Nomology - Lesson 4
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
by Pastor Bob Burridge ©2001
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Westminster Confession of Faith 22 - Lawful Oaths and Vows
I. A lawful oath is a part of religious worship, wherein, upon just occasion, the person
swearing solemnly calleth God to witness what he asserteth, or promiseth, and to
judge him according to the truth or falsehood of what he sweareth.
II. The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear, and therein it is to be
used with all holy fear and reverence. Therefore, to swear vainly, or rashly, by that
glorious and dreadful Name; or, to swear at all by any other thing, is sinful, and to
be abhorred. Yet, as in matters of weight and moment, an oath is warranted by the
Word of God, under the new testament as well as under the old; so a lawful oath,
being imposed by lawful authority, in such matters, ought to be taken.
III. Whosoever taketh an oath ought duly to consider the weightiness of so solemn an
act, and therein to avouch nothing but what he is fully persuaded is the truth:
neither may any man bind himself by oath to anything but what is good and just,
and what he believeth so to be, and what he is able and resolved to perform. [Yet it
is a sin to refuse an oath touching any thing that is good and just, being imposed by
lawful authority.]
IV. An oath is to be taken in the plain and common sense of the words, without
equivocation, or mental reservation. It cannot oblige to sin; but in anything not
sinful, being taken, it binds to performance, although to a man's own hurt. Nor is it
to be violated, although made to heretics, or infidels.
V. A vow is of the like nature with a promissory oath, and ought to be made with the
like religious care, and to be performed with the like faithfulness.
VI. It is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone: and, that it may be accepted,
it is to be made voluntarily, out of faith, and conscience of duty, in way of
thankfulness for mercy received, or for the obtaining of what we want, whereby we
more strictly bind ourselves to necessary duties; or, to other things, so far and so
long as they may fitly conduce thereunto.
VII. No man may vow to do anything forbidden in the Word of God, or what would
hinder any duty therein commanded, or which is not in his own power, and for the
performance whereof he hath no promise of ability from God. In which respects,
popish monastical vows of perpetual single life, professed poverty, and regular
obedience, are so far from being degrees of higher perfection, that they are
superstitious and sinful snares, in which no Christian may entangle himself.
Speaking the truth is a way of life
A person's word is not looked upon as reliable in our modern society.
Lying to serve one's own purpose is so common, people regularly suspect
they are being lied to in sales situations, when signing contracts, being
exposed to advertising and in daily conversations. This should not
characterize the Christian life style.
Truth is rooted in the nature of God
At the root of the modern problem is a conception of truth which makes it
independent of an absolute point of reference. Either there is an absolute
determinant of reality, or there is not. If there is no such standard then
truth becomes a flexible matter to be fitted into the way we perceive reality
around us. This would mean that truth is different things to different
people at different times. Reality becomes what a person thinks it to be at
the moment he speaks. Or it becomes what appears to fit best within his
larger constructions of the universe. On the other hand, if there is an
absolute measure of what is true, then either it is found in God as Creator,
or in some independent standard imbedded in the physical universe itself.
Biblically we learn that God made all things and upholds all things.
Therefore truth is the way he knows things to be. What agrees with
the mind of God on any matter is therefore true by definition.
Reality is what God knows things to be.
Therefore truth is never created, it can only be discovered. The means
of its discovery is revelation both general and special. Our senses,
conscience and reason are the means by which general revelation reaches
our understanding, though in the fallen state that process is necessarily
imperfect and is bound to produce distortions. Special revelation gives
those regenerated by grace an objective means for correcting the errors of
their finite and fallen perceptions.
The revelation made by God is always our source of truth and is always
reliable. It is directly stated in Titus 1:2 that God cannot lie. It would
contradict his own nature and bring his attributes into internal conflict with
one another if he spoke things that were untrue. If it could be conceived
that God could lie, then there would be some absolute standard above and
outside of God to which his words and knowledge must conform. Since
there is no such authority higher than and external to God, we can know and
rely upon his word as the infallible standard.
