Jephthah was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. Consequently his brothers drove him away. But when the Ammonites fought against Israel, they needed a strong leader. Jephthah was their man.
Before going out to fight against the Ammonites Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. Strong leaders will sometimes act impulsively. Strong men sometimes do foolish things. If the Lord gave Jephthah victory over the Ammonites he promised to offer the first thing that came out of his house when he got home. He may have been hoping it would be his wife, but instead it was his only daughter. It broke his heart! She went out into the wilderness and mourned for two months. Then she came home to be sacrificed. This is one of the most tragic stories in the Bible (Judges 11).
But it did not have to end this way. In Leviticus 5 there is a sacrifice for just such a sin (Lev. 5:4-10). I believe that if Jephthah had come to the tabernacle, confessed his sin, and offered the required sacrifice—a substitute for his daughter—he would have been released. Obviously he had regard for the Lord but he was ignorant of His Word. Zeal without knowledge is dangerous.
The theme of the Bible is always redemption. Had Jephthah known the Law of God he would have known this, and this story could have had a very different ending.
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