And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

Judges 11:2

Judges 11:28 ESV

But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

So let free the dogs of war!

The Vow

First, the Spirit of the LORD

Judges 11:29 ESV

Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites.

Then the vow. On the eve of battle now, he is at the appointed place, the appointed time, he has come upon the Ammonites.

Judges 11:30–31 ESV

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

Whatever comes out from the doors of my house? What does he think that will be.

Sure enough he goes off to war.

Judges 11:32

Judges 11:32–34 ESV

So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

Judges 11:35

Judges 11:35 ESV

And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”

(Note: he blames her)

Aftermath

Judges 11:36–40 ESV

And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

What Did Jephthah do?

At first read, the apparent interpretation is that Jephthah just sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering.

Some have argued that Jephthah dedicated his daughter to be an eternal virgin, essentially a nun dedicated to temple service. They argue that Jephthah is a good man and the attention here is on her virginity, not on her death.

This is unlikely for a few reasons. Even if Jephthah was (surprisingly) of the tribe of Levi, as an illegitimate son his daughter would be ineligible for temple service. Further, it doesn’t make much sense of his radical grief when she comes to greet him, or daughters of Israel lamenting her for centuries after (when the author is writing).

I think the brutal reality here is that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering to

Argument that Jephthah simply devoted his daughter to a lifetime of virginity, essentially a nun? Unlikely, especially with people remembering her in mourning for generations.

There is no judgment in the text here. It doesn’t laud his vow, it doesn’t condemn his vow or his act here in Judges... and that is difficult.

… but the context of Scripture around it does indeed condemn Jephthah as both foolish in his vow and immoral in his act.

The law absolutely condemns human sacrifice:

Deuteronomy 18:10 ESV

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer

and what’s more, the law provides for someone making a rash vow

Leviticus 5:4–6 ESV

or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

Lev

Reporting the event is not sanctioning it. Following through on a foolish vow is not an act of honor but doubling down on foolishness. This is pride masquerading as honor.

Reporting the event is not sanctioning it.

“Honor” (pride masquerading as honor)

Shamanism

What drove Jephthah to the vow?

Let’s look carefully at the order of what occurred.

The Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jephthah.

THEN a foolish vow of sacrifice “if you will give the Ammonites into my hand”

Then the LORD gave them into his hand.

If we remove the foolish vow, we see the expected pattern with the rest of the Judges. Spirit of the Lord comes upon the judge, judge leads Israel in victory, peace.

Jephthah’s vow was unnecessary and foolish.

Why would he make it?

Jephthah’s vow was unnecessary and foolish. My opinion: this was an attempt to manipulate God into doing what Jephthah wanted. If I make a vow bold enough, a sacrifice big enough, then God has to support me in battle.

My opinion: this was an attempt to manipulate God into doing what Jephthah wanted. If I make a vow bold enough, a sacrifice big enough, then God has to support me in battle.

This is paganism. This is shamanism. You make the right ritual, the right sacrifice, you say the right words, you call on the right name… and the god, or God, or the heavenly vending machine has to deliver what you are wanting.

This is a deep and persistent temptation in all religious activity.

Because if we could get this right, it would be an absolute game changer. Want to have your prayers answered every time, just the way you want? Pray like this.

Want to name your miracle and claim it? Here is the procedure! You can make a ton of money on tv selling shamanism with or without Jesus’ name slapped on it.

Or if you will or wish or send good things out into the “universe”, it will bring good things back to you. That’s the “secret”.

Any means of manipulating the heavens into doing what I want… and in particular, as I believe God is the most powerful being in and beyond the universe, if I can negotiate or manipulate HIM into doing stuff for me: that is the greatest trick ever!

But I hope we can all agree

But it turns out that God doesn’t work like that.

God is not moved by Jephthah’s vow! We know that. When was he moved to hear Israel’s plight? A whole chapter earlier when Israel began to speak words of repentance in their idolatry.

When did God raise Jephthah up? This has been in process for awhile!

When did God give His Holy Spirit to empower Jephthah toward’s victory, to deliver His people from oppression? BEFORE Jephthah’s ridiculous vow.

