1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,200 To find your seat, and as you find your seat, let me invite 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:08,080 you to open to the Book of Numbers, chapter 30. 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,360 We've been going to the Book of Numbers for several months now, 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:14,840 and then we are getting close to the end. 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,440 We've made a chapter 30 this morning and we're going to be in 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,640 the entire chapter. It's just kind of a shorter 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,000 chapter. Verse 6, verses 1 to 16, title 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,760 of the song this morning. Is this being committed to our 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,480 word? And so normally I would read the 10 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:33,480 text up front, but since we're going through the whole chapter, 11 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:36,280 I'll read it as I go through it in the exposition. 12 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,680 So let me open this in a word of prayer, and then we will jump 13 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,600 into the sermon this morning. Let's pray. 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:53,400 Our Heavenly Father, we, we are so grateful to gather with 15 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:59,680 familiar faces and new faces. What a privilege it is to see 16 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,519 our brothers and sisters in the faith and to see guests and 17 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:07,760 visitors. Lord, we are encouraged by this 18 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:12,000 gathering. So Lord, I pray now as we look 19 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,200 at your word and as we seek to be exhorted and built up in the 20 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:21,000 faith through your word. God, please send your Holy 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:27,520 Spirit to to stir our affections, stir our minds, God, 22 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,840 to engage us in all of our faculties and capacities, Lord, 23 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:37,680 that we would grow and leave this place changed by the power 24 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,800 of your word and by the power of the gospel, the power of Jesus 25 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:42,880 Christ crucified and risen from the dead. 26 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,560 So God, please come and do all these works of grace through 27 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,920 your Spirit. Lord, I pray in Jesus name, 28 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:56,280 Amen. Remember when we were kids we 29 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,720 would say things like cross my heart and hope to die. 30 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,520 You'll ever say that? Or I swear on my mother's grave. 31 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,680 Or if I am lying, may lightning strike me. 32 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,760 Or I pinky swear. You all have got a pinky swear. 33 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:23,000 I promise you that's the truth. I swear on the Bible, or if I'm 34 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:30,760 lying, I'm dying. These phrases may seem harmless, 35 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:34,840 but they actually reveal a greater problem in our culture 36 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,040 today. And that is a problem with our 37 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,720 Word. As Christians, God has called us 38 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:47,760 to be committed to our Word, that what proceeds out of our 39 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,080 mouth that we do what we say. That's what the sermon is about 40 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:57,720 this morning, being committed to our word this morning. 41 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,040 We're going to look at the text. I'm going to start with the next 42 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,680 position of the text. I'll go through it kind of 43 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,560 section by section, kind of explain it, exposit it, help us 44 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,640 understand it, and then at the end I'll give us, I believe it 45 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:15,760 is eight points of application. So let's start in verses 1 and 46 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,240 2. Numbers 30, Moses spoke to the 47 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,800 heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying this is 48 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,920 what the Lord has commanded. If a man vows A vow to the Lord, 49 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:32,360 or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall 50 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:37,200 not break his word. He shall do according to all 51 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:43,840 that proceeds out of his mouth. Numbers 30 deals. 52 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,840 This whole chapter deals with what we call vows and oaths. 53 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:49,640 I want to take those individually. 54 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,280 Let's look at vows first. Now we may be wondering, what is 55 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,480 a vow, right? We've all heard of wedding vows, 56 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,280 but what are vows in the Bible? We looked at vows back in 57 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,760 October of last year when we discussed the Nazarite vow in 58 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,480 Numbers 6. Just as a brief refresher, vows 59 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:18,720 are essentially a formal promise or a formal commitment made to 60 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,320 God. Usually it is to either do 61 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,680 something or to abstain from something. 62 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,080 That's usually what it is. Some examples of vows in the 63 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,560 Bible include Jacob's vow to God made in Genesis 28. 64 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:35,840 Hannah made a vow regarding her son Samuel to give him to the 65 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:37,960 Lord. If you remember, Jephta in the 66 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,640 book of Judges made a foolish vow that cost his daughter's 67 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,360 life. Vows are mentioned some 11 times 68 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,240 in the book of Psalms. Paul even made a vow in the book 69 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,960 of Acts and in the book of Numbers. 70 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,960 We have seen vows in chapters 6 and chapters 21. 71 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,600 And so why is there now a chapter about this? 72 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,120 Well, I think Numbers 30 is going to deal with the very 73 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:11,080 specific context of vows. The context is women and vows. 74 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,360 This is kind of one of those like case laws where we're going 75 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,960 to deal with a very specific case of how is Israel to deal 76 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,000 with this situation of women making vows. 77 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:25,960 But before Moses addresses this context, he's going to talk 78 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,320 about men and vows and just the first 2 verses. 