Momma Said Not to Swear
Scripture Reading: Judges 11:29-40
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and
Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced
toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will
indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 then it will be that whatever comes out of
the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall
surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD
delivered them into his hands. 33 And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty
cities—and to Abel Keramim with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were
subdued before the children of Israel.
34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him
with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor
daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my
daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given
my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.”
36 So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according
to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the
people of Ammon.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for
two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and
I.”
38 So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and
bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it was so at the end of two months that she
returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no
man.
And it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to
lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
This is a difficult passage. I did a search on the website for the name Jephthah and
nothing came up. I don’t believe either mom or I have ever preached on him. I think
this is one of the most misunderstood accounts in scripture. It’s one of the scriptures
atheists like to mention when they’re trying to get a Christian to doubt their faith.
Unfortunately, most believers never even read it so when the enemy throws it into their
face it shocks them. Either that or they do read it and don’t understand it. But instead
of taking their questions about it to the Holy Spirit and then before other believers so
they can discuss it, they just sweep it under the rug, which makes them vulnerable to
the enemy’s attack. According to the parable of the sower, it is the seed that
represents the Word that is not understood that can be stolen away. So, today I’m
going to explain it, but not in a way where I tell you what to believe. That really is
between you and the Holy Spirit to resolve. However, I will share enough information to
give you a good head start.
There is so much more to this story than just what is on the surface. I hope you still
have Judge 11 open because we’re going to be taking a look at it. Right in the first
verse you get a big dose of the reality of this situation. Judges 11:1 - Now Jephthah the
Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
He got a bum deal. He didn’t choose to be conceived in less than honorable
conditions. He had absolutely no control of that aspect of his life, yet that fact defined
him from the very start. He was evidently the eldest son because it mentions his birth
then mentions that his father’s wife had sons. In the Middle Eastern culture, even
today, being the eldest son is a valuable commodity. The eldest received a greater
inheritance than all of his brothers. But when his younger brothers grew up, they threw
him out of their father’s house saying that because he was the son of a harlot, he didn’t
deserve an inheritance. See, he got a really raw deal, didn’t he? But here’s where he
makes the choice that truly defines his character. Judges 11:3 - Then Jephthah fled from
his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and
went out raiding with him. He went out hanging with worthless men stealing. He was a
thug.
Now, some would say but he only did that because he was run off from his inheritance
with nothing. He was just doing what he had to do, but that’s a cop out. There have
been other who have been born in less than honorable circumstances who didn’t
choose to go against the Law of God. Yeshua was born to an unmarried teenage girl.
His grandmother many generations back was Rahab the prostitute from Jericho. And
generations before that it was the widow twice over, Tamar, who had no children until
she masqueraded as a prostitute, seduced her father-in-law and ended up having twin
boys. Both of these women and their sons were in the lineage of Messiah. With God
you don’t have to define yourself by the circumstances you may find yourself in. God
can take the worst of circumstances and turn it around. There are many in scripture
that are born in less than honorable situations.
I Chronicles 4:9-10
9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez,
saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that
You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that
You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
Jabez literally means, ‘He will cause pain’. Who knows what depth of depression his
mother was in or what she was going through that would cause this woman to name her
child something like this? He had no choice in the matters surrounding his birth, yet he
was labeled with this horrible name. Can you imagine if someone today named their
child ‘Pain in the Butt’? How would that child feel after being called that for their whole
life? Do you think the kids would pick on them? This is what Jabez had to deal with but
instead of wallowing in that hand that he’d been dealt, he took his trouble to the God of
Israel and asked Him to be with him and to keep him from evil so he wouldn’t cause
pain. And it says that God gave him what he desired. You don’t hear another thing
about him in all of scripture except these two verses, but they are a powerful two
verses.
So, let’s get back to Jephthah. He didn’t call upon YHWH to help him in his
circumstance. He went out and became a thug, a roughneck; like a tough guy on the
streets selling drugs or snatching purses from old ladies after they cash their Social
Security checks. Not honorable at all. The city of Gilead gets into it with Ammon and
instead of them crying out to God they decide to call on Jephthah. Pretty much like a
local business having trouble and calling on the Mob to come protect them. They tell
Jephthah that if he can rescue them, they’ll let him be their leader. He’s figuring that
not only will he get his rightful inheritance but he’ll get power and authority also. He
comes in and tries to fix the problem with diplomacy and when that doesn’t work he
goes out to kick some Ammon behinds.