Since truth is such a fundamental attribute of God it must be honored
by his creatures in all they repersent as truth. All rational beings are under
obligation to reflect this divine attribute and are therefore required to be
honest.
The ninth commandment summarizes this moral principle in warning us
never to bear false testimony against another person. The fundamental
moral obligation is often repeated in Scripture so that there can be no
question about its nature.
Zechariah 8:16 "Speak the truth to one another"
Ephesians 4:25 "laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of
you, with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
There can never be a time or situation when truth is not the morally
right thing to declare. Dr. Charles Hodge, in his Systematic Theology says,
"A man who violates truth sins against the very foundation of his
moral being. ... Truth is at all times sacred, because it is one of the
essential attributes of God. Truth is ... the very substratum of
Deity." (Vol. III, chapter XIX, section 13)
Lying is a characteristic of Satan and his kingdom. This is openly
declared by our Lord.
John 8:44 "... he is a liar, and the father of lies."
Satan lied to Eve about God's word concerning the forbidden tree. He
tempts us to substitute immoral pleasure for moral pleasure as if it would
be better for us. He calls us to believe doctrines that make God out to be
other than he reveals himself to be. He would convince us to believe that
we are not as corrupted by sin as God reveals. He would make us doubt
that the gospel is sufficient to deliver us, or that it does not require a living
faith and repentance as its certain evidences. He tries to convince us to
behave either with a pious, judgmental legalism, or with a loose
permissiveness. The redeemed in Christ must love truth, for truth is of
God.
The Oath (WCF 22:1-4)
An oath is a solemn promise or pledge made by one person to another.
But it is more than a mere statement of intent. It includes a stated or
implied judgment if the promise or pledge is not honored.
It is proper to take an oath
As a foundation for understanding what part an oath ought to play in our
lives, it is helpful to look to a few places where our Lord expounded upon
the meaning and application of the moral law of God.
Matthew 5:33-37 Again, you have heard that the ancients were
told, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows
to the Lord.' But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by
heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the
footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you
cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement
be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil.
This passage is often abused by some who would deny that oaths are
proper for our age. They would read it to be an abrogation of a previously
binding moral principle. But clearly Jesus was not changing the law in this
address. His purpose was to clear up a false interpretation of the law
which was being promoted at that time, and to reaffirm the moral principle
behind the written words of Scripture.
Some Jews had come to believe that only certain oaths were binding
and that some were more binding than others. The Rabbis classified oaths
into these three categories: binding, somewhat binding and not binding.
They taught that the only binding oaths were those made in a particular
form depending upon the authority by which they were sworn. The truly
binding oaths were those made in the name of God. To avoid the burden
of being obligated by one's words, it became common to swear by lesser
authorities such as by heaven, by earth, or by Jerusalem.
Similar expressions are used today as people swear that what they are
saying is the truth. They bind themselves that it is truth by calling upon
God as witness, or by calling upon lesser standards seeming to imply
judgment upon them if they are lying. They might say, I swear that its the
truth, or I cross my heart... perhaps even invoking death with words
like, I hope to die, or may lightning strike me.
We have often learned to be most cautious around those who swear in
such a manner. Usually it is because they have no reputation for loyalty to
their word, so they believe they need to put their words into some form of
an oath in order to convince others to believe them.
Jesus reaffirmed the binding nature of oaths while correcting
their abuse in Matthew 23.
Matthew 23:16-22 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever
swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by
the gold of the temple, he is obligated.' You fools and blind
men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that
sanctified the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, that is
nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is
obligated.' You blind men, which is more important, the
offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore he
who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by
everything on it. And he who swears by the temple, swears
both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And he
who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and
by Him who sits upon it."
Notice the contrasts reflected in the way some viewed which authority
as binding for an oath:
| Not Binding | Binding |
the temple | the temple gold |
the altar | the sacrifice |
heaven | God |
Jesus pointed out the error of such impossible distinctions. The
categories had not come from God's word. They were derived from the
convenient inventions of men who would like to excuse themselves from
the binding nature of their promises.
