Saturday Motivation: Vows and Their Implications!

admin September 13, 2020 Saturday Motivation 0

12th September 2020!
Saturday Motivation! Vows and Their Implications!

Text: Psalm 61 v 8: So I will sing praise to Your Name forever that I may daily perform my vows.

What are vows?

A vow is dedication of something to someone. It could also be a pledge to do a specific thing. It’s also a commitment to perform an act or to make a declaration.

Other words that are often used interchangeably with vows are; promise, oath or covenant. Although these words can be used interchangeably, they are somewhat different. A promise is a declaration or an assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. While a vow is a solemn promise to perform an act or behave in a specified manner. A covenant is usually a formal, solemn and binding agreement. An oath on the other hand is a solemn promise often invoking a divine witness regarding one`s future action or behavior.

What does the Bible have to say about vows?

Biblically, making a vow is a promise to worship God with a certain offering in the future. It is often motivated by gratitude for God`s grace in the life of the believer who made the vow. In many instances, vows are made in time of great danger or need.

When vows are made to God, it is important for them to be fulfilled in due time. It is better for a believer not to vow at all than to make a vow and not fulfill it. This is sinful.

Breaking a vow is an act of lying if it was made with the intention to break it when it was made. However if there are unavoidable circumstances that led to a vow being broken, it is forgivable.

We must be careful in making vows which we are not sure that we will be able to keep because whenever vows are made to God, they become binding obligations and should not be violated. This means that we are not supposed to be hasty in making promises to God.

What are examples of things that can be vowed to God in the Old Testament?

By Leviticus 27, the following can be vowed to God as gifts;

The gift of persons (Leviticus 27 v 1-8); People can be vowed as offerings to the Lord. When this is done, such people are intended to serve in ministry.
The gift of providing for the poor in consecration by a vow (Leviticus 27 v 8)
The gift of animals; (Leviticus 27 v 9-13) Animals can be given as offerings to the lord but when they are given, they cannot be redeemed or exchanged for another. Unclean animals are unacceptable as vows to the Lord.
The gift of property (Leviticus27 v 14-15)
The gift of fields of one`s family inheritance (Leviticus 27 v 16-21);
The gift of purchased fields ( Leviticus 27 v 22-25);
As believers, we are not supposed to make false vows but must fulfill our vows to the Lord (Matthew 5v33).
A false vow is one which you intend not to keep. It may have been made sincerely when it was made but later forgotten, regretted or for some other reason was not fulfilled.
Secondly, when a vow is made, the believer must not delay in paying it.

Leviticus 27 teaches believers to be careful about the vows they make in the following ways;

Do not make hasty vows without due consideration
Do not make foolish vows (Jephthah)
Failure to pay a vow is sinful and costly
Just as we are warned that we should read the fine print when making legal transactions, Leviticus 27 warns us about the dangers of making vows that we cannot keep or vows that we will end up breaking.

According to Leviticus 27, making a vow to God is the highest form of worship that we can offer Him and it pleases God. The promises of God are the basis of our faith as believers and since God always keeps His promises to us, we must do the same to Him.

So many times, believers find it very hard to keep their vows to God. This is sinful. Sin contaminates and corrupts true worship to God.

Examples of vows that can be made according to the New Testament

The teaching of the Old Testament is carried through in the New Testament that every commitment must be carried through just as a vow should in the following ways;

Sermon on the Mount; Jesus in his sermon in (Matthew 5 v 33-35) stated that a vow is an affirmation or an oath that must be kept.
Matthew 23 v 16 states that believers must be truthful in all their affirmations and statements since every promise is as good as a vow and must therefore be kept.
Luke 14 v 28-33: states that believers are encouraged to weigh the cost before making any commitment. Because of this, Jesus did not readily accept volunteers to be his disciples, he spelt the cost of discipleship to them and urged them to think about it before promising to follow him (Luke 9 v 57-62)
Ephesians 14 v 25; In Paul`s epistle to the Ephesians, he emphasized the importance of speaking the truth. In his letter to the Corinthians, he encouraged them to follow through with the gift they had earlier on promised to send to Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 9 v 5 and 7)
1 Timothy 5 v 11-15, Paul encouraged women not to make a hasty decision to remain single but rather to remarry just in case they later meet Mr. Right and are tempted to violate their vow.
In James 5 v 12, James admonishes believers to never swear either by heaven or earth or with any other oath, but must let their yes be yes and their no, no so that they do not fall under judgment.