Now, we get into the scripture reading which says that the Spirit of the LORD YHWH
came upon him. That’s a good thing. It reminds me of the account of Samson who did
absolutely everything he could do to come against God and despise his Nazarite vow
and the Spirit of the LORD let him, until the Spirit came back upon him to defeat the
Philistines. We don’t have to be perfect for God to use us for His purposes. We just
have to be willing vessels that submit to Him. Next is where he makes his big mistake
that likely defined his existence for the rest of his life. He made a vow that he never
should have made. Proverbs 20:25 - It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as
holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows. Some people think that because the verse
before says that the Spirit of YHWH came upon him that means that the Spirit made the
vow but that’s clearly not the case. God doesn’t make us make vows. That would go
against free will. This is in a time where a house was like a compound with a fence.
Your animals would be in the courtyard. You can see that he doesn’t say ‘whoever’ but
‘whatever’ comes out he will sacrifice. There is no way God ordained having a human
sacrifice and anyone who takes the time to know God, would know that fact. But was it
a human sacrifice?
You may think the answer to that is obvious but it really isn’t. Many sacrifices allowed
the giver to take a portion back to feast on it in the presence of YHWH. Or in the case
of your tithe of you flocks, the animals would go into the Tebernacle pen to either be
used in the daily sacrifices or to used by the priests and their families for food. If you
offer your tithe of your flock and notice that your daughter’s pet lamb somehow got
mixed in, you are allowed to redeem that lamb with another lamb (Leviticus 27).
However, in the case of a burnt offering there is no redemption.
Leviticus 27:1-2
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
‘When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the LORD, according to your valuation
This shows that you can, indeed, devote a person to YHWH.
1 Samuel 1:10-11
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11 Then she
made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your
maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant
a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon
his head.”
And this shows that there is definitely a precedent that shows a parent dedicating their
child completely to YHWH. You never hear of Samuel taking a wife or having children
and I’ve learned that this is because once someone is dedicated in the particular way,
that means they are to remain a virgin (unmarried). Wait, let’s go back and look at the
scripture reading. First, in verse 37 it says - , “Let this thing be done for me: let me
alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my
virginity, my friends and I.” Then in verse 39 it says this - And it was so at the end of
two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which
he had vowed. She knew no man. I know if my father was about to burn me on an
altar, I wouldn’t be worried about my virginity. I would be upset because my life was
being cut short, not my love life. That wouldn’t even come into my mind. Then it says
that he carried out his vow and ends with the fact that she knew no man. This would
make sense when you consider the fact that Samuel knew no woman because his
mother had dedicated him in this way to YHWH’s service.
But you know what? It doesn’t really matter whether Jephthah actually killed his
daughter or not. That’s not the point. The point is that we should be very careful with
our words, not making vows, because you will have to deal with the words that come
out of your mouth. You will reap what you sow.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23
21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your
God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it
shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you
voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
Scripture says clearly that you don’t have to make vows. It’s not something you have
to do so why do it rashly. There should be much prayer and consideration taken
before you take any vow, and then it should only be taken if YHWH is leading you to it,
not because you’ve gotten caught up in the moment the way Jephthah did. If you make
a vow to God to be married to a certain woman and after you’re married she turns into
a bickering witch, guess what? You made the vow so you have to fulfill it. That’s God’s
Law not man’s. In man’s law you can kick her to the curb but that’s not how God
intends for it to be. If you make a vow to be married to a man and he turns into a
tyrant, guess what? Again, you made the vow willingly so you have to fulfill it. Do you
know how many women say things like, “He was never like that when we were dating”
and “He changed”. When dating everyone is putting their best foot forward which is
why getting caught up in what you feel can lead you the wrong way. If you present
your request before God, the way Jabez did, He will answer you. Yeshua gave is
some great advice on the issue. Go to Mathew 5. In many Bibles the section is labeled
‘Jesus Forbids Oaths’ but listen carefully to see if that really applies.
Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall
perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it
is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or
black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from
the evil one.
Does He really forbid making an oath? He says that if you make an oath keep it. Then
He goes on about swearing. I know that I don’t trust people who say things like, “I
swear on my mother’s life” or “I swear on my grandfather grave” or even “I swear on my
life”. Most of the time they’re only stressing it because they’re lying but want you to
believe them. For all I know they may not even like their mother. Truthfully, do the
have any control over the things they’re swearing by. If their grandfather is dead and
they lie swearing by his grave, what does that mean? Do they have any power over
someone’s grave? This is what I believe Yeshua is pointing out. Not to swear. If they
don’t believe you then so be it. Our words are so powerful and they can not be taken
back so we need to take good care to think about the things we say before we say
them.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: July 29, 2007
Scripture Reading: Judges 11:29-40
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and
Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced
toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will
indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 then it will be that whatever comes out of
the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall
surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD
delivered them into his hands. 33 And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty
cities—and to Abel Keramim with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were
subdued before the children of Israel.
