Bible in One Year Day 92 (Judges 9 -11, Ruth 4, Psalm 137)

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Day 92: Jephthah's Vow

Agape Bible Study 

Judges 9 -11 

Judges 9:1-6 ~ Abimelech's bid for Power

The city of Shechem is located about forty miles north of Jerusalem near the mountain pass between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim.     It was designated a Levitical city of refuge (Josh 20:1-3, 7) but the Canaanites had not been driven out of the city and lived side by side with the Israelites.   Gideon declined the offer to become Israel's king but he ruled like a king and gave the son of his slave girl a name that reflected the idea of his power in Israel: "my-father-is-king" = Abimelech.

The ancient city of Shechem was important in the history of the Israelites since the time of Abraham.  Shechem was visited by Abraham after his migration into Canaan from Haran (Syria).   It was at Shechem that Yahweh appeared to Abraham and promised: I shall give this country to your progeny (Gen 12:7).   There Abraham built an altar to Yahweh to commemorate the event of God's covenant promise and as a symbol of his claim to the land (Gen 12:6-7).   The city was also the setting for the tragic story of Jacob-Israel's daughter Dinah and the prince of Shechem.  

Gideon-Jerubbaal acquired a concubine from the city of Shechem with whom he had a son.   A good argument can be made from the text that Abimelech's mother was a Canaanite slave and not an Israelite:  

1. Abimelech went to his uncles in Shechem and reminded them of their blood tie by using the language of covenant kinship: "I am your own flesh and bone" (9:2b).   They took his case to the leaders of Shechem by arguing "He is our brother/kinsman" (9:3b).   If the men of Shechem were Ephraimites they would also consider Gideon's sons and grandsons kinsmen since they were from the tribe of Manasseh and also descendants of Joseph son of Jacob-Israel.
2. The rulers of Shechem are described in verses 2, 3 and 6 as the baals (baalim meaning "lords") and not the Hebrew word for town rulers which is "elder" (in Hebrew zaqen).
3. The Shechemites preferred to have a half-Shechemite kinsman rule over them rather than Israelites (Judg 9:1-3).
4. Abimelech's kinsmen worshiped and obtained money at the pagan temple of Baal-Berith in Shechem (Judg 9:4, 6).
5. Abimelech was not accepted by his Israelite kinsmen because his mother was a non-Israelite slave (Judg 9:18); one's ethnic identity came from the mother for the Israelites.
6. The men of Shechem are referred to as "the men of Hamor, father of Shechem" the pagan founder of the city (Judg 9:26; also see Gen 34:19).

A concubine is a woman who is purchased like merchandise and is considered the property of her master.   There was no marriage covenant only a property contract.   She has no rights and her sons have no inheritance rights (see Ishmael in Gen 21:8-10).   Also, if she had been an Ephraimite, her father would have probably demanded a marriage contract.

Question: How did Abimelech become king of Shechem?

Answer: He convinced his uncles that it was to their advantage to have a kinsman rule over them instead of the Israelite sons of Gideon.   They financed his revolt and he hired a mercenary army to attack and execute his half-brothers and probably their sons at the village of Ophrah.  

Question: What is the significance of the seventy silver pieces Abimelech received from the pagan temple treasury?
Answer: He received one piece of silver to pay for taking each of the lives of his seventy Israelite kinsmen.

Judges 9:7-15 ~ Jotham's Parable

This is the earliest parable in the Bible using plants as an example in addressing human morality.   For Jotham, standing on the mountain to deliver his parable, affords him a protective distance from his enemies.   It does not matter that the people of Shechem cannot hear him because the delivery of the parable in the form of a curse is what matters.   It was on Mounts Ebal and Gerizim that blessings and curse judgments of the Sinai Covenant were repeated to the Israelites in the covenant renewal ceremony in Joshua 8:30-35 that God commanded Moses to hold in Deuteronomy 11:26-32.   Shechem was over looked by Mount Gerizim to the south.

The key to the symbolic elements of the parable are found in Judges 8:22 in the offer of kingship that was made and declined by Gideon for himself, his son and his grandson.

Symbolic element	What the symbolic element represents
The trees searching for a king	Men of Israel searching for a king
The olive tree	Gideon
The fig tree	Gideon's son(s)
The vine	Gideon's grandson(s)
The thorn bush	Abimelech
Cedars of Lebanon	Leaders of Shechem

In verse 15 "shade" is a word often used in the Bible to mean "protection" as the shade protects one from the scorching sun.   A king was expected to protect/shade his people.   The thorn bush/Abimelech offers an ultimatum: his protection to those who acknowledge him as king but "fire" to those who do not.   "Fire" is often a symbol of destruction or purification.   In this case it is a symbol of destruction.  

