Sacrifice and Separateness

Judges 11:29-32, 34-39; Judges 13:2-5

"Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering"...When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD,  and I cannot go back on it." So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon." Then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I." So he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel...

Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

This account of Jephthah vowing to sacrifice his daughter "as a burnt offering", did jar me a bit. I mean I don't think his dining table would come out of his house to meet him or was he expecting his cat would run to him congratulating his victory? Of course he understood that it is very highly likely one of his loved ones would be that "whatever comes out of his house", since he also knows that great cost comes with such a great blessing of success. It would be a foolish thing to say or do. God had specifically forbidden offering human sacrifices (Leviticus), so God never would have wanted Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter. God's Word in Jeremiah clearly indicates that the idea of human sacrifice has "never even entered God's mind" vis-a-vis pagan gods such as Chemosh and Molech, which are "detestable" exactly because of such practice of human, even child-sacrifice. However, God does want us to sacrifice ourselves in another way and that somehow brings us to the concept of separateness or holiness as is in the beginning of Samson's story of being a Nazarite. This is similar to another future judge of Israel, Samuel. It is also possible that this is what is actually what Jephthah did instead to do to his daughter based on the lament and reaction to their decision in Judges 11:34-39 but that is speculation. Nevertheless, this idea of separateness/holiness is in itself a great sacrifice for one to make. It means one is culturally radically different for God. I believe this is also why Samuel and God opposed so much Israel's determination to have a king, "just like the other nations". It is always about "not being conformed to this world". And that seems to be a huge trade for one to make, unless, of course, we know and really comprehend the gravity of what is up for grabs.

Romans 12:1-2

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

~01.10.2013