"If You heal my body of disease, then I will serve You
all of my life."
"If You pay my bills, then I will tithe."
"If You give me peace, then I will go and be a
peacemaker."
Japhthah's "If
You, then I" statement is written in Judges 11:30-32.
"And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, If You
will indeed give the Ammonites into my hand,
Then whatever or whoever comes forth from the doors of my
house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites, it shall be the
Lord's, and I will offer it or him up as a burnt offering.
Then Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight with
them, and the Lord gave them into his hand."
This "passion without holy sense" vow ended poorly. Japhthah's beloved daughter came through the
doors of his house to meet him.
OUCH!!! See Judges 11:34-40.
Let's be careful not to place conditions on our obedience, service,
and devotion to the Lord. Instead
of "If You, then I"
statements, let's use "Because I trust You, I will" declarations.
"Because I trust You heal my body of disease (even if
the disease still manifests), I will serve You all of my life."
"Because I trust You to help me pay my bills this
month, I will tithe."
"Because I trust You have given me peace, I will go and
spread that peace to others."
These statements declare the character of God and how we should
respond to that character.
Maybe Jephthah should have said,
"And Jephthah spoke to
the Lord and said, Because I trust You will empower me to defeat Israel's
enemies, the Ammonites, whatever or whoever comes forth from the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites, I shall consecrate to
You, and I will bless and sing Your praises with him."
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