Question: The olive tree, fig tree, and the vine all have something of value to offer: the fruit of their labors, but what does the thorn bush/Abimelech have to offer?   What is his lie and what is his threat?   What is the significance of the cedars of Lebanon, the tallest trees in the region?
Answer: The thorn tree/Abimelech has no "fruit" to offer only sharp thorns good for nothing.   Instead he lies when he promises shade/protection since the thorn tree is not big enough to provide shade.   His threat is if he is not made king that he will destroy the other "trees," no matter if they are as powerful as the great trees of Lebanon/Shechem's leaders, with fire/war in which their city and their citizens will be burned and destroyed.

Judges 9:16-21 ~ Jotham's Curse for Shechem

Jotham challenges the leaders of Shechem to an examination of conscience.   If they can truthfully say they acted in good conscience, he wishes them well.
Question: If, however, they have acted ungratefully and deceitfully what curse judgment does Jotham call down upon Shechem and Abimelech?
Answer: He calls down a curse judgment upon them that the baalim of Shechem and Abimelech destroy each other.

Question: How many times is the name of Yahweh invoked in Jotham's cry for justice and curse against the murderers of his kinsmen?
Answer: Yahweh, the God of Israel is not invoked in the parable or in the curse.   Only pagan gods are mentioned.  

Only pagan gods anoint themselves with oil (or their priests anointed the images with oil) and pagan gods are believed to drink wine.   Yahweh is never depicted reveling in the same way men do, but the pagan gods were understood as having all the same vices as men.   Jotham sought refuge in Beer, an unknown location.   Beer means well.

Judges 9:22-24 ~ God's Judgment on Shechem and Abimelech

This is the first statement of the theme of retribution.   God sending of the "spirit of discord" will set in motion the first of four stages in the judgment against Shechem and Abimelech:

1. The first battle of Shechem (Judg 9:25-41).
2. The second battle of Shechem (Judg 9:42-45).
3. The battle at the Tower (Judg 9:46-49).
4. The battle of Thebez and Abimelech's death (Judg 9:50-54).

With his mercenary army, Abimelech extended his control over the tribes of Israel for three years, some of which willingly served him (see Judg 9:55).   The wording in verse 24: and their blood recoil on their brother Abimelech who had murdered them, and on those leaders [baalim] of Shechem who had helped him to murder his brothers recalls God's words to Cain, another man who spilled the blood of a brother in Genesis 4:10 when God said Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.   The fall of Abimelech and the town of Shechem will be a divine punishment.

Question: Jotham did not invoke the name of Yahweh to bring justice to his brothers and their sons, so why does God work to bring justice to the seventy sons of Gideon/Jerubbaal killed by their half-brother?
Answer: Yahweh is the God of all men, those who believe in Him and even those who abandon Him.   He will bring retribution against Abimelech for the murder of the sons of His former servant Gideon and justice to the victims.

Judges 9:25-33 ~ Shechem Revolts against Abimelech

God's "spirit of discord" takes effect as the leaders of Shechem become dissatisfied with the kingship of Abimelech and decided to send men to ambush and kill him when Abimelech travels through the pass between the mountains.   The Shechemites are as corrupt and immoral as Abimelech and the men pass the time robbing anyone who travels through the pass.   Zebul sends a message to Abimelech at his headquarters in Aruma, telling him of the robberies but he does not take action against it (verse 25).   He is apparently not living in Shechem because he probably distrusts his subjects there (see 10:41).

Judges 9:34-41 ~ Stage One: the Battle between Gaal and Abimelech

The "Navel of the Earth" is probably the pagan name for Mount Gerizim.   

Judges 9:42-45 ~ Stage Two: Ambush of the People in the Fields and Destruction of the City

Abimelech and his men cut off the retreat to the town gate and massacred all the men and women inside and outside the walled city of Shechem.  Archaeological excavations at Shechem reveal a destruction of the town in c. the 1100's BC.

Question: Why did he sow the fields with salt?
Answer: It was his final desecration of the town to make the symbolic gesture to assure the bareness of the soil.

