Why did God accept a human sacrifice in the Book of Judges?

Question

He wouldn't allow Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but he did allow Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter, who was his only child. Why did forbid one human sacrifice, but allow another?

Oops, it should say, "Why did God forbid..."

Sorry.

Rach: I've read the WHOLE passage. In fact, I've read the WHOLE book. God could have stayed Jephthah's hand like He did with Abraham. In Abraham's case, God thought the intent to follow through was enough. Why did He want Jephthah to actually go through with it?

It might have taught Jephthah a lesson, but it also shows just how merciless God can be. If that is the God you want to serve, you can have Him all to yourself.

Answer 1

The smell of burning flesh is a ‘sweet savour unto the lord’ – so sweet, in fact, that the phrase appears in the Old Testament no fewer than twenty-three times. The butchery demanded by god is truly monumental. Believers are required to sacrifice two lambs day-by-day continuously – and that’s just for starters! Just as well Yahweh had several thousand priests to help him trough through the banquet!

Livestock bears the brunt of god’s appetite but humans could so easily get the chop from the big guy. God kills Uzzah for simply steadying the tumbling Ark (1Chronicles 13.9,10). Poor Onan was zapped for using the withdrawal method of birth control (Genesis 38.10). But such isolated vindictiveness palls in comparison with the mass killings of the Lord. When the autocratic Moses faces a rebellion led by Korah, God uses an earthquake and fire to consume two hundred and fifty rebels. When indignant sympathizers protest at the injustice, God wipes out another fourteen thousand seven hundred with a plague (Numbers 16). What a guy!

Answer 2

The verse you are referring to is in Judges 11:30-31. It can be seen as saying that he (Jephthah) sacrificed his daughter as a human sacrifice to the Lord. However, it is more probable and can also be translated from the Hebrew language to read, "... will be the Lord's, or I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

This will show that Jephthah gave his daughter as a servant for all time to the Lord. It also protects from offering unsuitable sacrifices to the Lord. If a cat or a dog came out of the house, that would not be a suitable sacrifice, and thus could not be given as a burnt offering.

I hope that this clarifies the issue for you.

Answer 3

Jephthah did not sacrifice his daughter's life, he gave his daughter to the service of the temple, much in the same way as Hannah gave Samuel to God.

Jephthah said he would offer a burnt offering for the sacrifice, this was ceremonial only. He did not offer his daughter. The reason his daughter went to bewail her virginity and not her life was because she would never marry, since her father gave her to God. That is why it says she knew no man. The only reason the virginity is stressed, and not her life, is because her life wasn't taken, but she gave her life to God and never knew a man.

Answer 4

I read the passage....Jephthah gave his word to sacrifice his daughter in exchange for the conquest of the children of Ammon. He gave his word, the Lord did not ask for it. Upon coming home, he knew what he had done, and allowed his daughter to live for another 2 months.Jephthat made the decision, not the Lord.

Answer 5

Blood replaced into required to conceal sin. Jesus being the perfect Lamb replaced into in a position to be the only to conceal the sin as quickly as and for all. It wasn't God's sacrifice. Jesus prepared gave Himself up. in the process history martyrs have finished the comparable. Willingly died for what they suspect. Many Jews do no longer see Jesus through fact the Messiah through fact He got here as a chippie no longer a King and that they are looking forward to a KING.

Answer 6

That wasn't the Lord's Choice, that was a fool hearted decision of Jephthah. Plus, his daughter agreed that he had to... read the WHOLE passage, you'll find it interesting.

Answer 7

In the case of Abraham, he was testing his faith. He passed, obviously. In the case of Jephthah, it was a lesson to him (and to us all) to not make oaths that there was no intention of keeping. Jephthah's daughter also willingly told her father to do it, so he wouldn't be an oath-breaker.