In the Matthew 5 passage Jesus added that even when a person swears
by his own head, God is not excluded as witness. No man can change the
actual nature of the hairs of his head. God alone is sovereign over such
things and therefore we involve him in the oath. Whenever we swear
invoking some authority to back up our word we bring the Lord of the
universe into our oath.
Fundamentally, Jesus is teaching that an oath ought to be reserved for
specially solemn occasions and not simply used to convince people that we
are not lying, which may be necessitated by our less than reliable
reputation. In our ordinary activities we should avoid oaths. Our word
should be sufficient without swearing by some authority. Our reputation
should cause people to trust us. Our distinction as lovers of truth should
declare our ultimate respect for the God of truth. We should simply speak
truth without feeling the need to always put it in the form of an oath.
Make sure our "yes" is a sincere "yes", our "no" an honest "no".
Jesus did not say that an oath, everything stronger than "yes, yes," is sinful.
He said that it comes from evil. The need to strengthen the sound of
our promises with oaths is the product of pervasive lying. This evil
generates the perceived need for trivial oath taking to convince others
to give their trust.
God's word shows that oaths are very proper when taken on
extraordinary occasions.
Numbers 30:2 "If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an
oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not
violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out
of his mouth."
Deuteronomy 10:20 "You shall fear the LORD your God; you
shall serve Him and cling to Him, you shall swear by His
name."
There is also an important warning in the law that oaths must be taken
very seriously and given in sincerity.
Leviticus 19:12 "you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to
profane the name of your God;"
There are many examples of oaths in Scripture.
They were used by God in the disclosing of his covenant:
- Abraham (Genesis 14:22-24; 21:23,24; 24:3,9)
- Isaac (Genesis 26:31)
- Jacob (Genesis 31:53; 28:20-22)
- Joseph (Genesis 47:31; 50:5)
- Princes (Joshua 9:15)
- see also (Judges 21:5; Ruth 1:16-18; 2 Samuel 15:21; 1 Kings 18:10)
- Jesus used a common oath form when he said "Verily, Verily I say..."
- Jesus agreed to the oath proposed by the High Priest. (Matthew 26:63)
God's own promises are often sealed with an oath made by nothing
higher than himself. See Luke 1:73, Acts 2:30, Hebrews 3:11, 18; 4:3;
and ...
Hebrews 6:16-17 men swear by one greater than themselves, and
with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every
dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to
the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose,
interposed with an oath ...
As long as lying remains, oaths remain as a proper form for solemn
pledges made between humans. Nowhere has God told us that this law
has been changed or canceled. While it is wrong to profane an oath by
making trivial promises not intended to be taken seriously, a properly taken
oath serves a godly purpose.
Perjury is specially forbidden
Perjury is the act of willfully making a false oath. It is a false witness
against a neighbor sealed with a solemn promise in direct violation of the
9th Commandment. This form of lying involves not only the intention to
deceive, it also deprives another person the benefit of the truth in making
just decisions. In a court it is a sin against the victim, the state, and against
God.
Psalm 15:3 "He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to
his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend."
Psalm 24:3-4 "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? and who
may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a
pure heart, Who has not sworn deceitfully."
Zechariah 8:16-17 "Speak the truth to one another, judge with
truth and judgment for peace in your gates. Also let none of
you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love
perjury; for all these are what I hate, declares the LORD."
Partial truths are partial lies
There are times when a truth is given only in part. This withholding of
important information can be intended to make a person draw wrong
conclusions. Unspoken details and double or technically limited meanings
of words can lead a person to impressions contrary to what is true. Such
tools have been the instruments of deceivers all through the ages. Silence
can be a form of deceitfully withholding truth
Leviticus 5:1 "... if he does not tell it, he will bear his guilt."
Psalm 101:5 "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will
destroy"
Common oaths agreeable to God's Word
Witnesses are often asked to take an oath in courts of law invoking the
penalty of perjury if they do not tell the truth. Church officers are asked to
take oaths at their ordinations and installations. Marriage is an oath taken
between the bride and groom where they promise one another to be faithful
for the remainder of their lives. Marriage also involves a vow to God
before witnesses. Civil magistrates also take oaths upon assuming office.