God had already saved. God had already chosen. God had already worked out salvation for His people, and that salvation was already at work within Jephthah!

His attempt at bargaining with God only led to tragedy and disaster.

He would be better served by going back to his statement of faith to the King:

Judges 11:27b ESV

I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

Judges 11:27 ESV

I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”

Trusting in the LORD to be salvation for the people of Israel.

Trusting in the LORD to save you.

Shamanism and You

There are a million ways we attempt to manipulate God. By the name of God, by the way we pray, we can slip into this idea that God has to do what I ask or what I say because I said it in the right way, or because I said it “in the name of Jesus”. That isn’t how any of this works.

We can repent now of any attempt to manipulate God, any idea that he must do this or that because of how we have prayed or how we have sacrificed or how we have obeyed.

asdf

He is holy. He is sovereign. He is Lord. He is God.

We live and move and serve at His pleasure.

But there is one particular category where our attempts are (perhaps) most damaging, most dangerous. It is precisely the area, the context of Jephthah vow and sacrifice.

Salvation.

We keep trying to earn our salvation… even after we are already saved. We have already been given the Spirit of God within, the seal of our salvation, uniting us in Christ, in His accomplished death and resurrection.

We are already saved. And yet, our human heart keeps trying to participate in subtle ways, and it sounds like this:

If I can just be good enough. Righteous enough. Holy enough. If I can sacrifice enough money, enough time, talent and treasure. If I can be successful in ministry… or evangelism...

If I can be good enough, then I’ll deserve my salvation. Then I’ll earn it. Then God has to love me, has to save me.

This is a road of tragedy. It is foolish and unnecessary… because like Jephthah and the people of Israel you are already saved! God has already raised up the Savior and the work is accomplished, and the giving of the Holy Spirit is the seal and sign of it!

Tattoo of the Chris, whose team won the volleyball tournament.

Tattoo of the Chris, whose team won the volleyball tournament.

Trying to Save Yourself

I have a very clear mental image of this, swimming near the pier. Jono and I were boogie boarding near the pier and, for those who aren’t regular beach swimmers, the current sort of folds around the pier so you get sucked towards it by the waves. But if you’re on a board you can easily swim out from this current.

Then Jono lost his board and was fighting to swim away until he got tired and couldn’t and called out for help. So I gave him my board and tried to swim both of us away, but I was only strong enough to keep us still.

Then a lifeguard leaped from the top of the pier and dove into the water next to us. He gave us the life float and began swimming toward shore, pulling us along after him.

I remember this vividly. I tried to swim, to help. And I don’t know how he knew, but he turned and told me to stop. My thrashing around at that point was only going to tire me out and possibly injure me and my brother. It was generally just fouling up the whole process.

From the moment the lifeguard dove in, we were already saved. We had our hands on life and safety. My own efforts were only pride and only served to endanger both of us.

We got to shore, thanked the life guard, and never told our parents anything.

(

Tetelestai

You are already saved. It is finished! Tetelestai!

Tattoo of the Chris, whose team won the volleyball tournament.

You are saved, by grace alone, forever, It Is Finished.

My attempts, your attempts, to participate in salvation by being good enough or sacrificial enough or righteous enough… it doesn’t contribute to your salvation.

But it is dangerous. It is dangerous, it is the seed of tragedy for you and those around you. Because a person who thinks their life or eternal destiny is on the line is dangerous, is insecure. This was the passion of the Pharisees: they thought righteousness and eternal destiny was on the line and so they flailed themselves and others with guilt and shame, with legal burden, all in the name of salvation!

Christians throughout history have done the same. The apostles themselves fell into this trap and were called out by Paul.

Tetelestai. It is Finished.

Forever. Never to be earned, already accomplished.

We repent of our efforts to participate in salvation and simply be rescued. Be saved. Be whole and healed and safe.

… and there is such radical power and freedom in that. The power of absolute and eternal confidence.

Absolute and eternal security. There is nothing that can threaten me, ultimately, because my future isn’t at stake. I didn’t earn my salvation so I can’t un-earn it.