Answer 8

In Judges 11, Jephthah vowed to God that if he were victorious in battle, he would give to God whoever came through the doors of his house upon his return from battle. The term used in 11:31 is ‘olah, the normal Hebrew word for a burnt offering or sacrifice (used 286 times in the Old Testament). Did Jephthah intend to offer his daughter as a human sacrifice? Are the ethics of God and the Bible shown to be substandard by this incident?
In the first place, if, in fact, Jephthah offered a human sacrifice, he did something that was strictly forbidden by Mosaic law and that is repugnant to God (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5; Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10). It would be a bit bizarre for Jephthah to think that he could elicit God’s favor in battle by promising to offer Him a human sacrifice, that is, to do something that was in direct violation of the will of God. Such a proposal would be equivalent to a person requesting God’s blessing and assistance by offering to rape women or rob banks. God certainly would not approve of such an offer—though He may go ahead and assist the individual (11:32). God allows people to make wrong choices, even while He works out His own higher will in the midst of their illicit actions. He can even use such people to achieve a higher good (consider, as one example, Judas). When Israel clamored for a king—in direct opposition to God’s will—He nevertheless allowed them to proceed with their intentions, and even lent His assistance in the selection (1 Samuel 8:7,18-19; 10:19; 12:19; Psalm 106:14-15; Hosea 13:11; Acts 13:21).
Second, if Jephthah offered his daughter as a human sacrifice, no indication is given in the text that God actually approved of the action. The Bible records many illicit actions carried out by numerous individuals throughout history, without an accompanying word of condemnation by the inspired writer. We must not assume that silence is evidence of divine approval. Even the commendation of Jephthah’s faith in the New Testament does not offer a blanket endorsement to everything Jephthah did during his lifetime. It merely commended the faith that he demonstrated when he risked going to war. Similarly, the Bible commends the faith of Samson, and Rahab the prostitute, without implying that their behavior was always in harmony with God’s will. Abraham manifested an incredible level of faith on several occasions, and is commended for such (Romans 4:20-21). Yet he clearly sinned on more than one occasion (Genesis 12:13; 16:4; 20:2ff.).
Third, Jephthah’s action may best be understood by recognizing that he was using ‘olah in a figurative sense. We use the term “sacrifice” in a similar fashion when we say, “I’ll sacrifice a few dollars for that charity.” Jephthah was offering to sacrifice a member of his extended household to permanent, religious service associated with the Tabernacle. The Bible indicates that such non-priestly service was available, particularly to women who chose to so dedicate themselves (e.g., Exodus 38:8). [Sadly, Eli’s sons were guilty of taking sexual liberties with them (1 Samuel 2:22).] Even in the first century, Anna must have been one woman who had dedicated herself to the Lord’s service, since she “did not depart from the temple” (Luke 2:37).
Several contextual indicators support this conclusion. First, the two-month period of mourning that Jephthah granted to his daughter was not for the purpose of grieving over her impending loss of life, but over the fact that she would never be able to marry. She bewailed her virginity (bethulim)—not her death (11:37). Second, the text goes out of its way to state that Jephthah had no other children: “[S]he was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter” (11:34). For his daughter to be consigned to perpetual celibacy meant the extinction of Jephthah’s family line—an extremely serious and tragic matter to an Israelite (cf. Numbers 27:1-11; 36:1ff.). Third, the sacrifice is treated as unfortunate—again, not because of any concern over her death, but because she would not become a mother. After stating that Jephthah “did with her according to his vow which he had vowed,” the inspired writer immediately adds, “and knew no man” (11:39). This statement would be a completely superfluous and callous remark if she had been put to death. Fourth, the declaration of Jephthah’s own sorrow (11:35) follows immediately after we are informed that he had no other children (11:34). Jephthah was not upset because his daughter would die a virgin. He was upset because she would live and remain a virgin.
Hannah made a similar sacrifice when she turned her son over to the priestly direction of Eli for the rest of his life (1 Samuel 1:11). How many are willing to make such sacrifices? Actually, however, these tremendous acts of devotion were no greater than that which God requires of all Christians: to offer ourselves as spiritual burnt-offerings in service to God (Romans 12:1).

Answer 9

God allows people to murder their babies today, but that doesn't mean God is the author of it.

Answer 10

you need to read that again