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The Bible is the ultimate lesson giver. This is certainly true in the story about Jephthah’s tragic mistake, which confirms Robert Service’s truth: A promise made is a debt unpaid.

A Promise Made Is A Debt Unpaid



In Robert Service’s poem, “The Cremation Of Sam McGee,” one line reads, “A promise made is a debt unpaid,” which reminds me of a story told to me by my boyhood best friend and mentor, Jaybird, by far the best storyteller I have ever known. The old black man had a powerful memory, and never forgot any of the Biblical tales read to him by his children or me, and loved retelling them in his own words.
One I’ll never forget is his story of the Old Testament character Jephthah, whose promise brought him a sorrow that no parent wants to face: the loss of a child. Although Jepththah was a mighty warrior, the Israelites spurned him because he was a prostitute’s son. In self-exile, he honed his martial skills by leading bands of marauders in raids on caravans. Those skills didn’t go unnoticed when the bellicose Ammonites decided to reclaim territory taken from them by the Israelites during their Egypt-to-Canaan migration. Now his countrymen needed Jephthah to take the fight to the Ammonites and to lead Israel afterward. Surely God wouldn’t let his chosen people lose, but to be certain the Creator was in his corner, Jephthah made a foolish vow: “Lord, help me defeat these hostile heathens, and when I return in victory, I will sacrifice to You the first living creature that meets me.” To his horror, when the victorious Jephthah returned, his only child, a daughter, was the first living creature to greet him. With much grief, Jephthah paid his promise’s unpaid debt, and sacrificed the child.

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Should he have broken his vow, even though made to God? Killing one’s own — whether before birth or after — is a heinous act. If Jephthah had confessed to the Lord that he made the vow impulsively, he would have confessed what God already knew. His omniscient Maker understood that the vow was made in haste and not well thought out, and besides, what person has not made a vow to his Creator, but abandoned it when the storm ahead abated? Whether promises are made to God or another person, if they are deliberated cautiously and no regrettable consequences are evident, they must be kept. Doing so develops character. Carrying through with promises earns the respect and trust of others, as when incurring debt. If people of meager means pay debts on time as promised, they are equal to wealthy people whose debts are paid at the appointed time. Not keeping one’s word leads to the same fate as the shepherd boy in one of Aesop’s fables, who cried “Wolf!” repeatedly until the villagers began to ignore him. Then, when wolves did attack, the entire herd was destroyed. Those who say one thing consistently and do another reach a point where, even when they are truthful, no one believes them. The Bible is the ultimate lesson giver. This is certainly true in the story about Jephthah’s tragic mistake, which confirms Robert Service’s truth: A promise made is a debt unpaid.


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Jimmy Reed -- Bio and Archives

Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.

This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.

Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).


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