Numbers 8:21 (KJV) A Living Sacrifice

Numbers 8:21 (KJV)
And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

I am reminded of the vow of Jephthah to offer the first living thing to cross his door as a burnt offering. The passage has troubled students of the Bible for hundreds if not thousands of years. Whether Jephthah offered his daughter as a sacrifice or not is argued. If he did, the legitimacy of the act is challenged. I tend to believe:

• That Jephthah did as the passage describes and 
• That it was a sign of the wicked times of the Judges and not an example of the importance of keeping our vows

It is stupid to keep a promise that is clearly unscriptural. Two Bible precepts cannot contradict one another. If one precept seems to force us to disobey another, we have misunderstood one or both.

I know there are differences but I see a similarity between this passage and the account of Jephthah. In both cases an offering of human beings is made. In the case of our passage in Numbers we know the Levites were not slain. They were dedicated to God. It is possible that Jephthah merely dedicated his daughter forever to God.

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Numbers 8:21 (KJV) A Living Sacrifice

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