[Anglican Devotional 23 June 2023] Topic: Fulfil Your Vows To The Lord
TOPIC: Fulfil Your Vows To The Lord
READ: Judges 11: 29-40 (KJV)
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
THE MESSAGE:
In our text today, Jephthah made a rash vow to the LORD that brought sorrow to his heart (verses 30,32-35). He vowed that if the LORD enabled him to win the battle against Ammon, he would sacrifice unto the Lord whatever comes out of his house to welcome him (verse 30). The Lord honoured his words and gave him victory (verses 32-33). On his return, his only child, a virgin daughter, danced out to welcome him and sorrow filled his heart, because of his vow (verses 34-35). It is worthy of note that Jephthah’s daughter did not discourage his father from carrying out his vow, but encouraged him to fulfil it after a period of mourning (verse 36).
Beloved, vows are solemn pledges. They should be made after serious thought, not on impulse. No one is forced to make a vow, but when it is ever made, it must be honoured (Deuteronomy 23: 21-23; Psalm 15: 4; Ecclesiastes 5: 4, 5). Think well before you make your vow, so that you do not bring sorrow to your heart like Jephthah did. What vows have you made to God? Go and fulfil them so that it may be well with you and your household. It is instructive that we learn from the attitude of Jephthah’s daughter. We should encourage vow-makers to fulfil their vows made unto the Lord.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to be in the right mind when making a vow, so I can fulfil it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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