We did focus more on Jephthah’s perspective of the story but I was struck by his daughter. Someone made a comment that if their dad came home and then said he would have to kill them because they greeted him they would run away. One reason Jephthah’s daughter didn’t run away or try to avoid the fulfilling of her dad’s vow is because submission to a father and upholding the family’s reputation was entrenched in her value system. I don’t think she would have thought twice about avoiding this sort of death simply because it was her duty as a daughter.
But I think it’s more than that. I might be reading into the story but I notice the way she greets her dad. She comes out of the door "to meet him with tambourines and with dances." She’s excited to meet him. To me that speaks of love. And Jepthah’s response of tearing his clothes and saying "You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow" make me think that he really loved his daughter too. Because she was secure in her father’s love she could do what he asked of her.
Well, we have a Dad who loves us, only this Dad does not make rash vows. Sometimes it may seem that He is taking away our future of happiness and bringing our lives to a quick end. But because He is fully good we can rest in His love for us that His action is not rash but rather is for our good as well. If Jephthah’s daughter can trust her dad because of her love for him and his for her, how much more can we trust our Father?
the.happenings 