Part 2: The downward spiral of Israel’s apostasy (Judges 3:7-16:31), continued

Jephthah (Judges 10:6-12:7), continued

Victory and Jephthah’s foolish vow (Judges 11:29-40)

• Judges 11:30-31 – Some translations add a footnote on verse 31 saying it could be translated “whoever.”
  • Old Testament vows
    • When made, God expected vows to be fulfilled in a timely manner under normal circumstances (Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21).
    • Human sacrifice was expressly forbidden while animal sacrifice could acceptably accompany a vow (Deuteronomy 18:10; Jeremiah 19:5; Leviticus 22:18-20).
    • If a rash (thoughtless) vow was made, atonement could be made with a sin offering (Leviticus 5:4-6).

Jephthah’s conflict with Ephraim (Judges 12:1-7)

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (Judges 12:8-15)

Samson (Judges 13:1-16:31)

The birth of Samson (Judges 13:1-25)

• Judges 13:5
  • Nazirite vow: Numbers 6
    • No grape juice or strong drink
    • No cutting of the hair
    • No contact with dead bodies
  • Manoah entertains an angel. Compare Gideon’s case in (Judges 6:11-21) and Abraham (Genesis 18:5-8).

Class 9 takeaway

• Jephthah was exceedingly foolish in making his vow of a burnt offering if the Lord gave the Ammonites over in victory. He made a terrible situation worse by placing blame on his daughter instead of accepting responsibility for his grave lack of sense.
• We create messages in our lives when we fail to guard our hearts and control our speech (Luke 6:43-45). We must always be people of integrity who thoughtfully make commitments and stick with them (James 5:12). And we must always remember we will be judged by our speech (Proverbs 10:19; 21:23; Matthew 12:33-37).