Problems of keeping our vows to God as believers

The final chapter of Leviticus reveals the problems encountered by believers while trying to carry out their highest calling which is the worship of God through vows.

The problem of sin; In Acts 5v1, Ananias and Sapphira tried to reduce their gift and still portrayed that they were offering the total sum that they had vowed.
The problem of those who are preaching the gospel out of impure motives Jeremiah 23.
The law of spiritual thermodynamics (Revelation 3 v 16): This is the tendency of a saint to cool off in his spiritual fervor. When believers are experiencing a spiritual euphoria, they make great promises to God. The same believer might decide to renege on his promise when he experiences a spiritual low and will look for a way out from keeping his vow to God. The reality of vows is that after a believer`s enthusiasm has waned, he or she will have to keep to the promises they made.
Some of the vows made can be evil; examples are when we make a vow to never do something again, something worthy, something that would glorify God. Another example is when we vow to do something evil, like taking the life of another human being; Acts 23 v 12 -14; this is the story of forty men that took a vow of fasting that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul. The hated Paul so much that they solemnly bound one another with an oath of murder. They placed themselves under an anathema (a vow of destruction)
The fundraising techniques used in most churches of today is an inducement to make them make a vow of a financial commitment that they are not capable of carrying through without adequate thought or prayer and should not be so. (Mark 12 and Luke 21)
The method of evangelism in today`s world is also worthy of note; believers should not compel others to make an immediate commitment to Christ without thinking their decision through. Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit and people must not be forced to immediately commit. Jesus himself warned his would-be disciples to count the cost before they follow him and we must emulate Jesus by doing the same thing.(Titus 2 v 1)

Let’s look at some examples of people that made vows in the bible

Jacob vowed to pay a tithe if God would bless and keep him (Gen 28 v 20-22)
The Nazarite vow as defined in Numbers chapter 6 and Samson (Judges 13) is the most famous Old Testament example. When the Israelites fought the Canaanite King of Arad, they vowed to utterly destroy their cities if God gave them victory (Numbers 21 v 1-3)
Jephthah led the Israelites in battle against Ammon and in exchange for defeating the Ammonites, made a vow to sacrifice whatever would come out of his house first. We all know how the story ended. Jephthah vowed to offer to God the first thing to come from his tent to greet him, which proved to be his only daughter (Judges 11 v 29-40). Jephthah`s vow is an example of a bad vow. He ended up having to offer his virgin daughter as a burnt offering to the Lord. Human sacrifice is highly condemned in the Bible (see Deuteronomy 18 v 10 and Ezekiel 16 v 21). If anyone makes such a vow, it is not binding at all as such a vow will break one of the cardinal rules of God of “thou shall not kill.”
Hannah vowed that if God gave her a son she would give him to the Lord all his life (1 Samuel 1 v 10-11) (Holy service or Holy Consecration)
Jonah`s vow was made from the belly of the great fish that had swallowed him (Jonah 2 v 9)
In the New Testament, we find that Paul continued to make vows and fulfill them (Acts 18 v18)

