Numbers 30 Devotional

Words That Bind

“If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.”Numbers 30:2 (BSB)

Promises made to God are the subject here. A man who makes a vow is bound to keep it in full (30:2). A young woman's vow in her father's house, or a wife's vow, can be cancelled by her father or husband, but only on the day he hears it. If he says nothing, it stands (30:3-8, 14). A widow's or divorced woman's vow binds her directly (30:9).

These arrangements can be hard to read today. But two things are clear. First, God treats words as weighty. Second, he builds in mercy for rash vows. Three times the text says that when a vow is cancelled, the LORD will release her (30:5, 8, 12). And a husband who cancels a vow after the day he heard it bears the guilt himself (30:15). Jesus told his followers to speak so plainly that a simple yes or no could be trusted (Matthew 5:37). Because every word he speaks holds, you can learn to speak words you intend to keep.

To think about: Is there a promise you have made, to God or to someone else, that you have been treating lightly?