Adah

"Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." The messages and teachings of the Bible are wonderful and bring peace to our hearts when we read some like that one from First Corinthians; but the Bible offers a broad spectrum of life's lessons, some of which are unpleasant and even excruciating to read.

We find such a lesson in the book of Judges' account of Jephthah. It's a narrative the Eastern Star has taken as part of its teachings in its effort to honor the women of the Bible. While the Biblical account does not name Jephthah's daughter, the Eastern Star calls her Adah.

We read in the Biblical account Jephthah the Gileadite is the son of a harlot. As such, his Brothers and half-brothers want nothing to do with him and throw him out. Jephthah, known as a fierce fighter, lives in exile until the Ammonites attack Gilead. The town elders approach Jephthah, asking him to lead the fight. He agrees — only if afterward they will make him their leader.

Agreement reached, Jephthah makes a vow to God,

"If I may win the fight,” he says, “I will sacrifice whatever first comes out of my house upon my return." He, of course expected this to be one of the animals on his property.

Jephthah leads the Gileadites to victory; and upon his return a woman walks out of his house to greet him. To his horror, it is his own daughter; she is the first to come out of his house and, by his vow to God, he must sacrifice her. Jephthah rends his garments. Jephthah tells her what he has done.

His daughter says he has given his word to the Lord, and must do as he promised, since the Lord has helped him avenge his enemies the Ammonites. Resigned to this, his daughter asks him to let her go into the hills for two months and weep with her friends, since she will never be able to marry. Jephthah grants her request.

Judges chapter 11 verses 39 and 40 tell us, "After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She never married, and remained a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite."

Certain commentaries, most notably that of 18th century minister and writer Matthew Henry, suggest Jephthah's daughter may merely have been banished or never allowed to marry, rather than suffer death at the hands of her father. That is certainly not what the Bible implies and such speculation may, in fact, mitigate the impact of the lesson, one of the most powerful and profound accounts in the Bible… as well as the Masonic fraternity.

Reminiscent of Abraham and Issac, which had a much more palatable ending, what possible lesson can come out of this horrifying account?

On reflection, there are several. First and foremost, a vow to God is sacred and must not be taken lightly or without serious thought.

One can also argue the story teaches lessons of fidelity and loyalty to God, the innocence of a young girl and perhaps most of all, courage: courage on the part of Jephthah to follow through with his vow and his daughter's courage in accepting it.