The Spirit of God comes upon Jephthah only after he defends God’s plan before the king of the Ammo-nites (29). Unfortunately, even with God’s help, Jephthah is unable to act wisely. Jephthah confuses the deities with the Lord: human sacrifice may be acceptable to pagan gods, but it is never permissible to the God of Israel, who strictly forbids such sacrifices (Lv 18:21; 20:2-5; Dt 12:31; 18:10). Although Jephthah “believes” in the Lord, he does not worship him as the God of life; instead, he attempts to assume God’s role by sacrificing his daughter. Jephthah’s foolishness reaches its peak when he offers as a sacrifice the first person to come out and greet him at his door (11:34). And this person is his daughter. How many wrongful acts are carried out in God’s name? Maybe it’s time to seek forgiveness and acknowledge that God has never supported oppressing the poor or accepting sacrifices of death.