Judges 11:28-33: a reflection

28However, the king of the children of Ammon didn’t listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent him. 29Then the LORD’s Spirit came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon. 30Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, 31then it shall be, that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hand. 33He struck them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

As Jephthah goes out to battle, he makes a rash vow to God, promising in the heat of the moment something he had not carefully thought through, a caution to us about making hasty promises to God. Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, promising that if God gave him victory, he would offer up whatever came out of the doors of his house to meet him on his return. In his eagerness for victory, he bound himself with a sweeping, ill-considered vow, not stopping to weigh what he was promising or what it might mean. The vow was rash, made hastily in the heat of the moment, and it brought him bitter grief. This shows the danger of making rash, ill-considered vows to God. Do not make rash, hasty vows to God; weigh what you promise. A vow made in the heat of the moment can bring grief. Think carefully before you bind yourself with a promise to God. Rash promises, hastily made, are dangerous.

Notice the rashness of Jephthah's vow. In his eagerness for victory, he made a sweeping promise to God, vowing to offer up whatever came out of his house to meet him, without stopping to think carefully what he was promising or what it might cost. It was a vow made in the heat of the moment, hasty and ill-considered; and it brought him bitter grief. This stands as a caution to us about the making of rash vows and hasty promises. It can be tempting, in moments of eagerness, fear, or desire, to make sweeping promises to God, to bind ourselves with vows made hastily in the heat of the moment, without carefully weighing what we are promising or whether we can and should fulfill it. But such rash vows are dangerous, as Jephthah's proved to be. Scripture counsels us elsewhere not to be rash with our mouths before God, not to be hasty to make vows, but to weigh carefully what we promise. It is better to think before we promise, to weigh our vows carefully, than to bind ourselves rashly with hasty promises we have not considered. We do well to be slow and careful in what we vow to God, weighing our promises rather than making them rashly in the heat of the moment. Do not make rash, hasty vows to God; weigh carefully what you promise. Think before you bind yourself with a promise. A vow made in the heat of the moment can bring lasting grief. Be slow and careful in what you promise to God.

That is worth taking to heart, for rash, hasty vows to God are dangerous, and we do well to weigh carefully what we promise, as Jephthah's rash vow, made in the heat of the moment, brought him bitter grief. It can be tempting, in eagerness or fear, to make sweeping promises to God hastily, without weighing them; but Jephthah's rash vow shows the danger. Weigh what you promise. Do not make rash, hasty vows to God in the heat of the moment; think carefully before you bind yourself with a promise, weighing what you vow. Be slow and careful in what you vow to God, weighing carefully what you promise rather than making rash, hasty vows in the heat of the moment, as Jephthah, going out to battle, made a rash vow to God, promising in the heat of the moment something he had not carefully thought through, vowing that if God gave him victory he would offer up whatever came out of the doors of his house to meet him on his return; for in his eagerness for victory he bound himself with a sweeping, ill-considered vow, not stopping to weigh what he was promising or what it might mean, so that the vow was rash, made hastily in the heat of the moment, and it brought him bitter grief, which stands as a caution to us about the making of rash vows and hasty promises, since it can be tempting in moments of eagerness, fear, or desire to make sweeping promises to God and bind ourselves with vows made hastily without carefully weighing what we are promising or whether we can and should fulfill it, but such rash vows are dangerous as Jephthah's proved to be, and Scripture counsels us elsewhere not to be rash with our mouths before God nor hasty to make vows but to weigh carefully what we promise, so that it is better to think before we promise than to bind ourselves rashly with hasty promises we have not considered, and we do well to be slow and careful in what we vow to God.

Lord, as Jephthah goes out to battle, he makes a rash vow to you, promising in the heat of the moment something he had not carefully thought through, a caution to me about making hasty promises to you. Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, promising that if you gave him victory, he would offer up whatever came out of the doors of his house to meet him on his return. In his eagerness for victory, he bound himself with a sweeping, ill-considered vow, not stopping to weigh what he was promising or what it might mean. The vow was rash, made hastily in the heat of the moment, and it brought him bitter grief. Show me the rashness of Jephthah's vow. In his eagerness for victory, he made a sweeping promise to you, without stopping to think carefully what he was promising or what it might cost. It was a vow made in the heat of the moment, hasty and ill-considered; and it brought him bitter grief. This stands as a caution to me about the making of rash vows and hasty promises. It can be tempting, in moments of eagerness, fear, or desire, to make sweeping promises to you, to bind myself with vows made hastily in the heat of the moment, without carefully weighing what I am promising or whether I can and should fulfill it. But such rash vows are dangerous, as Jephthah's proved to be. Your word counsels me elsewhere not to be rash with my mouth before you, not to be hasty to make vows, but to weigh carefully what I promise. It is better to think before I promise than to bind myself rashly with hasty promises I have not considered. Take that to my heart, for rash, hasty vows to you are dangerous. Keep me from making rash, hasty vows in the heat of the moment; help me be slow and careful in what I vow to you, Lord, thinking before I bind myself with a promise and weighing carefully what I vow, rather than promising rashly in eagerness or fear.