There are special cases where the solemnizing of promises by an oath are
proper and good. But we should not degrade the oath by swearing trivially
in our ordinary dealings with one another as if our word without it would
not be reliable.
To disavow an oath is sin
Once an oath is taken it calls judgment upon the oath taker if he should fail
to fulfill the promises made.
Ezekiel 17:19 thus says the Lord GOD, "as I live, surely My oath
which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will
inflict on his head."
Since an oath is considered as a solemn pledge to someone made before God,
we must keep it even if it may prove to be inconvenient or cause discomfort
to the oath taker. Psalm 15:4 says of the virtuous man, "He swears to his own
hurt, and does not change."
Treaties made with foreign nations are a form of an oath which must
not be taken lightly, even if it proves to be inconvenient.
Joshua 9:19 But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, "We have
sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we
cannot touch them. This we will do to them, even let them live,
lest wrath be upon us for the oath which we swore to them."
There are improper oaths
All our oaths must be agreeable with the Word of God. An oath can not
bind us to do something that is sinful. For example, parents should not
pledge to raise their children in a false religion. Such an oath would not be
binding when they realize that the religion is contrary to God's word. It is
wrong to make such an oath to begin with. But if it is made in ignorance, a
person should not consider himself bound to it. It violates a higher law
which cannot be set aside by our promises. The person who has taken a
foolish or improper oath must repent of it to God and humbly submit to the
consequences of the judgment of men for what ever consequences he called
upon himself for failing to do what he pledged to do.
No oath between men can invalidate our holy obligations to God. If we
knowingly sin to keep a vow taken in foolish ignorance, we sin doubly
against God.
The Vow (WCF 22:5-7)
A vow is a solemn promise or pledge made directly by a person to God.
Vows are to be properly made
We are warned in God's word that our vows should be made with solomn
consideration of the obligations we take upon ourselves. It is an offensive
breach of respect toward God to frivolously obligate ourselves to things we
do not seriously intend to carry out. We have a solemn obligation to be
truthful in all the promises we make.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 When you make a vow to the LORD your
God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you,
and the LORD your God will surely require it of you.
However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in
you. You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your
lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your
God, what you have promised.
God is the only authority by which we seal our oaths with one another.
In the case of the vow, we make our pledge directly to him. Therefore
God is a party to our vows, he is the judge over our faithfulness to them,
and he is the formal witness to the promises made.
Psalm 116:14 I shall pay my vows to the LORD
Ecclesiastes
5:2 do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a
matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you
are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.
5:4 When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it, for
He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!
5:5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow
and not pay.
There are some vows we make as directed by God's word
Since these vows relate to the christian community, they usually also
involve solemn oaths we make with the other members of the congregation
and the church officers.
We take vows of membership in the local church
Every Christian should unite together with spiritual brothers and sisters for
mutual encouragement (Hebrews 10:24-25) and to be shepherded under
the authority of those called by God to lead his church (Hebrews 13:17,
Matthew 18:17-20). They must come together for Sabbath worship as the
elders call them, and for instruction in the word and united prayer.
When we enter into the earthly obligations and benefits of a local
church fellowship we are pledging ourselves to God to be obedient to his
commands given for our congregational duties. Whether it is formally spoken or
not, it is a solemn vow when we join a church.
The specific wording of pledges made by members differs among the
churches since God's word does not specify the exact form. In the
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the Book of Church Order
requires members to promise before God, the officers and the other church
members, that they will be faithful in their duties as part of the spiritual
family they are joining. It is therefore both an oath and a vow.
Those joining are told in the presence of the congregation (BCO 57:5)
"(All of) you being here present to make a public profession of faith, are to
assent to the following declarations and promises, by which you enter into
a solemn covenant with God and His Church."
Then the prospective members are asked to assent to each of 5 questions:
- Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly
deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign
mercy?
- Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior
of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as
He is offered in the Gospel?
- Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of
the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers
of Christ?
- Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the
best of your ability?
- Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the
Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?
