Scripture Daily

Context No. 4309 of 4322 · Numbers

Context · Reflection

Numbers 30:1-5: in context

1Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded. 2When a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3“Also, when a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, being in her father’s house, in her youth, 4and her father hears her vow and her pledge with which she has bound her soul, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge with which she has bound her soul shall stand. 5But if her father forbids her in the day that he hears, none of her vows or of her pledges with which she has bound her soul, shall stand. The LORD will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her.

This passage sets out the seriousness of vows and promises made before God. When a person makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself by a pledge, the command is clear: he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. A promise made is a binding thing; the word given must be kept, and doing what we have said is treated as a matter of integrity before God.

What stands out is the weight placed on keeping our word. In a world where promises are easily made and easily broken, this law insists that a vow is not to be treated lightly. What proceeds out of our mouth, what we have committed ourselves to, binds us; we are to follow through and do it. Our word is meant to be reliable, and God takes seriously whether we keep the commitments we make.

It is easy to make promises and commitments, and easy to let them slide when keeping them becomes inconvenient. But God values a person who keeps his word, who does what he has said even when it costs him. To be reliable, to follow through on our commitments, to let our yes be yes, is part of a life of integrity before God, who himself always keeps his word.

Am I a person whose word can be trusted, who follows through on commitments and promises even when keeping them becomes inconvenient or costly, letting my yes be yes, as this law insists that a vow made must be kept?

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