34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him
with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor
daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my
daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given
my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.”
36 So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according
to what has gone out of your mouth, because the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the
people of Ammon.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for
two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and
I.”
38 So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and
bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it was so at the end of two months that she
returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no
man.
And it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to
lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
This is a difficult passage. I did a search on the website for the name Jephthah and
nothing came up. I don’t believe either mom or I have ever preached on him. I think
this is one of the most misunderstood accounts in scripture. It’s one of the scriptures
atheists like to mention when they’re trying to get a Christian to doubt their faith.
Unfortunately, most believers never even read it so when the enemy throws it into their
face it shocks them. Either that or they do read it and don’t understand it. But instead
of taking their questions about it to the Holy Spirit and then before other believers so
they can discuss it, they just sweep it under the rug, which makes them vulnerable to
the enemy’s attack. According to the parable of the sower, it is the seed that
represents the Word that is not understood that can be stolen away. So, today I’m
going to explain it, but not in a way where I tell you what to believe. That really is
between you and the Holy Spirit to resolve. However, I will share enough information to
give you a good head start.
There is so much more to this story than just what is on the surface. I hope you still
have Judge 11 open because we’re going to be taking a look at it. Right in the first
verse you get a big dose of the reality of this situation. Judges 11:1 - Now Jephthah the
Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
He got a bum deal. He didn’t choose to be conceived in less than honorable
conditions. He had absolutely no control of that aspect of his life, yet that fact defined
him from the very start. He was evidently the eldest son because it mentions his birth
then mentions that his father’s wife had sons. In the Middle Eastern culture, even
today, being the eldest son is a valuable commodity. The eldest received a greater
inheritance than all of his brothers. But when his younger brothers grew up, they threw
him out of their father’s house saying that because he was the son of a harlot, he didn’t
deserve an inheritance. See, he got a really raw deal, didn’t he? But here’s where he
makes the choice that truly defines his character. Judges 11:3 - Then Jephthah fled from
his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and
went out raiding with him. He went out hanging with worthless men stealing. He was a
thug.
Now, some would say but he only did that because he was run off from his inheritance
with nothing. He was just doing what he had to do, but that’s a cop out. There have
been other who have been born in less than honorable circumstances who didn’t
choose to go against the Law of God. Yeshua was born to an unmarried teenage girl.
His grandmother many generations back was Rahab the prostitute from Jericho. And
generations before that it was the widow twice over, Tamar, who had no children until
she masqueraded as a prostitute, seduced her father-in-law and ended up having twin
boys. Both of these women and their sons were in the lineage of Messiah. With God
you don’t have to define yourself by the circumstances you may find yourself in. God
can take the worst of circumstances and turn it around. There are many in scripture
that are born in less than honorable situations.
I Chronicles 4:9-10
9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez,
saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that
You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that
You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
Jabez literally means, ‘He will cause pain’. Who knows what depth of depression his
mother was in or what she was going through that would cause this woman to name her
child something like this? He had no choice in the matters surrounding his birth, yet he
was labeled with this horrible name. Can you imagine if someone today named their
child ‘Pain in the Butt’? How would that child feel after being called that for their whole
life? Do you think the kids would pick on them? This is what Jabez had to deal with but
instead of wallowing in that hand that he’d been dealt, he took his trouble to the God of
Israel and asked Him to be with him and to keep him from evil so he wouldn’t cause
pain. And it says that God gave him what he desired. You don’t hear another thing
about him in all of scripture except these two verses, but they are a powerful two
verses.
So, let’s get back to Jephthah. He didn’t call upon YHWH to help him in his
circumstance. He went out and became a thug, a roughneck; like a tough guy on the
streets selling drugs or snatching purses from old ladies after they cash their Social
Security checks. Not honorable at all. The city of Gilead gets into it with Ammon and
instead of them crying out to God they decide to call on Jephthah. Pretty much like a
local business having trouble and calling on the Mob to come protect them. They tell
Jephthah that if he can rescue them, they’ll let him be their leader. He’s figuring that
not only will he get his rightful inheritance but he’ll get power and authority also. He
comes in and tries to fix the problem with diplomacy and when that doesn’t work he
goes out to kick some Ammon behinds.
