Judges 11:36
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.
She willingly told her father to keep his spoken promise to the Lord because the Lord had avenged him and given him victory over the Ammonites. What was done to her was not death as a burnt offering, for human sacrifice is forbidden by the law and utterly offensive to God. She was instead devoted to the Lord in lifelong seclusion as a perpetual virgin, never to marry or bear children, which ended her father's line. In this she gave up her hope of a household and of a place among the mothers in Israel from whom the promised Messiah might come, so her mourning and that of her companions was for her virginity and lost motherhood, not for approaching death. Her story stands as a sad warning against rash vows that bring sorrow on the innocent, for no vow can make it right to do an unlawful act.
Daughter's Acceptance and Dedication
Jephthah's daughter willingly accepted that her father must do to her according to what had proceeded out of his mouth, because the LORD had taken vengeance for him of his enemies and given him victory over the children of Ammon. She recognized what the vow required after he told her, and submitted to its consequence in filial obedience. Her acceptance did not mean she was to be offered as a burnt offering or put to death as a human sacrifice, but that she was devoted and dedicated to the LORD instead. Human sacrifice was forbidden by the law and in the highest degree offensive to God, so she was to be offered to God only in the manner circumstances permit for a human being.
That dedication meant she was to belong to the LORD and be set apart for religious duties in lifelong unmarried seclusion. She remained a perpetual virgin in lifelong celibacy, never to marry and to remain childless. This ended Jephthah's family line and left him without family descendants. By this she relinquished and destroyed her hope of establishing a household and of ranking among the mothers in Israel. She likewise gave up hope of ranking among the progenitors of the promised Messiah.
Her mourning and grief was for her virginity and the loss of that future of marriage, motherhood, and family descendants, not over facing death. The yearly visit of her companions expressed sympathy for her seclusion and esteem for her willing filial obedience. The two months before the vow was fulfilled gave time for the priests or Jephthah to seek a lawful release, and his moral character would have prevented such a barbarous act.
Rash Vow's Character and Lessons
The verse belongs to a sad account of a rash oath and vow. Unforeseen circumstances made that vow lead to sorrow. An innocent person suffered in it through yielding to social fashion. It stands as an example of the folly of making rash vows or promises, like Herod's oath to give whatever was asked.
Vowing his child on a single gamble, like one cast of the dice, shows Jephthah as godless. The daughter's consent to have the vow carried out did not bind Jephthah to do an unlawful act to her. No oath or vow gives liberty to perform an unlawful act, because a prior obligation to God forbids making such vows or oaths. The sin is in making an unlawful vow, not in breaking it. Deeming it duty to fulfill an unrighteous vow is wrong, because God accepts no action that murders other duties.
The true Old Testament occurrence of Jephthah devoting his daughter in sacrifice was borrowed and turned into the monstrous heathen story of Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia. The verse places Jephthah among the valiant men of war, with Gideon, David, Joshua and the mighty men who arose from time to time to deliver the Israel of God. God always helped them when they kept His statutes. Their example raises whether Sabbath-keepers may go into the ranks to strike the rebellion of slave treason a staggering blow and give treason its just deserts.