The Law Concerning Vows
“Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
“Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.
“If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her. “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.
“If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her. Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.”
“Don’t promise something if you don’t mean it!” That statement summarizes today’s chapter. If a man makes a vow, he must fulfill it. But what about vows made by women? Here, God lays out several different scenarios. 1. If a woman makes a vow to the Lord while she is still living with her father, her father can allow the vow to stand or he can overrule it, releasing her from the vow. 2. If a woman marries while she is bound by a vow, her husband can allow the vow to stand or overrule it on the day he hears about the vow. 3. A husband who hears about his wife’s vow and only overrules it later will bear the guilt for the woman failing to have fulfilled the vow. 4. Widows and divorced women take responsibility for all their vows because they are not under male authority.
Why is God drawing a distinction between vows made by men and by women? At this time, men are expected to protect the women around them. As protectors, men are responsible for the vows of their women, provided they know about those vows. Divorced women and widows have nobody to protect them
How seriously did people take vows in ancient Israel? Judges 11 tells the story of Jephthah, a mighty warrior who rashly promised to sacrifice the first thing that came to meet him when he returned from the battle. Jephthah was horrified when his cherished daughter, his only child, rushed out to greet him; however, he kept his vow with the agreement of his daughter and sacrificed her. (Judges 11:29-40) Jephthah would have been thrilled had there be someone to release him from that hasty promise.
APPLICATION: In Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus warns his disciples of the danger of swearing oaths. “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
We want God to keep His promises; in fact, we demand that God do so. But are we as faithful? Many times, we say things and then later retract our statements, claiming that we were not really serious in the first place. It is far better to be careful and to only promise something when we really mean it. Vows are to be fulfilled, not ignored.
One of the saddest situations these days is the high divorce rate. Men and women swear to be faithful to each other through all kinds of problems and yet marriages can fall apart within a few years. Many couples are refusing to marry, feeling that by avoiding swearing these vows, they are being more honest. But not promising to stay with one’s partner has its own risks. Refusing to make vows can lead to a situation in which everything feels temporary and children can feel insecure and at risk, subsequently fearing to commit themselves. Vows can protect a family and a relationship when things are difficult. (Previously divorced and remarried couples please note: This is an observation and not a criticism. Blanket statements are inaccurate at best and frequently hurtful.)
Someone once asked Ruth Bell Graham, Billy Graham’s wife, if she had ever been tempted to leave him. “I’ve never considered divorce,” she said. “Murder, yes, but not divorce.” Undoubtedly, there were many times when Mrs. Graham faced lots of problems while her husband was traveling the world as an evangelist. Some of the Graham children, particularly Franklin, pulled stunts wild enough to try the patience of any parent. But those marriage vows helped keep her on course.
The final lesson from this chapter is this: God is a covenant-keeping God and takes vows very seriously; so should we. It’s fine to take a vow, but think long and hard before you do so. Let’s pray.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You that You always keep Your promises. Help us to think carefully before we promise anything and then to fulfill our promises unless that becomes impossible or we see that we were wrong in the first place. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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