Judges 9:46-49 ~ Stage Three: Battle at the Temple of El-Berith

The city fortress and the temple were part of the same building complex.   The town leaders who had been inside the fortress of Shechem took refuge in the underground crypt of the temple of "god/El of the oath," El-Berith.   El and Baal are both names of Canaanite deities.   Abimelech took his men to gather wood on Mount Zalmon, usually identified as a wooded slope of Mount Gerizim or Mount Ebal which lie on either side of Shechem.   The Hebrew word zalmon in verse 48 is related to the Hebrew word "shade" or "shadow" (sel) in verses 15 and 36.   Mount Zalmon means "shadow/shade" or "dark" mountain.   He then used the wood collected from "shadow" mountain to burn alive all the leaders of Shechem and those men and women taking refuge in the crypt.

Judges 9:50-55 ~ Stage Four: Siege of Thebez and Death of Abimelech

In his insane fury Abimelech attacks a city near Shechem, perhaps a satellite town of Shechem.   Thebez has been identified as either modern Tubas, about ten miles northeast of Shechem, or Tegal which is a little closer.
Question: How was Abimelech killed?
Answer: A woman in the tower threw down the upper part (smaller part) of a millstone that crushed his head.   To save himself from the disgrace of being killed by a woman, Abimelech begged his armor-bearer finish him off, which he did.

Hand millstones used to grind grain were in two parts: the bottom stone upon which the grain was placed and an upper stone, called the "riding" or "rider" stone that was moved back and forth over the grain on the lower stone.   In Jesus' time the milling stones were a bit more sophisticated, but in the era of the Judges the hand mill consisted of a slightly concave lower stone and a loaf-shaped upper "riding" stone.   A woman could lift an upper stone (especially if she had help) and could throw it down upon an enemy .

Question: How is Abimelech's death brought about by a single stone ironic?   See Judg 9:5.
Answer:   He executed all his brothers on a single stone.

Once again we are reminded of the significant role women play in the Book of Judges.   The book began with Achsah, the wise daughter of Caleb the Gentile convert hero of the Exodus and the Conquest who was also the wife of Othniel, the first Judge of Israel.   Next there was righteous Deborah who judged Israel and led the army of Israel with her hesitant general Barak in victory over the Canaanite army of King Jabin.   And there was brave Jael who achieved the final victory by killing the Canaanite general Sisera while his mother waited for him to bring home the spoils of war.
Question: What role significant role do women play in the narrative of Abimelech and what is ironic concerning their connection to him?
Answer: The story of Abimelech begins and ends with a woman: the Canaanite slave who gave him life and the Canaanite woman who took it.

Judges 10:56-57 ~ Conclusion

This is the second theme statement.   God's judgment has been fulfilled and justice has been given the murdered sons of Gideon.

Chapter 10: The Judges Tola and Jair

Judges 10:1-2 ~ The Judge Tola

We do not have the deliverer cycle; we only the information that he belonged to the tribe of Issachar in the north and judged Israel for twenty-three years.   Even though he was of the tribe of Issachar, he lived in a village in the territory of Ephraim and probably provided leadership to the northern tribes.   He is the descendant of the Tola who is named as one of the sons of Issachar and one of the grandsons of Jacob-Israel who made the migration into Egypt (Gen 46:13; also see 1 Chr 7:1-2).   Tola is also listed as one of the clans of Issachar (Num 26:23 and also 1 Chr 7:1-5).

Judges 10:3-5 ~ The Judge Jair

Shamgar, Tola, and Jair are listed among the six minor judges (also Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon).⁽³⁾ The rule of each of the minor judges is announced by the word "after":

• After him came Shamgar (Judg 3:31)
• After Abimelech, Tola ... rose to deliver (Judg 10:1)
• After him rose Jair of Gilead who judged (Judg 10:3)
• After him Ibzan ... judged (Judg 12:8)
• After him Elon ... judged (Judg 12:11)
• After him Abdon ... judged (Judg 12:13)

While variations of the phrase "the Israelites did what was evil in Yahweh's eyes" introduces each of the major judges:

• Othniel: "The Israelites did what was evil in Yahweh eyes" (Judg 3:7)
• Ehud: "Again the Israelites did what was evil in Yahweh eyes" ... (Judg 3:12)
• Deborah: "The Israelites again began doing what was evil in Yahweh eyes" (Judg 4:1)
• Gideon "The Israelites did what was evil in Yahweh eyes" (Judg 6:1)
• Jephthah: "The Israelites again began doing what was evil in Yahweh eyes" (Judg 10:6)
• Samson: "Again the Israelites began doing what was evil in Yahweh eyes" (Judg 13:1)

