Dear THP,
Re:
Savages? While the pagans were sacrificing their children to their gods, the Jews were practising a more civilized sacrifice.
You:
That my friend is a missrepresentation of the truth ie. a lie.
Judges chapter 11 says from verse 30:
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. {whatsoever…: Heb. that which cometh forth, which shall come forth} {and…: or, or I will offer it, etc
32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. {the plain: or, Abel}
34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. {beside…: or, he had not of his own either son or daughter: Heb. of himself}
35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. {go up…: Heb. go and go down}
38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, {custom: or, ordinance}
40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. {yearly: Heb. from year to year} {to lament: or, to talk with}
Did you notice how he carried out his vow. This honourable man presents a more civilised sacrifice, yes or no.
I would like to see you deal with this.
Me:
The issue here is not the sacrifice of a child, if it were then certainly God would have instructed it to the Jews. But do you see any? Certainly not! Therefore this case isn't about sacrifices but of carelessness in making vows. See Ecc 5:2-6,
2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.
3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.
4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.
5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?
Jephthah need not had made such a rash vow if he had enough faith to know that God is with him (just as God is with Joshua, see Josh 1:5). Did God demanded a child sacrifice? Certainly not! It's Jephthah's own mistake. Instead, he had to make a careless vow just to be sure that God is with him. We should heed the wise words of Ecc 5:2-6, let us not make careless vows but have faith in God instead.
As for child sacrifices practised outside God's children the Israelites please refer the following verses:
2 Kings 23:10 And he defiled To'pheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
Jer 7:31 And they have built the high place of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
Jer 19:5 and have built the high places of Ba'al to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Ba'al, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind;
And here's a link with regard to child sacrifices practised by the pagan kingdoms that Israel subdued with God's help:
http://www.barca.fsnet.co.uk/child-sacrifice.htm
God Bless,
John