I WISH I’D NEVER SAID THAT!
Opening Prayer
Lord God, you are always faithful to your Word. Thank you that I can trust you in all things and for all things.
Read NUMBERS 30
Vows
30 [a]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the Lord commands: 2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
3 “When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge 4 and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand. 5 But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.
6 “If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself 7 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 8 But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.
9 “Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.
10 “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath 11 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. 13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.[b] 14 But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. 15 If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.”
16 These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.
Footnotes
- Numbers 30:1 In Hebrew texts 30:1-16 is numbered 30:2-17.
- Numbers 30:13 Or to fast
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Review your recent conversations. How do they measure up to Colossians 4:6?Women reading this passage might be outraged. In the context of the religions of the Ancient Near East, the Old Testament treats women with remarkable honor and dignity. Even so, a woman’s role in the family was very different from that of most contemporary cultures.
In the Bible, vows are taken extremely seriously. ‘When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it … It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it’ (Ecclesiastes 5:4,5). The Bible contains stories of men who make rash vows and have no one to get them out of the hole they have dug for themselves (e.g., Jephthah in Judges 11; King David in 1 Samuel 14). In today’s passage, a father or husband is able to release a woman from a vow which proves to be ‘rash’ (v 6).
Maybe you have, from time to time, made a rash commitment. In such circumstances we need humility to accept our mistake, and the wise and loving counsel of friends or family to help us find a way to be released without devaluing the currency of our words. I wonder whether we tend toward the opposite danger: our words are so careless that vows become meaningless.
Apply
“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes,’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). Is this an instruction you follow?
Closing prayer
Father, help me to be careful with my commitments; may others know they can always count on my word to be true and to be kept.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.