Giovanni Fontana's Jephthah And His Daughter (1883)

I have speaking on the life of Jephthah, leader of the Israelites in Judges 11-12, on Wednesday evenings. He had promised to make a sacrifice of the first thing he came upon if he was granted victory over the Ammonites. He returned triumphant but met his daughter leading a victory dance. Fontana's group was exhibited at the 1860 Royal Academy with a quotation from Judges 11:35: 'When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said Alas! my daughter you have brought me very low... for I vowed unto the Lord and I cannot go back'. The story, exemplifying the conflict between paternal love and godly duty, would have been well known to Victorian audiences. It had provided the theme for Handel's popular oratorio Jeptha (1751) and was later illustrated in paintings by Millais and Degas, among others. In Fontana's piece, Jephthah is portrayed in Roman military costume and his daughter carries a tambourine from her victory procession. Both look morose, for the one is to kill the other, while she who is to die would not have her father nullify his vow to God.

Although there are various interpretive views of the account in scripture, my own is that the great general was foolish for having uttered the vow. The Lord would have graciously granted a military victory without this devotional offer. Furthermore, everything the godly man owns is already the Lord’s: he cannot give again what is already given. God will not be more gracious to us because we give Him something in return.