Judges 11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 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. 33 And he smote them from Aroer" .... "with a very great slaughter" ..... 34 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.
This passage of scripture teaches us the sobering lesson of avoiding rash vows that are not well thought out, and it contains a warning against making decisions or covenants to God on the spur of the moment, without thoughtful prayer and due consideration. In his eagerness to be reinstated in his home town, and in his zeal to do for the children of Israel that which The Lord had commanded, Jephthah made a rash vow by stating that the first thing that came out of his doors would be sacrificed unto God as a thank offering, if God were to grant him victory in the expedition against the children of Ammon.
Now while it is good to make vows unto God by pledging particular goods and services as a thank offering for special mercies shown, those vows should be well thought out prayerfully before uttering them or embarking upon them. In Jephthah's case, the vow that was made was open-ended in nature, for the word "Whatsoever" could turn out to be a cockroach, a lamb, his wife, or the family pet. In this sad instance it was his only daughter who came out first, and her presence presented a dire predicament in the mind of him who had solemnly pledged to offer as a sacrifice, "Whatsoever" came through his doors first, on his return from a victorious campaign.
In cases such as this, when a person has made a sincere and honest hearted pledge to God or to man, that ultimately involves breaking the law of God, then the vow should be retracted, and we should confess our faults to God, or to the person to whom the pledge may have been made. God does not desire that we commit sin in order to fulfill any vow made to Him or to man, regardless of whether it was made in haste or done deliberately, and in the unfortunate case of Jephthah and his only daughter, he should have recanted that which he had spoken on the spur of the moment, without careful thought. In other words, if we have pledged to pay a certain sum into the treasury of God, and we run into serious difficulty in fulfilling our sacred obligation, we should not then resort to robbing a bank or a person, in order that our vows may be paid.
In our own experiences, we too may have run into similar predicaments, though not as serious as Jephthah, and like him our hearts may have become greatly troubled after realizing that we have bitten off more than we can chew. Situations such as these can be avoided if we were to form the habit of taking everything to God in prayer before making any commitment, or before taking an oath. If we seek God in every serious and weighty decision before moving upon them, He has promised to direct us in the ways of His choosing so that unfortunate situations such as these can be avoided. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms this last point, and it is the will of God that we consult Him in everything that we do, so He can guide our feet into safe paths. Let's read:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!