Jair was the descendant of Jair of Manasseh (see Num 32:41-42; Dt 3:14; 1 Kng 4:13; 1 Chr 2:21-23).   Peace brought prosperity which is indicated by his thirty sons who rode donkeys and were the headmen of thirty towns.   The peace and prosperity of this period makes the Israelites totally unprepared for what comes next.   In the Hebrew text there is word play in the Hebrew words for "young donkey" (air), "town" (ir), and the judge's name, Jair (yair).   Jair is the first judge from the Transjordan.   He is from the tribe of Manasseh who occupied the Upper Gilead in territory north of the tribe of Gad (Dt 3:12-14).   Only Jair and Jephthah were Transjordan judges and both are from Gilead-Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan River.

This next section is presented in five dialogues within five episodes:

1. Yahweh and Israel (Judg 10:6-16)
2. The elders of Israel and Jephthah (Judg 10:17-11:11)
3. Jephthah and the Ammonite king (Judg 11:12-28)
4. Jephthah and his daughter (Judg 11:29-40)
5. Jephthah and the Ephraimites (Judg 12:1-7)

Judges 10:6-18 ~ The Oppression of the Ammonites

This part of the Judges narrative takes place on the east side of the Jordan River and concerns the lands occupied by the Transjordan tribes of Israel.   The mention of the Philistines in three verses (verses 6, 7 and 11) prepares the reader for the story of the Judge Samson and his wars with the Philistines in Judges 13:1-16:31.   The forty years the Israelites were oppressed by the Philistines on the west side of the River Jordan (13:1) may have been during the time of the oppression of the eastern tribes by the Ammonites and the judgeship of Jephthah.   At the end of the eighteen years of the Ammonite oppressing when Jephthah begins his mission to deliver the eastern tribes, we have a time reference in Judges 11:26 when Jephthah says it has been three hundred years since the Israelites first took possession of the eastern lands.   

In Judges 10:6-18 we have the repeated cycle of sin, subjugation, supplication, and salvation.

Question: How is the cycle played out in Judges 10:6-18?
Answer: (1) Once again Israel rejects Yahweh in following after false gods until (2) they find themselves in a dangerous situation they cannot resolve, their subjugation by the Ammonites.   (3) In desperation they seek help form Yahweh, the One they rejected.   But Yahweh has lost patience with their continual cycles of sin and He rebuffs their appeal.   (4) Later God relents and responds to their appeal.

Question: How is the idolatry of the Israelites worse than ever?
Answer: They not only worship Baal and Astarte as they have done in the past, but now they also worship all the other gods of the region with the exception of Yahweh.

This is the third direct intervention by God in calling down a covenant lawsuit against Israel:

1. The messenger (mal'ak) of Yahweh confronts Israel (Judg 2:1-5).
2. A prophet (nabi) sent by Yahweh confronts Israel (Judg 6:7-10).
3. Yahweh Himself confronts Israel (Judg 10:11-15).

It is also another beginning in the seven part deliverer formulaic sequence and four parts are fulfilled in this section:

1. Announcement of Israel's wrong doing (10:7)
2. Statement of Yahweh's response (10:7)
3. Notice of how long Israel was oppressed by the enemy (10:8)
4. Reference to Israel's repentance in "crying out" to God (10:10)

Question: When the Israelites cried out to Yahweh and repented their idolatry, what did God tell them?
Answer:

1. God reminded them of the times He had delivered them from their enemies in the past.
2. He has not abandoned them but they have abandoned Him and so He will rescue them no more.
3. He challenges them to go to their false gods to rescue them.

Question: The Israelites not only cried out in repenting their sins and in submitting themselves to God's divine judgment (verse 15), but what else did they do and why?
Answer: They followed their words with actions to demonstrate their contrition by destroying their foreign gods and returning to serve Yahweh.   Repenting alone is not enough.   Genuine repentance has to be demonstrated by turning away from sin and turning back to God.

The Return of Jephtha (Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini) 

Chapter 11: The Judge Jephthah

Judges 11:1-3 ~ Jephthah the Outcast

Both Gideon and Jephthah are called "valiant warrior" (Judg 6:12).   It is a title God gave Gideon in Judges 6:12 and the inspired writer gives Jephthah in the opening line of his narrative.   Look for comparisons between the two men.