Such obligations are not to be taken lightly. This is not like
membership in a club or order invented by men. It is becoming a part of
the local body of Jesus Christ under the authority of the officers called of
God and ordained to serve as their shepherds. It means obligating one's
self to the loving brotherly care of every other member of the congregation
even when it is difficult or inconvenient to do so.
One can no more terminate a solemn vow of church membership than a
child can by mere choice decide to no longer be a part of his natural family
and refuse the authority of his parents.
Most churches require membership classes so that these vows and
oaths are made with a full understanding of the obligations engaged when a
person joins. Church officers are wise to always examine each candidate
for membership to determine that the oaths and vows they will take are
being agreed to with full understanding and serious commitment.
Marriage involves a solemn vow before the Lord
Based upon the covenant bond of marriage (see for example Genesis 2:24,
Romans 7:1-3, 1 Corinthians 7:1-5), a man and a woman take on solemn
duties when they agree to be husband and wife. This bond is a promise to
God and an oath to one another. The covenant bond of marriage is also
not to be taken lightly or casually. The words spoken in a Christian
wedding service spell out the duties both to God and toward one
another. Those duties are agreed to with a pledge from each to be faithful
as long as they both shall live. Because of its nature as a duty to God as
well as to one another, marriage can not be viewed as a mere temporary
agreement.
Parents take a vow for their covenant children at baptism
Based upon the covenant bond in the home of the believer (see for example
Genesis 17:7 and Acts 2:38-39) the parents promise before God and his
church to raise their children in the hearing of the gospel and within the
boundaries of the moral principles God expects of all his people. They
promise to teach their children the truths of the Bible, to live before them
as godly examples, to pray for them and with them regularly, and to bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (PCA's BCO 56:5).
Church officers take vows before the Lord
When the call of a man to the office of elder or deacon is confirmed, he is
asked to make a vow before God witnessed by other officers in the
presence of the people over which he will serve. He also makes certain
promises as an oath to the body that holds his ordination. To violate those
pledges is direct abandonment of a solemn duty to which the person has
given his word.
Some treat oaths and vows as if they were trivial promises
In times of fear or threat people are sometimes tempted to rashly make a
vow to God upon the condition that they are delivered from danger. It is
certainly not forbidden to make such promises. But it must be remembered
that after the danger is passed, the duties remain. We do well to remember
the warnings of God's word in Deuteronomy 23:21-23 and Ecclesiastes
5:2-5 that it is better to say nothing, to make no vow, than to promise
things you will not keep. Like our oaths before men, our word given to
God must be made solemnly.
Some vows are not proper to make
We may only promise what we have the authority to lay before God. A
person can not make a proper vow that obligates someone else to a duty,
and he cannot promise to do what he has no right to do. A child or other
person who does not understand the duty to which he is asked to obligate
himself should not be permitted to swear to an oath or vow.
Our promises must not presume upon God things he has not promised
us. In some churches the people are asked to make financial pledges which
they call a faith promise. Instead of renewing their duty to the tithe (which
is already an obligation) and of promising to give as the Lord blesses, the
members are challenged to promise what they now have no way of
expecting they will have. They are told to trust God to provide it.
However God has not revealed that he will increase our giving based upon
such an oath.
The dangers in this practice should cause the practice to be abandoned.
It is not biblical to promise specific amounts that are yet to be earned.
God's way is to ask us to give a percentage of that with which he blesses
us. To trust in what God has not promised is not biblical faith. It is an
existential leap in the dark. Faith is a firm trust in what God has revealed.
It is not a hope in what we would like him to do if we had our way. No
one can know in advance what the Lord will give or take from him. We are
warned against such an attitude by God's word;
James 4:13-16 Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we
shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and
engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know
what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that
appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you
ought to say, 'If the Lord will, we shall live and also do this or
that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such
boasting is evil.
It is not proper to denounce God's provisions by taking vows of
poverty. The ownership of personal property is not evil or worldly. It is
very right to own things and to use them in lawful ways as we choose (see
the example of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:4). The law forbidding us
from stealing implies that it is right for individuals to own things for
themselves. To vow against the enjoyment of things with which God
blesses us is not a proper vow.