79 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:35,760 And I want to point out two aspects about vows from these 80 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,880 first 2 verses. Here they are #1 vows were 81 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,000 voluntary. They're voluntary. 82 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:50,120 Notice in verse one, this is what the Lord has commanded. 83 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,960 But right after that, it's followed up with the word if. 84 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,720 This is what the Lord has commanded if, which means that 85 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,520 God doesn't command people to make vows. 86 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:05,160 There is no command that thou shalt make vows. 87 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:11,640 He says if though. If you do make a vow, then you 88 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:16,160 are commanded to do something. So vows are voluntary, but if 89 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,280 you make them, then you're commanded to do something. 90 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:25,160 Which leaves the number two. Once a vow was made, it is 91 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,480 binding. Once someone made a vow, look 92 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,600 what he says in verse 2. He shall not break his word. 93 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:38,360 He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 94 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,680 Now this rule also applies to oaths. 95 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,720 If you notice, he says that if you swear an oath to bind 96 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,760 himself by a pledge. So if a man made a vow or took 97 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:54,480 an oath, it was binding. This which then raises the 98 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,000 second category of, well, what is an oath, right? 99 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:58,040 There's a vow and there's an oath. 100 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,680 What is an oath? Oaths are essentially their form 101 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:02,480 of a contract. You know, we have contracts 102 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,680 today. They didn't they didn't have ink 103 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,200 and paper the way that we do or PDFs, you know, like they didn't 104 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,120 have that. How what was their contract was 105 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,760 their word. They made an oath with their 106 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,800 word. And when they made an oath, it 107 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,360 was binding. It was binding in ever since the 108 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,120 word. Now oaths are scattered all 109 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,960 throughout the Old Testament. Abraham and Abimelech made an 110 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,800 oath. Abraham and Eliezer made an 111 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,240 oath. Isaac and Abimelech remember the 112 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,000 spies in Rahab made an oath. They made an oath not to kill 113 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,440 her as long as she hung the scarlet cord out of her window. 114 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,760 Joshua made an oath, said that anybody rebuilt Jericho, they 115 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,720 would be killed. The Israelites made an oath in 116 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,440 Judges 21. David and Shemai made an oath. 117 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,360 The Israelites in 2nd Corinthians 15 made an oath, and 118 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,280 even in Ezra 10 and Nehemiah 13 they made an oath to put away 119 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,720 their foreign wives. So oaths are all throughout the 120 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,000 Old Testament, and that's men and vows. 121 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:08,040 Now we get to women and vows. Let's look at verses 3 to 5. 122 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:14,040 If a woman vows A vow to the Lord, and binds herself by a 123 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,520 pledge while within her father's house in her youth, and her 124 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,680 father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has 125 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:26,840 bound herself, and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall 126 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,880 stand, and every pledge by what she has bound herself shall 127 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,200 stand. But if her father opposes her on 128 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,159 the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by what 129 00:08:38,159 --> 00:08:41,440 she has bound herself shall stand, and the Lord will forgive 130 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,240 her because her father opposed her. 131 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:51,040 So This next section deals with a very specific context of women 132 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,160 and vows. Now you may be wondering, why do 133 00:08:55,160 --> 00:09:00,240 men get 2 verses and women get 14 verses, right? 134 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:01,360 You know, it's the discrepancy there. 135 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,640 Why? Why is there so much attention 136 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:07,440 given to women and vows? Well, I think it's very simple. 137 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:12,400 Keep in mind that daughters living at home were under their 138 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,840 father's authority, right? I mean, it's still even true 139 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:16,520 today in a lot of context, right? 140 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,040 If you, if you're a daughter living at home, you're under 141 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,560 your father's authority and wives were under their husband's 142 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:26,680 authority, then I would argue that's still true today as well. 143 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,560 So fathers had authority over their daughters and husbands 144 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:34,000 have authority over their wives. But then that might create some 145 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:35,600 issues. Why? 146 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,920 Because women were allowed to make vows just like men. 147 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,560 Women could make whatever vow they wanted, but that's going to 148 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:45,640 create some issues. And so this chapter is written 149 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:52,080 to address those issues, right? And so God is going to get 4 150 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,480 different contexts. 