He Shall Not Break His Word…All Her Vows Shall Stand

“If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.”

The central theme of Numbers is the accomplishment of the promise that God made to Abraham to give him descendants without number (Gen. 12:1–3; 15:1–6; 17:1–8). Supporting themes are the promise of land to be inherited, the blessing of other nations, and the covenant relationship with God. The book of Numbers moves around the subjects of lawgiving and journeying. From Exodus 19:1 to Numbers 10:10, the people of Israel are given the Law of God with all of its moral, ceremonial and civil requirements and obligations. We know this to be the covenant of Law that God gave through Moses. In Numbers 10:11–12:16 the cloud lifts off the Tabernacle in the second year after leaving Egypt and the people again take up their journey toward Canaan. In Numbers 13:1–19:22, we find Israel camped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran from where Moses sent out the 12 spies into Canaan. As a result of their bad report and disobedience God promised judgment upon the generation that came out of Egypt and then gave Israel more laws. In Numbers 20:1–22:1, the people journey on from Kadesh to the plains of Moab, and again judgment comes upon them for their disobedience. In Numbers 22:2–36:13, God again has to discipline Israel because they worshipped Baal of Peor and committed sin with the Midianites. This was the result of Balaam’s advice. As a result of this, God gives them more laws.

So journeys and law permeate the book. The people sin during their wandering in the wilderness and God gives them his laws. Ultimately they arrive at the border to Canaan in preparation of crossing over to take the land. A mass of people brought there by God. And Israel is in possession of God’s moral law and many other laws. In Numbers 30, we have such an example of a particular law given by God.

Numbers 30 is about vows and pledges made by both men and women. Many Christians are confused by vows and pledges. The point of the passage is that if a man or woman in Israel made a vow or pledge, he or she was bound to fulfill the vow or pledge. Verse 2 speaks of a man “vowing a vow to the Lord” and “swearing an oath to bind himself by a pledge.” A vow or pledge is either to perform something or abstain from something. It is not a sin to make a vow or pledge, and it is not a sin not to make a vow or pledge. The point is, a vow or pledge only becomes binding when you make it.

There is nothing sinful in vows and pledges, but there is something binding in them. If a man makes a vow or pledge, the Lord says he must not break his word. He must do “according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Vows and pledges are binding. This is because in the Biblical usage, vows and pledges are made to the Lord or in the Lord’s name. Many people make pledges to give certain amounts of money and fail to do so. This is a violation of a promise made. You would have broken your word, not only to others but also to God. It is a very dangerous thing to promise to do something or to never do something. Be careful of what you say. Our words are binding. Many people pledge money they don’t have yet, and then when they fail to have the money they forget the pledge. God has not forgotten. You have bound yourself with your word. You must fulfill your word. I daresay many people would have to sell their homes or recognize that they will spend the rest of their lives paying off their pledges.

But this is not how we modern Christians view our word. We break our word and make excuses about our pledges. We break our marriage vows and get divorced. We negate our contractual obligations in employment by walking away. We fail to pay off our credit cards or fail to pay our mortgages and walk away from our homes. You cannot walk away. You are bound and the only release is the fulfillment of the obligation. We say, “I didn’t mean that or there were conditions attached if I couldn’t fulfill it.” No! If you said it, you are obligated to it. Now if you made a pledge or vow and it is sinful, then you are not obligated to such a pledge or vow. God does not expect us to do what he forbids. But he does expect us to do what we promise. And he may chastise us heartily for making such sinful promises we shouldn’t make.

If an Israelite promised to give the Lord a sacrifice, he could not bring a defiled animal as his sacrifice (see Mal. 1:14). He would have violated the conditions of purity that God had previously commanded. He could not argue either that he had fulfilled his obligation just because he brought an animal. Women in the Old Testament were under their fathers’ or husbands’ authority, so God gave a proviso for them. A father could undo a daughter’s vow or pledge, but only if he heard it, or of it, and took immediate action on the day he heard it. If he did nothing, then her vow or pledge would stand (vs. 3–5). If a father reversed the pledge or vow, then God forgave the daughter for not carrying it out. If a woman was married, then her husband could undo any pledge or vow that she had made, provided he undid it on the same day he heard it (vv. 6–8, 12–15). If he failed to respond then, again, the vow or pledge of his wife would stand, and she would be obligated to fulfill the vow (vv. 10, 11). So a husband may waive the pledge or vow and the Lord would forgive her for not carrying out her word. Silence on the husband’s part would establish her words, and if the husband were to try and make them “null and void” later on after having heard them and done nothing about them, then he would bear the iniquity of breaking her vow and not the woman (vs. 15). Interestingly, verse 9 makes the point that a widow or divorced woman has no authority above her (husband or father), and, therefore, her vow stands when she makes it and she is obligated to it.

Vows and pledges are about covenant obligations and responsibilities. We bind ourselves to God when we make vows and pledges. If you make a pledge you must fulfill it (Deut. 23:21–23; see Judg. 11:30–40 for the consequences of a rash vow). This shows us how dangerous our mouths are. We promise many things and then promptly forget them. God can never do this. If he has promised something, he must and will fulfill it. He cannot be or do otherwise. Neither can we argue regarding our pledge or vows, “well, I’m not the Lord, so he will forgive my vow or pledge.” No! It does not work that way. God says your word binds you. I tremble to think of what I have said and forgotten and failed to fulfill. It is a frightening thing.

The Apostle Paul obligated himself to a vow and fulfilled it (Acts 18:18). In Acts 21:23, he joined four other men in keeping a vow. He kept his word. The New Testament does not urge us to make vows or pledges. It does, however, urge us to always keep our word. James tells us, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (James 5:12). So don’t make rash promises. Vows are voluntary things, but you bind yourself and God takes note. What you have promised or pledged or vowed, you must fulfill. Jesus promised to redeem us and he has kept his word. Let us keep ours.