Vows of celibacy are improper impositions for religious orders.
Though God may call some to be celibate, he does not tie that calling with
his call to serve in the ministry of the church. Those religious orders which
require this of all who are ordained require vows contrary to the word of
God. While some are to remain single, it does not make it a more virtuous
life (see Matthew 19:11, 1 Corinthians 7:2). Individually, celibacy ought to
be practiced only when, in God's providence, marriage is not possible or
desirable for the individual.
The case of Jephthah -- a foolish, careless vow
Judges 11 is a very difficult chapter to interpret. It presents a vow
foolishly made and the consequences of it when circumstances within what
seemed to be the scope of the vow turned out unexpectedly.
Judges 11:1-3 introduces the person of Jephthah.
- Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was
the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah.
- And Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons
grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You shall
not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the
son of another woman."
- So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of
Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about
Jephthah, and they went out with him.
The next part of the chapter explains that after a time the Ammonites
came to fight against Israel. The elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to help
them fight against Ammon. They vowed before God to make him chief
over Gilead if he would help. Jephthah agreed and so swore before the
Lord at Mizpah. Jephthah negotiated with the King of Ammon over the
land dispute. But the King of Ammon disregarded the reasoning of
Jephthah. In response Jephthah made a vow to the Lord;
- And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If Thou
wilt indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand,
- then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my
house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of
Ammon, it shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up as a
burnt offering. "
It was common at that time to have animals roaming freely on the
property of those who owned them. Plot plans from primitive homes show
that some had a design where the living area opened into court yards
connected with walled-in pens which would allow animals to come out of
the entry when someone approached. It was probably a common sight
when returning home.
The Lord gave victory to Jephthah over Ammon.
- So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight
against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand.
- And he struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to
the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as
Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the
sons of Israel.
Jephthah returned home with joy over his victory and with the
expectation of thankfully fulfilling his vow to the Lord. But when he
approached his house he was not greeted in the way he expected. The
foolishness of his vow became evident to him.
- When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his
daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and
with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her
he had neither son nor daughter.
- And it came about when he saw her, that he tore his clothes
and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low,
and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my
word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back."
The daughter understood the solemn obligations her father had placed
upon himself and responded with full submissiveness. But she added a
request about the timing of how the promise of the vow would be carried
out.
- So she said to him, "My father, you have given your word to
the LORD; do to me as you have said, since the LORD has
avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon."
- And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let
me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and
weep because of my virginity, I and my companions."
- Then he said, "Go." So he sent her away for two months; and
she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains
because of her virginity.
When her time was completed she returned to her father as promised.
- And it came about at the end of two months that she returned
to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he
had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it
became a custom in Israel,
- that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the
daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
We are told in Judges 12:7 that Jephthah judged Israel six years.
The moral problem has to do with understanding how Jephthah carried
out his vow in verse 39. Did he kill her and offer her as a burnt offering to
the Lord?
Various interpretations have been offered:
1) She took a vow of celibacy being dedicated to the Lord in service.
This interpretation is based upon the comment in verse 39 that "she had
no relations with a man." Those promoting this view say that the father
gave his daughter to the Lord by dedicating her to perpetual virginity. In
this way she would not fulfill her life's purpose as a woman and implies a
kind of death and sacrifice in a non-literal way.
The problem is that this suggestion is based upon ideas not supplied in
the text itself. If we could give figurative meanings to things we vow,
making them mean things not stated and obviously not intended when the
vow was made, then all our promises would be worthless if the payment
proved difficult for the debtor.
2) The word and in verse 31 should be translated as or.
The Hebrew letter vav which is usually rendered and in this passage
can sometimes be treated as the disjunctive but, and on occasions as or.
This would mean that in the original vow Jephthah left himself with the
choice of either dedicating what came out of the door to the Lord, or
offering it up as a sacrifice. If this is correct, then Jephthah was only
obligated to dedicate his daughter to the Lord in some special way. The
Young's Literal Translation takes this approach.
