Read Numbers 30:1-16
Vows made to God are serious business, and this section of the law sets out more guidelines to follow. This isn’t the only Biblical reference to vows. Here these rules protect husband and fathers concerning vows made by women. These men have the final say as to whether a vow is appropriate and should stand.
It’s helpful to know that a vow is a pledge expected to be kept. If that’s not possible, it’s better not to make a vow in the first place. Once a vow is made, a person is committed to the LORD to perform some special deed or even be abstinent from some action. The Hebrew culture has deep respect for the spoken word, a good model for the rest of us to follow.
I do wish this law also gave wives and mothers protection so that if the man in their life made a crazy vow they would have the right to question and cancel it. It’s helpful to remember that at the time these laws were given, women didn’t have the same positions of authority that they do now in some cultures.
No matter the audience, let’s focus on being careful in what we promise God. That’s really the bottom line, isn’t it? Perhaps you’ve made a bargain with God in the past. Something like, “I’ll go to church every week if only God will do this one thing for me.” Those “things” are generally saving us from some foe or calamity we want to avoid. While that “vow” sounds pretty basic, there is no way to avoid failure. Illness, bad weather, traffic jams, sporting events all scream as distractions keeping us away from church.
To break a vow is very disrespectful to God. None of us want to fail in that way. In all of Solomon’s wisdom, he writes in Ecclesiastes 5:5, “It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.” Even Jesus chimed in about vows when he said in Matthew 5:34, “But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.”
There is no Biblical mandate for us to make vows in the first place. In fact, Deuteronomy 23:22 says, “However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow.” We are human, and keeping a vow to God can be difficult because of our own selfish desires. We may start out with good intentions, but something is bound to interrupt us.
If you are someone that needs accountability like I do, perhaps you want to set an intention or a goal involving your relationship with God. I don’t see those as “vows” but as ways we can stay connected. It can be as simple as setting aside a special time each day to read your Bible or have a prayerful conversation with God. When it’s a goal for you, you are the one who is disappointed if you miss a day. While God loves spending time with us, you haven’t disrespected him by breaking a vow if “life happens.”
Let’s pray. Lord, I never want to disrespect you with something I say or do. Forgive me for any promises I have made that I have failed to keep. Thank you that you love me and forgive me for my faults and missteps. May my devotion for you stand strong and secure despite any circumstance of life where I may get stuck. May I carry your message of love into the world. May everything I say and do be honoring to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
