Jacob Chanikuzhy

When renowned film director Mel Gibson was arrested for drunken driving, he shouted at the police officer and made some anti-Jewish comments. The next day, Mel Gibson who was already labelled anti-semitic after directing the famous movie “The Passion of Christ”, made an apology. Three days later he issued a written apology in which he stated, “I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words I said…” German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a public apology for her decision to prolong the corona related lockdown for five days over Easter in the following words, “The mistake is my mistake alone. I ask both the public and you, dear colleagues, for forgiveness.” She also withdrew her “wrong” decision. When reports came out about the extra marital affairs of the world’s most famous golfer Tiger Woods, he issued this apology: “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behaviour my family deserves.” History has witnessed the mistakes of some of the world’s brilliant minds. They were also clever enough to admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness.

In the Bible, we have a man chosen by God who happened to take a wrong decision. However, in his mistaken zeal for God, he failed to realize his mistake and went on executing his decision. He was the son of a harlot and as such was turned away by his other brothers from the house of his father. However, God chose him as the liberator of Israel from the Ammonites. The spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. Then Jephthah made a vow to God that if God gives him victory over the Ammonites he would offer to God as burnt offering the first one who comes out of his house to meet him. As the story unfolded, Jephthah offered his own daughter to God.

It is surprising how a “spirit-filled” Jephthah could take such an imprudent vow and sinfully execute it. It warns us that the fact that we are given the Holy Spirit does not mean that we are overpowered by the Spirit to the extent of loosing our complete control over our thinking, willing and acting capabilities. It is up to us to discern the guidance of the Spirit and act accordingly. There is still room for ignoring the inspiration of the Spirit and pursue our own unethical decisions under the guise of honouring God.

Jephthah sincerely tried to please God. But what he did was directly against the command of God. A spirit-filled Jephthah failed to discern that killing an innocent life to keep his vow to God was a greater sin than failing to keep the vow. Instead of going ahead with his imprudent decision, Jephthah should have repented on it, reverse his decision, and asked for God’s forgiveness. Even at the peak of his love for Yahweh, he miserably failed to discern the right course of action that would really please God. He did not realize that a reversal of the vow hurts only his false pride and not the heart of God. In effect he sacrificed his own daughter on the altar of his ego rather than on the altar of God. He did not remember that God of Abraham is the one who directly prevented Abraham from sacrificing Isaac after commanding him to sacrifice him. Through this event God himself instructed Abraham about responsible disobedience in a most spectacular way. One should follow God’s law written in a well-formed human conscience if and when one’s religious allegiance come into conflict with it.

Jephthah put a religious precedence that, if followed, would eliminate the whole morality of the human race. Normally we don’t promise God that we would steal, kill, abuse and hurt other people to honour or worship God. Nevertheless, in practical life, if one, especially one vested with spiritual authority, extorts money from others, humiliate, persecute, hurt or harass others for the sake of God or matters pertaining to divine, one is becoming another Jephthah.