Unlike Gideon but like Abimelech, Jephthah has a dubious beginning.   He is the son of a prostitute who was probably a Canaanite woman since prostitution was forbidden for Israelite women and the penalty, like that of adultery, was death.   He was raised by his father, a man we are told whose name is Gilead.   Since this is the name of a geographic region, it is possible that the man's name is unknown and he is simply identified by the region in which he lived (Num 32:1; 26:29).   Later his father marries and has legitimate offspring.   When his father dies, Jephthah is rejected by his brothers and denied any share in their inheritance (see a similar case in the story of Ishmael in Gen 21:10).   Part of the reason could be that his brothers do not consider him a kinsman because his mother was a Canaanite.   Jephthah becomes the leader of a mercenary band in Tob, a town about twelve miles and slightly north of Ramoth-gilead on the east side of the Jordan River.   This town also supplied mercenaries to the Ammonites in their wars with King David (2 Sam 10:6-13).   The men are described in the Hebrew text as "empty men," meaning soulless men with no family, country, or religious affiliation like the mercenaries hired by Abimelech (Judg 9:4).

Judges 11:4-11 ~ Jephthah is Nominated Deliver and Lays Down his Terms

Question: Who were the Ammonites?  
Answer: They were the descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot and his younger daughter.  Like their kinsmen the Moabites, they lived on the borders of the Promised Land but never possessed it.

The Gileadites had rejected Jephthah, but now that they find themselves in a dangerous situation with no one else experienced enough to act as Israel's leader.   In desperation they turn to Jephthah and seek his help.   Understandably, Jephthah at first rebuffs their appeal, but later reconsiders.

Judges 11:12-13 ~ Jephthah attempts to negotiate with the Ammonites

The Ammonites demand the land that is now Israelite territory from the Arnon River (boarder with Moab) in the south to the Jabbok River in the north.

Judges 11:14-28 ~ Jephthah's response to the king of the Ammonites

Jephthah responds to the king of the Ammonite's demands by providing an accurate account of the historical events leading up to Israel taking possession of the lands in question during the last stage of the journey to their camp on the east side of the Jordan River before crossing over into Canaan.   Notice how Jephthah brings Moab into the discussion.   The Ammonite king failed to mention that the Ammonites and their Amorite allies had attacked Moab and took the disputed territory that originally belonged to Moab before Israel took the territory from them (Num 21:25-30).   The Ammonites had attacked Israel and when Israel won the battle, they rightfully kept the lands Yahweh had given them in their victory.   The account of these events is recorded in Numbers 20:14-21; 21:2131 and chapters 22-24, as well as Deuteronomy 2:19-37.  The god Chemosh who Jephthah mentions in verse 24 is not the god of the Ammonites but the god of the Moabites.   In other words, Chemosh did not give the land to the Ammonites; their god is Molech.

Jephthah mentions both Ammonites and Amorites.   The Ammonites are the descendants of Lot and his younger daughter.   The Amorites were one of the primary groups of peoples in the land of Canaan before the conquest and can simply refer to the basic population of the whole area on both sides of the Jordan River.   The kings Israel fought for the disputed territory were Amorites: king Sihon of Heshbon and king Og (Num 21:21-35; Dt 1:4; 2:24-37; 3:1-13). They were the allies of the Ammonites who received the newly won territory for their support and as a border defense for the Ammonites.  

The Daughter of Jephthah (Alexandre Cabanel)

Judges 11:29-33 ~ Jephthah's Vow and his Victory

Verse 29 is the fifth part in the deliverer sequence for Jephthah: the announcement of God's spirit with a deliverer (in other sequences expressed as "raising up" a deliverer).   That the "spirit of Yahweh was on" the deliverer is the same expression that was used for Othniel (Judg 3:10) and Gideon (Judg 6:34).   Jephthah is the people's choice, but God does give their choice the power to succeed by covering Jephthah with His Spirit.   However, God never talks to Jephthah directly as He dialogued with Gideon or through His prophet as the prophetess Deborah instructed Barak.   The tragedy is that we know that Yahweh' spirit was on Jephthah to give him what he needed to achieve victory, but apparently Jephthah didn't know it; therefore, he attempts to bribe Yahweh with a vow.   Victory means everything to him.   He was an outcast and now he is not only accepted but honored as a leader.   If he loses the battle, Jephthah fears that he will lose everything.  

