Bible Contradiction: Human Sacrifice In the Bible?

Claim:

The Bible appears to contradict itself on whether God approves of human sacrifice. Leviticus 20 gives the death penalty for child sacrifice. However, Judges 11 seems to tell of a story of God “approving” child sacrifice.

The Issue

Is human sacrifice approved of in the Bible? Several verses in the Bible make it clear that child sacrifice is evil. In the Ancient Near East, Molech worship involved offering one’s child as a burnt sacrifice. Leviticus 20 tells us that anyone who offered their children to Molech was punished with death:

“Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.”

Leviticus 20:2

In Deuteronomy, God uses child sacrifice as an example to show just how sinful the nations around Israel are. God specifically commands the Israelite people not to worship God in this way:

You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

Deuteronomy 12:31

It seems pretty clear that the Bible sees child sacrifice as completely evil. So then you might be wondering, how in the world could there be a contradiction here if God is so clear about his view of human sacrifice?

Jephthah’s Foolish Vow

Some people point to Judges 11 as an example of God “approving” child sacrifice. While this account is hard to read, and shows a man of God making several sinful decisions, it in no way proves that God supports, allows, or approves of human sacrifice.

Judges 11 tells of a man named Jephthah, who is one of the judges of Israel. The judges were special leaders that God raised up to lead Israel during a certain period of its history. Jephthah was a skilled military leader, and God used him to do incredible things. However, he was also a broken, sinful human, just like the rest of us. And we’re going to see that in this story.

Jephthah is preparing to go to battle with the rest of Israel against a people group called the Amorites. As he is getting ready to go to battle, he makes a vow before God, and he says this:

And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

Judges 11:30-31

While we aren’t told why Jephthah makes this vow, it is clear that this was not wise. We don’t know the heart and intent behind Jephthah’s vow, but we will see in a moment how this quickly takes a turn for the worse.

God gives Israel victory against the Ammonites, then Jephthah returns home. This is where the story gets really unfortunate.

Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.”

Judges 11:34-35

Jephthah’s short sighted vow now means that he has vowed to sacrifice his only daughter as a burnt offering to God.

Amazingly, Jephthah’s daughter tells him that if this is what he vowed to the Lord, that he should go through with it. Jephthah gives her time to mourn for her life. Then we read this:

And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

Judges 11:39-40

It is important to note that there is some disagreement with scholars about whether or not Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter to God. Some claim that Jephthah offered her as a lifelong servant to the temple. There are some clues in this passage that could lead us to believe this.

However, the traditional view that’s been held by the early church fathers and a majority of scholars is that Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering to God.

What This Passage Says About Human Sacrifice

There is no doubt that Judges 11 is a difficult story to read. However, the question still remains: Does this account prove that God approves of human sacrifice?

Remember, the Bible has made it clear that God does not approve of human or child sacrifice. So where in this passage do we read that God approves of Jephthah’s sacrifice?

The answer is nowhere. Nowhere in this story is God at all saying that Jephthah’s vow was good or acceptable.

Skeptics will argue that because God gave Israel victory, He “approved” of Jephthah’s vow. The issue with this criticism is that it remains completely unsupported by Scripture. Nowhere in Judges 11 does God approve or even acknowledge Jephthah’s vow. Scripture describes Jephthah’s vow without ever approving of it.

In the context of Scripture’s overwhelming condemnation of human sacrifice it is most reasonable to assume God gave victory to Israel in spite of Jephthah’s vow, not because of it.

God Is Not Subject To Our Vows

God has no obligation to change His will based on what vow. For example, I could vow to God and say, “God, I will rob a bank if I don’t get a raise at work.”

Is God now obligated to give me a raise at work because I vowed to do something sinful if he doesn’t? Of course not. Our vows cannot control God. If they could, then He wouldn’t be God anymore and we would be able to control Him.

Conclusion

The Bible is overwhelmingly clear that God sees human sacrifice as evil. While Jephthah’s foolish vow in Judges 11 resulted in a tragic offering, God does not approve of or even acknowledge Jephthah’s sacrifice. We can reasonably assume God gave victory to Israel in spite of Jephthah’s vow, not because of it.