“At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory. He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites. When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters. When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” And she said, “Father, if you have made a vow to the Lord, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the Lord has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites. But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin.” “You may go,” Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children. When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin. So it has become a custom in Israel for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah’s daughter.”
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Judges‬ ‭11‬:‭29‬-‭40‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One of the most common places means of approaching God is to do so in a transactional way. It is common for people to try to pigeonhole God into behaving a certain way by appealing to his appetite rather than his character. We think that if we can entice him with our blessings, such as praise or actions, we may be able to cajole him into acting on our behalf. We are sometimes convinced this will work because he is a merciful God who cares when we are desperate. He often will answer us, even if we call upon him wrongly. But it is not his preferred way. Jephthah had a transactional relationship with God that didn’t take into account his character. On the one hand, he made a vow and followed through with it. On the other hand, scripture is clear that the vow he made was an inappropriate vow. Human sacrifice is pagan and forbidden. God doesn’t want this. Jephthah gave God what he thought God would want. Scholars disagree on how Jephthah fulfilled this vow. Either way, we shouldn’t take this as a statement about God but about Jephthah. It is a sad cautionary tale about being careful with what you say, but also about being so rigid that you forget its purpose. God wouldn’t have wanted this. Undoubtedly, he would have made a way of salvation for her, but Jephthah was a man of his word, in the worst way. Faith without character leads to abominations. Thankfully, our God forgives us for making mistakes. Just as we shouldn’t be flippant with our words, we also shouldn’t be flippant with his character.

Transactional Approach to God: People often try to influence God’s actions by offering blessings or appealing to His mercy, rather than focusing on His character.

Jephthah’s Vow: Jephthah’s vow to sacrifice his daughter, though he fulfilled it, was inappropriate and demonstrates a misunderstanding of God’s will.

Importance of Character: Faith should be grounded in understanding God’s character, not just in making promises or relying on God’s mercy.