| Num. 30:1-16 |
"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 vows 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 vows 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
forgive her, because her father overruled her. But 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 vowed and what she uttered
with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the Lord will forgive her. But
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 forgive her. Every vow and every binding
oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make
it void. But 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." |
| Deut. 23:21-23 |
"When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall
not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and
it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to
you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you
voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth." |
| Example: |
Jud. 11:29-40
A startling example of this law being used is Jephthah, who made a vow to the Lord that he had to keep. How sad.
|
| Matt. 5:33-37 |
"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,' (Lit.
your word be yes yes) and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these
is from the evil one." |
| Jas. 5:12 |
"But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by
heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and
your 'No,' 'No,' lest you fall into judgment."
 Note: This is why I don't give my word to do
anything lightly. If I say I will do something, I will do it! I have found that
God is faithful to provide whatever I need to complete that which He sets
before me to do. If you are asked to do something that you don't have a confirmation from God to do, ask for the grace to gently refuse to do it. However, there may be times when we give our word in error to do something God would not want us to do. When we realize God's Word overrules ours we may come to our senses, and receive the strength to turn back to Him for release from our vow, and cleansing.
See (God Teaches You What To
Say) |