The problem with this view is that it hardly explains the extreme grief
seen in Jephthah when he saw his daughter come out of the house. Its
possible that the idea that he would never have grandchildren by her would
make him grieve, but that would also assume that the dedication he had in
mind was her perpetual virginity as in the previous theory.
But this is not the usual way this grammatical construction is used.
Most translations that follow ordinary Hebrew rules of grammar do not
support this interpretation. The NASB, NIV, KJV, RSV, Confraternity and others
reject this suggestion.
3) Jephthah sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering to the Lord.
This view takes the plain meaning of the text literally. It views the
account as an historical record without moral commentary. Jephthah is
never commended for what he did. No where in Scripture does it say that
what he did was right or acceptable to the Lord.
The problem of course is that if he fulfilled his vow by killing her as a
sacrifice, he would have violated clear mandates in God's law. Human
sacrifice is forbidden (see Deuteronomy 12:31).
However, in other historic accounts in the Bible characters do evil
things which are not always identified as such. It is assumed that the reader
would understand that it was sin since the law already had made it clear.
The purpose of historical records is not to point out the wrongness of
everything done, but to present an accurate history of how God used fallen
men to further his plan of redemption and to make his glory known.
If Jephthah did sacrifice his daughter, it gives us a graphic illustration of
a foolish vow. Since he was not morally permitted to kill his daughter the
vow could not obligate him to do so. The vow was poorly and carelessly
worded. A careless vow is sinful in itself and could not obligate a person
to further sin in honor of the improper pledge. His vow should have
qualified what he meant by adding that whatever comes out of the house
that would please the Lord as a sacrifice would be offered.
Yet problems remain if this is taken literally.
Its hard to understand why the writer of Judges would condemn most of
the immoralities of other judges, but in this case doesn't even mention that
such an abomination was wrong.
A sacrifice of this nature doesn't seem to fit the way sacrifices were to
be made in the Levitical period. Since Jephthah was not a priest his
sacrifices were to be taken to the Tabernacle. Only sacrifices that met the
qualifications in God's law could be presented there. Was Jephthah so
concerned with keeping his vow but so unconcerned about the whole rest
of God's written law that he would make a forbidden sacrifice in a
forbidden place and do it himself though he was not a priest?
And many note that Jephthah's personality does not seem to go along
with rash actions. He had carefully negotiated before he accepted the job
offered to him by the elders before he left to fight the Ammonites. His
careful negotiations with Ammon are considered to be a model of superb
diplomacy. Only after he had exhausted every avenue of reason did he
decide to go to battle. He was a good military strategist who planned
carefully for his victory. And his vow was not made during a stressful
moment. It was made in a time of careful deliberation before the Lord.
No real moral problem
Since the Bible doesn't interpret this account there is no real problem
presented to us other than our inability to understand the story fully. What
ever actually happened may not be known to us for certain unless the Lord
should someday explain it in glory. There is no moral conflict since we are
only told the facts as a narrative. If he did kill his daughter, it was wrong
and the Bible implies nothing that would justify his actions. If he didn't kill
her but did something else, then we can only speculate as to what that was.
There are portions of Scripture that are hard to fully understand. The
defect is not in the Bible, since such portions accomplish their purpose
even if some of the details remain a mystery to us. But stories of this
nature are still useful. They teach us the history of God's people. They
show that the characters God used in unfolding his plan were real, fallible
people like those we know in our own era. From accounts like this one we
see how sin yields tragedy. Unclear texts often drive us to search the
Scriptures and think through what is taught.
What do we learn from this account?
From this lesson we are reminded dramatically that we must be careful not
to take an oath or vow carelessly. We should never make hypocritical or
deceptive promises we hope we will not have to keep. We should not
presume upon God things he has not promised us. We must not make
vows that denounce the richness of God's blessings in our lives. We should
not feel obligated to keep sinful or immoral promises. They should be
repented of rather than carried out. And we must not vow to do things
beyond our authority or ability to perform.
We are better off not to make pledges at all than to obligate ourselves
to ones we must break. We ought to keep all lawful oaths and vows even
if we will suffer hardships in fulfilling our obligations. We must speak as
those who love the God of truth and who desire to show the value of truth
in our lives.
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