4 different contexts are addressed here. 151 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:57,320 We're going to break them down one at a time. 152 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:04,720 The first context that we just read is if a woman is within her 153 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:09,840 father's house as a youth. As a youth now, most women were 154 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,760 married between the ages of 14 and 18. 155 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,320 Almost all women, if they got married, would have gotten 156 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:17,480 married between the ages of 14 and 18 in those days. 157 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,760 So this is specifically referring to a woman who was 158 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,720 unmarried and she's still living under her father's authority at 159 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,800 home. If such a woman made a vow to 160 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:35,920 the Lord, and thereby she binded herself as by a pledge, if her 161 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,840 father hears about the vow, meaning he knows it exists. 162 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,720 So one day she makes a vow, he gets word of it, he knows it 163 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:47,520 exists. If he says nothing to her, 164 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:52,520 meaning he doesn't seek to change it, he just keeps his 165 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,720 silent. He just keeps his peace at that 166 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,520 moment. At that moment, the next day, 167 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,960 the vow becomes binding. She must fulfill the vow, 168 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:08,680 whatever it is she vowed. However, if her father opposes 169 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:12,800 her, meaning he opposes the vow when he hears about it and he 170 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:20,040 says Oh no, no, no, you're not doing that if he does it on the 171 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:21,880 day that he hears about it. So the father can't 172 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,480 procrastinate about this. It's not like, you know, he 173 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,560 hears about it and then like 2 years later he's like, oh by the 174 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:29,800 way, you're not doing that. Vow doesn't work that way. 175 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:32,800 It has to be on the day that he hears about it. 176 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:37,440 At that moment, the vow becomes null and void. 177 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,120 Now you may be wondering like, well, what's an example? 178 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,400 Let me give you 2 hypothetical examples, Just two hypothetical 179 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:49,960 examples. Suppose a father on his 180 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:56,040 daughter's 12th birthday decided to give her her own lamb, right? 181 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:57,760 He has this beautiful little lamb. 182 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,880 It's her 12th birthday and he wants to give this lamb to his 183 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,040 daughter and he gives it to her. It's hers. 184 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,440 That's, that's her birthday present, right? 185 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,720 And she actually made a vow after she got it to offer it up 186 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,840 to the Lord rather than keep it as a pet and raise it and love 187 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,120 it and care for it. She's like, I want to vow this 188 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,480 to the Lord on the day that her dad hears about this vow. 189 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:27,760 If he says nothing to her, then the vow is binding and she has 190 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:31,240 to offer that lamb to the Lord. She's required to at that 191 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,760 moment. That's one example. 192 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:38,600 I'll give you another one. Suppose a daughter when she is 193 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:45,080 12. She's like, I don't like my 194 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,920 parents marriage. I vowed to remain single all my 195 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,760 life. I'm never getting married. 196 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,160 I make a vow right now and her dad hears about it. 197 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,920 Her dad says you can't remain single all your life, you got to 198 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:07,080 get married. At that moment the vow becomes 199 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,560 null and void. Maybe he is allowed to oppose 200 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,200 this and it becomes null and void. 201 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:22,600 Now if the father made the vow null and void, how do we rectify 202 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,040 that? With the fact that God said vows 203 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:30,920 must be fulfilled, right? The texture said vows, How do we 204 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,320 rectify that? Look at the last statement in 205 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,920 verse 5. If her father opposes her on the 206 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,640 day that he hears of it, no vows of hers, no pledge by what she 207 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:47,240 has bound herself, shall stand, and the Lord will forgive her 208 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:52,720 because her father opposed her, meaning the Lord will forgive 209 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,200 her. God will not hold this 210 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,040 unfulfilled vow against the daughter. 211 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,240 He won't consider it as her not fulfilling her vow because her 212 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:06,040 dad opposed it. Now, in case you're wondering, 213 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,360 as a side note, well, what about sons who lived under the 214 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,160 parental authority, right? What if our 12 year old son is 215 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:15,240 he's, isn't he under his dad's authority? 216 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,320 What if he made a vow? Why doesn't the text address 217 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,080 that? Or what about unmarried older 218 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,240 women? What if you were 25 and you're 219 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,800 unmarried and you live on your own, or your dad dies and now 220 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:27,960 you? What about that? 221 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,240 I don't know the Bible. The Bible doesn't say so. 222 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:38,200 We can ask God that in heaven. Verses 6 to 8. 223 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,800 If she marries a husband while under her vows, or any 224 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,240 thoughtless utterance of her lips, by what she has bound 225 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,280 herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on 226 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:54,680 the day that he hears, then her vow shall stand, and her pledges 227 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:56,760 by which she has bound herself shall stand. 