Now, we get into the scripture reading which says that the Spirit of the LORD YHWH
came upon him. That’s a good thing. It reminds me of the account of Samson who did
absolutely everything he could do to come against God and despise his Nazarite vow
and the Spirit of the LORD let him, until the Spirit came back upon him to defeat the
Philistines. We don’t have to be perfect for God to use us for His purposes. We just
have to be willing vessels that submit to Him. Next is where he makes his big mistake
that likely defined his existence for the rest of his life. He made a vow that he never
should have made. Proverbs 20:25 - It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as
holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows. Some people think that because the verse
before says that the Spirit of YHWH came upon him that means that the Spirit made the
vow but that’s clearly not the case. God doesn’t make us make vows. That would go
against free will. This is in a time where a house was like a compound with a fence.
Your animals would be in the courtyard. You can see that he doesn’t say ‘whoever’ but
‘whatever’ comes out he will sacrifice. There is no way God ordained having a human
sacrifice and anyone who takes the time to know God, would know that fact. But was it
a human sacrifice?
You may think the answer to that is obvious but it really isn’t. Many sacrifices allowed
the giver to take a portion back to feast on it in the presence of YHWH. Or in the case
of your tithe of you flocks, the animals would go into the Tebernacle pen to either be
used in the daily sacrifices or to used by the priests and their families for food. If you
offer your tithe of your flock and notice that your daughter’s pet lamb somehow got
mixed in, you are allowed to redeem that lamb with another lamb (Leviticus 27).
However, in the case of a burnt offering there is no redemption.
Leviticus 27:1-2
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
‘When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the LORD, according to your valuation
This shows that you can, indeed, devote a person to YHWH.
1 Samuel 1:10-11
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11 Then she
made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your
maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant
a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon
his head.”
And this shows that there is definitely a precedent that shows a parent dedicating their
child completely to YHWH. You never hear of Samuel taking a wife or having children
and I’ve learned that this is because once someone is dedicated in the particular way,
that means they are to remain a virgin (unmarried). Wait, let’s go back and look at the
scripture reading. First, in verse 37 it says - , “Let this thing be done for me: let me
alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my
virginity, my friends and I.” Then in verse 39 it says this - And it was so at the end of
two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which
he had vowed. She knew no man. I know if my father was about to burn me on an
altar, I wouldn’t be worried about my virginity. I would be upset because my life was
being cut short, not my love life. That wouldn’t even come into my mind. Then it says
that he carried out his vow and ends with the fact that she knew no man. This would
make sense when you consider the fact that Samuel knew no woman because his
mother had dedicated him in this way to YHWH’s service.
But you know what? It doesn’t really matter whether Jephthah actually killed his
daughter or not. That’s not the point. The point is that we should be very careful with
our words, not making vows, because you will have to deal with the words that come
out of your mouth. You will reap what you sow.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23
21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your
God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it
shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you
voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
Scripture says clearly that you don’t have to make vows. It’s not something you have
to do so why do it rashly. There should be much prayer and consideration taken
before you take any vow, and then it should only be taken if YHWH is leading you to it,
not because you’ve gotten caught up in the moment the way Jephthah did. If you make
a vow to God to be married to a certain woman and after you’re married she turns into
a bickering witch, guess what? You made the vow so you have to fulfill it. That’s God’s
Law not man’s. In man’s law you can kick her to the curb but that’s not how God
intends for it to be. If you make a vow to be married to a man and he turns into a
tyrant, guess what? Again, you made the vow willingly so you have to fulfill it. Do you
know how many women say things like, “He was never like that when we were dating”
and “He changed”. When dating everyone is putting their best foot forward which is
why getting caught up in what you feel can lead you the wrong way. If you present
your request before God, the way Jabez did, He will answer you. Yeshua gave is
some great advice on the issue. Go to Mathew 5. In many Bibles the section is labeled
‘Jesus Forbids Oaths’ but listen carefully to see if that really applies.
Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall
perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it
is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or
black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from
the evil one.
Does He really forbid making an oath? He says that if you make an oath keep it. Then
He goes on about swearing. I know that I don’t trust people who say things like, “I
swear on my mother’s life” or “I swear on my grandfather grave” or even “I swear on my
life”. Most of the time they’re only stressing it because they’re lying but want you to
believe them. For all I know they may not even like their mother. Truthfully, do the
have any control over the things they’re swearing by. If their grandfather is dead and
they lie swearing by his grave, what does that mean? Do they have any power over
someone’s grave? This is what I believe Yeshua is pointing out. Not to swear. If they
don’t believe you then so be it. Our words are so powerful and they can not be taken
back so we need to take good care to think about the things we say before we say
them.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: July 29, 2007
