WILLING SACRIFICES REVEAL OUR FAITH

11, 12. What vow did Jephthah make, and what did this involve?

¹¹ Jephthah realized that he would need God’s help to free Israel from the Ammonites. He promised Jehovah that if He gave him the victory, he would offer to Jehovah, as “a burnt offering,” the first one who came out of his house when he returned home from the battle. (Judg. 11:30, 31) What did that offering involve?

¹² The sacrificing of humans is something detestable to Jehovah. Thus, it is clear that Jephthah did not intend to sacrifice anyone literally. (Deut. 18:9, 10) Under the Mosaic Law, a burnt offering was given entirely to Jehovah, so Jephthah evidently meant that he would devote the person to the exclusive service of God. This promise implied permanent service at the tabernacle. Jehovah accepted Jephthah’s terms and blessed him with a resounding victory, striking and subduing the enemy. (Judg. 11:32, 33) But who would be the person given as “a burnt offering” to God?

13, 14. What do Jephthah’s words recorded at Judges 11:35 reveal about his faith?

¹³ Recall the scene described at the beginning of this article. When Jephthah returns from battle, who goes out to meet him but his beloved daughter, his only child! Now comes the test. Will he keep his word and give over his daughter so that she could serve at the tabernacle for the rest of her life?

¹⁴ Again, divine principles must have guided Jephthah to make the right choice. Perhaps he recalled the words of Exodus 23:19, which instructed God’s people to be willing to give their best to Jehovah. The Law also indicated that once a man made a vow, fulfillment was compulsory. It states: “If a man makes a vow to Jehovah . . . , he must not violate his word. He should do everything he vowed he would do.” (Num. 30:2) Like faithful Hannah, who was probably a contemporary of his, Jephthah would be called on to live up to his vow, knowing what it meant for his own future and that of his daughter. He had no other child; his daughter was his only hope for a descendant, someone to carry on his name and his inheritance in Israel. (Judg. 11:34) Nevertheless, Judges 11:35 concludes with Jephthah saying: “I have opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I am unable to turn back.” His faithfulness even at great personal cost brought him God’s approval and blessing. Would you have made the same choice?

15. What vow have many of us made, and how can we prove faithful?

¹⁵ When we dedicated our lives to Jehovah, we vowed that we would do his will unreservedly. We knew that living up to that promise would require self-sacrifice. However, our willingness is especially put to the test when we are asked to do things that are not initially to our liking. When we make such sacrifices and serve God in a way that takes us out of our comfort zone, we prove ourselves faithful. The resulting blessings are always far greater than any sacrifices we may make, painful as they may be. (Mal. 3:10)

16. How did Jephthah’s daughter react to her father’s promise? (See opening picture.)

¹⁶ It could not have been easy for Jephthah’s daughter to accept the consequences of her father’s vow. This was different from Hannah’s vow, by which she dedicated her son Samuel to serve at the tabernacle as a Nazirite. (1 Sam. 1:11) A Nazirite was able to marry and have a family. But Jephthah’s daughter was to be a whole “burnt offering”; she would have to forgo such joys. (Judg. 11:37-40) As the daughter of the victorious chief and leader in Israel, she might have been given in marriage to the best man in the land. But now she was to become a humble servant at the tabernacle. How did the young woman respond? She showed that she put Jehovah’s service first by saying: “My father, if you have opened your mouth to Jehovah, do to me as you have promised.” (Judg. 11:36) She sacrificed her natural desires for a husband and children in order to promote true worship. How might we imitate her self-sacrificing attitude?

17. (a) How can we imitate the faith of Jephthah and his daughter? (b) How do the words at Hebrews 6:10-12 encourage you to be self-sacrificing?

¹⁷ Thousands of young Christian men and women are willingly sacrificing marriage or are not having children​—at least for now—​in order to serve Jehovah to the full. Older ones too may be sacrificing the time they could otherwise spend with their children and grandchildren in order to work on theocratic construction projects or to attend the School for Kingdom Evangelizers and to serve in areas where the need for Kingdom publishers is greater. Others set aside personal matters to share in service campaigns during the Memorial season. Such wholehearted service brings deep joy to Jehovah, who will never forget their work and the love shown for him. (Read Hebrews 6:10-12.) Would it be possible for you to make additional sacrifices to serve Jehovah more fully?