Judges 11:34-40 ~ The Consequence of Jephthah's Vow

Did Jephthah intend that the whole burnt offering be a human sacrifice?   He must have.   While it is true that animals sometimes shared a side room of living quarters on the first floor of a dwelling or the first floor of a two-story dwelling, he had to know that it was likely either his wife or his daughter or a slave would be the first to open the door to greet him (animals don't open doors).   That he does not name the person only means he is leaving the choice up to "destiny," giving him an excuse for his behavior.

Jephthah's vow is similar to foolish vow by King Saul which could have costs his son his life if the people had not intervened to prevent it (1 Sam 14:24-30, 43-45).   In the case of Jephthah's daughter, no one intervenes.   It is a shocking turn of events since Yahweh never condoned human sacrifice and it is expressly forbidden in the Law of the Sinai Covenant.
Question: What is the penalty for someone who offers a child as a sacrifice?   See Lev 20:1-5.
Answer: The penalty for someone who sacrificed a child was death.  

This event of the sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter cannot be compared to God's command to Abraham to offer Isaac in sacrifice since that was a test of obedience (Gen 22:1) which God stopped before any harm could come to Isaac (Gen 22:11-12).   Some commentators have expressed the belief that Jephthah's daughter remained a virgin consecrated to Yahweh; it is a nice thought but does not fit the text in which Jephthah declares in verse 31 that whatever emerges from his house will be offered as a "whole burnt offering."   Such a profane sacrifice could not, by the way, be offered at God's one Sanctuary and sacrificial altar.   The priests of Yahweh would have refused and would have strongly condemned the offerer.

Question: How can a man who has the spirit of Yahweh upon him do such a despicable act as offer human sacrifice to God?
Answer: The problem begins with the vow itself which was a bribe.   You cannot bribe God.   In addition God's Spirit calls us to holiness and a life set apart as in the Sacrament of Christian baptism, but a human being still has the free will to act with righteousness or not.  

The tragedy is that Jephthah knew Israel's history and he "knew about" Yahweh, but he was so far from truly "knowing" God through His covenantal Law and liturgy of worship that he did not seem to understand that the fulfillment of such a terrible vow was an evil act.   Perhaps because he had been influenced by pagan worship where the offer of bribes for blessings in the form vowed offerings was the practice and in which human sacrifice was practiced as the ultimate offering.   It is possible that he didn't dare to resend his vow in the superstition that all the power and acceptance he had won would be taken away.

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A Daily Defense

DAY 92 The Practice of Celibacy 

CHALLENGE: “The practice of celibacy is unbiblical. Paul describes forbidding marriage as a ‘doctrine of demons’ (1 Tim. 4:1–3).”

DEFENSE: Celibacy is grounded in Scripture, including the writings of Paul. 

Celibacy is the state of being unmarried. This is not the condition most people are called to, but it is for some. In the Latin Church, most ordained ministers are celibate, as are many in Eastern Catholic Churches (CCC 1579–80). This is a matter of discipline rather than doctrine, and it could change for sufficient reason. 

However, being unmarried allows clergy to fully consecrate themselves to Christ and his service. It also conforms them to the model of life adopted by Christ during his ministry and by all the saved in the next life (Matt. 22:30). 

The way the discipline has been practiced has varied in different periods, but it is far from unbiblical.

Although Jesus recognized marriage as a good instituted by God (Matt. 19:4–6), he was celibate (see Day 25), and he recommended celibacy to those who could accept it (Matt. 19:10–12). 

Celibacy is also discussed by Paul. He indicates that he was celibate and wished everyone was, though he acknowledged it is not everyone’s calling (1 Cor. 7:7, cf. vv. 1–9). 

In view of the conditions of his day, he counseled the unmarried to remain as they were, noting it would spare them worldly troubles and allow them to be single-minded in their devotion to Christ. Yet he acknowledged that it was not sinful for them to marry (1 Cor. 7:25–38). He also appears to recommend celibacy to Timothy as a minister (2 Tim. 2:3–4). 

With this background, we can understand what Paul means when he refers to forbidding marriage as a “doctrine of demons.” He is not condemning celibacy, which he both practiced and recommended. He is condemning the idea that nobody should marry, that marriage is somehow immoral (a view endorsed by some heretics). In the same letter, Paul endorses vows of celibacy. When discussing an order of consecrated widows, he said, “Refuse to enrol younger widows; for when they grow wanton against Christ they desire to marry, and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge” (1 Tim. 5:11–12). He therefore recommended that younger widows remarry and avoid violating the consecrated widow’s vow of celibacy (vv. 14–15).

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist