Did you really think I was not going to write to you this week?

I’ve had some deep things on my mind the past few days. (in addition to other things on my hands ??‍♀️)

I just really needed time to articulate my thoughts so I can share with you.

This is what happened. 

I’ll explain with a historical account set around  1200 BC. It’s of a certain man who served as one of the judges in Israel for a period of 6 years.

Jephthah.

An interesting character. Circumstances of birth not particularly noble.

Dad – some guy named Gilead.

Mum – a whore.

He didn’t seem to have close relationships with family because when he grew, his half-brothers sent him away since he was ‘illegitimate’ and therefore had no claim to their father’s inheritance.

No mum , no dad, no siblings ,he fled and found a new life for himself.

The story says Jephthah went on to become a great military leader and was soon identified by the elders of the land as the candidate to lead them to victory in a war against their enemies, the Ammonites.

It’s the perfect grass to grace story right ?

The ‘he will amount to nothing’ Jephthah had reached the peak of his career- he was finally recognized and worthy of a seat at the table. He even had the most revered experience to be recorded of anyone in those days

‘The spirit of the lord came upon him’!

Wow! Jephthah had blown!

… until, his insecurities and self-doubt showed up.

Instead of being cautious or maybe seeking expert advice,  he reacted with what I’d like to call ‘energyyyy’  (Passion, Eagerness, Motivation aka ‘gra-gra’)

You see, Jephthah had never had to take on this sort of task before so he was unsure of victory.

What did he then do? He ‘used his discretion’ and followed a custom of the surrounding pagan cultures to propose a “bargain with the God of Israel”

“If you give the Ammonites into my hands,” he vowed, “whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering”

Enthusiasm of an inexperienced person will cause harm. 

Instead of seeking knowledge, Jephthah displayed zeal.

 The Law of Moses (which the Israelites defer to )expressly forbade any Israelite from practicing human sacrifice, emphasizing it as something “the Lord hates”

You may say he did not talk about offering human sacrifice. He only said ‘whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph’

Consider those words again.

What can come out of the door of his house to meet him?

A cow? I think not.

Especially when he’ll be coming back in victory? The whole city agog with the news?!

He most probably expected the servants or ‘lesser men’ to approach him in reverence , ‘well done sir’, ‘we are loyal to your government’ , reserving the final ‘ champion hype’ slot  for the most preferred in his household.

But that was not to be. Most of us already know how this story ended.

On getting to his house, his daughter and only child was the first to come through the door.

Jephthah’s inspiring and ‘God when’ story , ended in tragedy.

Zeal without knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Even though he had an experience of God,  Jephthah did not know Him or what He desired.

There is something else he didn’t know. 

In the priestly code of Leviticus , the people are instructed on what to do when they make a special vow to dedicate persons to the Lord.

Financial equivalents are set according to the age of the person who was dedicated.

Which loosely means Jephthah could  have redeemed his daughter with 30 or 10 shekels depending on her age ?!  

Wait, what?!

Too many things to say here but I’ll point out only a few.

What we see (think we know) is not all there is.