The Vow

Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.”

There is a sacred decree that is mentioned around 70 times in the Bible known as a vow. It is an oath made by a person or couple who dedicates themselves to God. Many are familiar with the nazarite vow in Numbers 6, indicating a pattern of abstaining from wine, uncut hair, and ritual purity. Samson was called to uphold this vow as judge over Israel, and it was the breaking of this vow that lead to his demise.

Hannah made a vow regarding her son Samuel. In 1 Samuel 1:11 she did just that, she made a vow before God and dedicated her son if God would bless her womb. God heard her prayer and gave her Samuel who became a great prophet before the Lord.

Some people make conditional vows, such as Jacob.

Genesis 28:20-22 “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,  so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.  And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

A conditional vow often demonstrates a lack of faith. If you do this God, then I will worship you. If you bless me, then I will follow you. A conditional vow has stipulations associated with it, almost like an agreement, if you uphold your end, then I’ll uphold mine. I stand amazed when God acquiesces to such conditions, knowing full well that mankind is unreliable and prone to failure.

When God fulfills the part of a vow that is His responsibility, we witness the character of the person in how they respond. Hannah was faithful and indeed dedicated her son to the Lord, and she was blessed for it.

David made vows, and when God showed Himself true, David knew what his response should be.

Psalm 22:25 “My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.”

Psalm 66:13 “I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows”

For those who pay their vows, it demonstrates gratitude and worship that comes from the heart.

Personal Commitment Vows

A vow is an oath that is made before God in the presence of witnesses. The Lord takes vows seriously, and so should we.

Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed”

A vow delayed, is a vow denied. Solomon in his wisdom recognized that vow was not trivial. It wasn’t something to be disregarded or ignored, it is sacred, it echoes before the throne of God and determines the man or woman who either fulfills it or breaks it.

The fool breaks the vow they made before God.

People still make vows today. When a couple stands before the altar, after walking down the covenant isle, they symbolically demonstrate a holy agreement before God and man. The couple exchanges rings in a binding agreement, they speak their vows…”In sickness and in health, ’til death do us part”. They place the rings, they announce the oath, and the people rejoice. Let not those whom God has united and conjoined in holy matrimony ever be separated.

Why is it that Christians, who profess the name of the Lord, who make vows before God and mankind, why do they think they have the right to throw their marriages onto the every rising heap of broken oaths?

The vows they spoke are counted as worthless, just like the fool. They don’t exalt the name of the Lord, they defile His name before the world who is just as successful at keeping the marriage oath as they are.

“But you don’t understand, my spouse was unfaithful, therefore I have a right to break my oath”. “I fell out of love with my spouse, I’m just not happy anymore”.

Believers are not called to be happy, they are called to be HOLY!

Numbers 30:2 “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.”

Foolish Vows

There are many people who marry out of emotion. They refuse to remain celibate during the dating period and so they develop an unhealthy understanding of the one they are sexually connected with. The hormones tell them they are “in love”, while all sense and reason are thrown out the window. A believer unequally marries an unbeliever out of lust, and the trials that ensue are often too unbearable to endure. The marriages crumble, and yet it is the children who remain broken.

Jephthah made a rash vow in Judges 11. Desiring victory over his enemies, he vowed to offer as a sacrifice whatever crossed the threshold of his house upon his return. His only daughter was the first one to greet him and in his foolishness he fulfilled his vow. For years the Israelites mourned the daughter of Jephthah.

I have known many people who were the children of divorce and the wounds and scars carried with them far too long. Bitterness, hatred, and hurt were the wounds of unfaithfulness. Among the foolish oath breakers in the church, many of their children no longer find the church as a place of sanctuary and therefore never darken its doors.

What should we do?

Should we avoid marriage as the godless have so fondly portrayed today? Should we toss out the part of the ceremony that incorporates the Oath before God? Or should we revere the sacred union of a man and woman, knowing that sickness will come, that trials will follow, and for those who endure to the end, they will be blessed.

James 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.”

The world has already been judged in sin, it is the church that must repent today. Vows before God are sacred, they are holy, and they are not without judgement.

The first requirement is humility. The second is repentance. The third is faithfulness.

If you are called by the name of the Lord, then take your position seriously. As an ambassador of Christ, you represent His name before the world. From a life of faithfulness, the lost are found, the brokenhearted are renewed, and worship emanates to God’s throne.

Don’t be another casualty of unfaithfulness…be found honorable, in your marriages, in your vows, in your calling.

Do what is necessary, there is an eternity awaiting the faithful.