According to Scriptures, only three vows exist in the Old Testament

Vows of devotion: Leviticus 7 v 16 and Deuteronomy 12 v 5-13; these kinds of vows are presently inoperable today because they involve animal sacrifices in a sanctuary or temple. Since there is no sanctuary or temple or priesthood functions in Jerusalem in this age and time, these vows are now invalid.
Vows of abstinence: This has nothing to do with a New covenant relationship with the Lord. It concerns the social customs relative to the laws of the old Covenant and the nation of ancient Israel (Numbers 30). During that era, the wife was considered the property of the husband and the husband could disallow any vow or promise she makes. Women were not also allowed to speak in church but all that has changed in the New Testament.
Vows of Destruction: Leviticus 27 v 28-29 This is in relation to the killing of idolaters and or sexual deviates. This was only a part of the social law of Israel and has nothing to do with Christianity. This changed in the New Testament because Christ condemned it in (John 8 v 3 -11)
The Marriage Vow
Matthew 5v 33-37, James 5 v 12: Christ warned against taking of the Name of God in vain in these two scriptures. These frivolous oaths were condemned by Jesus and they are not vows. In place of oaths Christ demanded absolute truthfulness. He emphasizes that our yes should be yes and our no, no

Please note that the marriage oath may be broken. It is a known fact that an ideal marriage is supposed to last for a life- time however, divorce is possible in both the Old and New testament Bible in some circumstances. (Deuteronomy 24 v 1-4 and Romans 7 v 2).
It is illegal in a biblical sense to promise or vow anything that is contrary to the express command or permission of the Holy Spirit. Some believers are of the view that the vow of “till death do us part in marriage is wrong” because marriage is a covenant. It is an agreement between two people to perform some specific acts and once any of the parties violates the terms of the covenant, the agreement is broken and invalid.
We all know that when Israel became unfaithful, God divorced her in accordance with the law that He himself had set.
So I believe that marriage vows should be redrafted as: “this marriage is bound in heaven by the laws of God Almighty” under no circumstances should two people be asked to vow a contract to remain married no matter the circumstances. This is totally unbiblical.

Let`s look at some Bible verses on Vows

Deuteronomy 23 v 21: When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise, he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner.
James 5 v 12: And above all my brothers and sisters do not swear either by heaven or earth or by any other oath. But let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment
Ecclesiastes 5 v 4-5: 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. Better not to vow than to vow and not to pay.
Proverbs 20 v 25: It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy and afterward to reconsider his vows
Malachi 1 v 14a: Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord.
Matthew 5 v 34-35: But I say to you do not swear at all neither by heaven, for it is God`s throne nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Psalm 66 v 13-14; I will go into Your house with burnt offerings ; I will pay You my vows which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
Psalm 61 v 8: So I will sing praise to Your Name forever that I may daily perform my vows.
Psalm 56 v 12 -13a: Vows made to You are binding upon me O God. I will render praises unto You, for you have delivered my soul from death.
Numbers 30 v 2: If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth
Psalm 50 v 14: Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High
Proverbs 7 v 14: I was due to offer peace offerings, today I have paid my vows
Jonah 2 v 9: But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving, that which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.
Deuteronomy 23 v 18: You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord Your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord.
Jonah 1 v 16: Then the men feared the Lord greatly and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
Psalm 22 v 25: From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
Deuteronomy 23 v 23: You shall be careful to perform what goes out of your lips just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God , what you have promised.
Genesis 31 v 13: I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me, now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.
Proverbs 31 v 1-2: The word of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him: What, O my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows?
Job 31 v 1: I have a made a covenant with my eyes, how then could I gaze at a virgin
1 Samuel 1 v 21: Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.
Psalm 132 v 2: How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the mighty one of Jacob.

Conclusion

Are there vows that you have made and have not kept, vows that are based on your gratitude towards God and your desire to serve and worship Him? Vows which are dependent on God for you to perform them? The way out is for you to trust in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation and to become the carrier of His good news message to the world. If you have made any vow to the Lord, try to keep them. It is better you do not vow at all than for you to vow and not fulfill them.

Prayer: Lord help me to daily perform my vows to you, in Jesus Mighty Name!
Amen!
Shalom!

Saturday Motivation: Vows and Their Implications!