Judges 11-Sin Warps Our Minds
Read Judges 11:30-31
Today’s Truth
What Jephthah just did was wrong. You don’t make deals with God. You obey God and trust God, period. You don’t say, “If you do this, I’ll do that.” So, this was not right before God. We must guard in our own lives against this tendency to say, “Well, God, if you do this, I’ll do this.” That’s not a heart of trust in God, of love for God, of obedience to God no matter what.
Verse 34 says, then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child. The rest of the chapter goes on to describe how Jephthah did what he had said he would do. He offered up his own daughter for a burnt offering, which was obviously sin and evil.
Discussion Questions
- What was the outcome of Jephthah’s vow, and what were the tragic consequences (Judges 11:34-40)?
- Jephthah’s vow led to tragic consequences. Have you ever made a vow or promise to God in a moment of emotion or crisis? How did you handle that decision?
- What does the story of Jephthah teach you about the consequences of rash promises and the need for wisdom when making commitments?
Application
Sin warps our minds-sin breeds sin. We do one thing wrong and before we know it, we are in a full cycle of sin. This case, horrible, heinous, unimaginable things as he takes his own daughter’s life. So here we see in Judges yet again a picture of the spiral of sin and the danger of sin in each of our lives.
