Not So Fast

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.”

Judges 11:34-35, “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, 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.”

I have a friend that has made a vow with God that he works very hard to keep.  It is something he does not talk about; but, I know from conversations that I have had with him that it is something that he struggles to keep.  I honor home for working so hard to keep his vow.

On the other hand I have two cousins that at last contact I had with them they had fought and the police called and charges filed.  Now the sister will not press charges against her brother and is preparing to spend 15 days in prison for her contempt of court as she refuses to testify against her brother.  The last time we spoke on the phone she was pretty happy he had gone to jail.

So many times we say things or do things in a rash manner and then later we regret them.  In our Scripture for today we see a man who sacrificed (literally) his daughter because of a rash vow.  We need to be very careful before we make vows that we might not be able to keep.  I know in my life I have made countless vows that were unrealistic and all.  I hope and pray that now I am older that I use a lot more common sense about things like this.

So, how are you doing?

Today’s reading:  Judges 9, 10, 11; Psalm 16, 46, 76, 106, 136; Proverbs 16

Today’s prayer:  “Almighty God and Father, I ask You to help me not to make rash vows.  I want to be a person of my word like You.  Help me Lord.  I pray in Jesus’ name.  amen.”