Would God allow someone to offer their child as a burnt offering? (Judges 11:29-40)

Whenever you read the Bible, there are times where you are simply left scratching your head, thinking “well that’s different”. What we must remember is that the Bible is God’s redemption story, dealing with fallen human beings, who do some pretty messed up stuff, yet God’s grace is continually offered to them, and to us. We need to make sure that we never elevate the person that we are reading about to some “beyond human” position. The only person that should ever be elevated in Scripture is Jesus Christ, who points us to God the Father. He is the One who is on the throne. He is the One who is worthy. He is the One who is perfect. Every single person in the Bible has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).


For this reason, when we come to a passage like the one referenced in the question, we must remember a few things:

1. This is a fallen human being who makes mistakes
2. There are passages in Scripture that are descriptive (they are simply telling us what is happening, even though we can learn a lesson and example from them in many ways) and prescriptive (they are commands that as God’s children we are called to walk in).
3. There are times where we come to passages (similar to the Nephilim in Genesis 6) that the Bible does not give us clarity on, and which doesn’t change the message of Scripture regardless of what the interpretation is.

With these things in mind, we can approach the question that is addressed. I encourage you to open your own Bible and read the passage, but I will give a brief synopsis here:

The time of the Judges is a period where God’s people do what is right in their own eyes, so God sends them into oppression. They cry out to God, and He delivers them through the hands of a Judge. In this passage, the Judge is Jephthah, the son of Gilead (his people were the Gileadites). He was also the son of a prostitute, and when his kids grew up, his people (the Gileadites) drove him away because of his mother. Later on, Jephthah is called upon to deliver the Gileadites from the hands of the Ammonites. As Jephthah is about to go to battle with the Ammonites, he vows to God, saying, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Jephthah goes to war with the Ammonites, and is victorious. Upon returning to his home, the first thing that runs through the door of his house is his daughter. What we are told is that she was able to go away for twelve months, in which she returned to “her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made.” Yikes….

Here’s where the question comes in, “would God allow someone whom His Spirit had come upon to make a burnt offering to Him?” There are differing views on what “did with her according to his vow” mean, some think she was just forced into perpetual virginity, others think he actually sacrificed her. My personal interpretation is that he followed through with his vow, and offered her as a burnt offering. Now the question that was asked is would God allow this to happen?

Let’s look at all the things that people, who have had the Holy Spirit come upon them, have done. Again, this text is descriptive, not prescriptive. Samson, who had the Holy Spirit come upon him, had sexual relations with multiple women. Gideon, at the end of his rule, made an ephod and caused the people to worship it. David slept with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah. Saul sought mediums and offered unofficial sacrifices to God for victory. Also noteworthy is that the Spirit of the Lord came upon people in the Old Testament, but it did not dwell within them (that is a blessing of the New Covenant).

When you read this text, you will never see anywhere that God commanded, nor condoned, what Jephthah did. The text simply describes Jephthah making a rash vow to God, and upholding the vow that he made. I think that is a deeper lesson that we can learn here. Are we like Jephthah, willing to make rash vows, and then will we follow up on them? Many people have said God, if You will get me out of this situation, I will give my life to You forever and serve you wholly, only to get out of the situation and not serve Him wholly. We live in a culture that is quick to swear on ___________, or make promises that we don’t keep. Yet Jesus tells us in the New Testament to let what you say be simply “yes” or “no”; anything more than this comes from evil (Matthew 5:37).

So take a moment, think back to some things that you have promised God, and see if you made a rash vow that you are not willing to keep, or even a legitimate promise to God that you feel you can go back on. This I know, God is a God of forgiveness, and He will give you grace. Repent of your sin, turn to Him, and you will find healing, forgiveness, and grace. Then, continue to seek Him out wholly in all you do!