228 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,280 But if on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he 229 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,840 opposes her, then he makes void her vow. 230 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,760 That was honor and the thoughtless utterance of her 231 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,640 lips by which she has bound herself, and the Lord will 232 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,640 forgive her. So now this deals with the 233 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,200 second context. Remember, the first context is a 234 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,080 daughter living at home under her father's authority while 235 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,480 being unmarried. The second context is if a woman 236 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:26,200 takes a vow prior to being married. 237 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:32,440 So she takes this vow, and then she gets married after that, but 238 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:37,280 before she can fulfill the vow. So she makes the vow, gets 239 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,640 married, but hasn't fulfilled the vow yet, Right. 240 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,840 And so on that day that her husband learns about it. 241 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:50,480 So let's say she gets married and two weeks into their 242 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,560 marriage tells her husband, oh by the way, I made a vow when I 243 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:59,520 was 12 years old or 15 years old on that day that he hears about 244 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:01,000 it. The same principle applies. 245 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,760 If the husband says nothing on that day, then her vow is 246 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,320 binding. If he just keeps his silence, 247 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,400 the vow is binding. But if on the day that he hears 248 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,840 about it, if her husband opposes her, then the husband makes the 249 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:20,360 vow null and void. Now one might wonder, why would 250 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,280 a husband oppose his wife's vow? Why would he do that? 251 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,840 And the text gives us a clue for some of the cases. 252 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,680 Look at how Moses describes some of these vows. 253 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:33,120 Look at verse 6. If she marries a husband while 254 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:38,200 while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her 255 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,440 lips, look down in verse 8. But if on the day her husband 256 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,600 comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void or vow. 257 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,000 That was honor and the thoughtless utterance of her 258 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,280 lips. And what does that mean? 259 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,680 This Hebrew word? It only occurs twice in the Old 260 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,240 Testament, both times here it means a rash promise, an 261 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:03,560 imprudent oath, word spoken in a foolish or undisciplined manner. 262 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,200 You say, well, what would be an example of this? 263 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,520 Here's what this maybe would be an example again, hypothetical. 264 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:18,240 Let's say that a woman made a vow when she was 14 years old to 265 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:23,920 give 50% of her future finances to the Lord, 50%. 266 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,359 And then she gets married and the husband hears about this 267 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,960 vow. Well, he may not want to give 268 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,600 50% of their finances to the Lord so he could make the vow 269 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:41,040 null and void, right? In other words, he, he, he's not 270 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,600 bound to that because simply because she made the vow before 271 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,880 they were married. Notice just with the daughter, 272 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:49,960 you said, well, what about unfulfilling the vow just with 273 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,440 the daughter? The Lord will forgive the wife. 274 00:17:54,600 --> 00:18:04,360 Now our modern ears are probably asking the question, Why can the 275 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:09,120 husband make the wife's vow no and void, but the wife can't 276 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:11,880 make the husband's vow no and void. 277 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,560 Maybe Jephthah's wife was asking the same question. 278 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,160 One can argue that's because they're a patriarchal society 279 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,120 and that's just their culture. We might, you know, if you go to 280 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:29,800 UW, that's what they'll argue. It's because they're patriarchal 281 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:31,680 and that's just their culture, right? 282 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,560 But that's not the argument that the Apostle Paul takes. 283 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:39,440 That's not the argument Paul takes. 284 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:47,840 Just as a father has authority over his daughters, so do 285 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,000 husbands have authority over their wives. 286 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,560 Paul writes in First Corinthians 11/3 and Ephesians 523. 287 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,960 The head of a wife is her husband. 288 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:10,040 Now I understand that that may offend our egalitarian ears, but 289 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,640 that is what Scripture teaches us. 290 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:15,160 There's much more that could be said on that. 291 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:17,920 I could be the whole sermon on that, which the text is not 292 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,400 about that. I want to make the point though, 293 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,720 that this is in the Old Testament. 294 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:30,520 But this idea of a father having authority over his children and 295 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,280 a husband having authority of his wife, that has not changed. 296 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:37,480 That is still binding today in our culture, in our Christian 297 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,960 culture. Look at verse 9. 298 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:46,840 But any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, anything by 299 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,520 which she has bound herself shall stand against her. 300 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:55,240 This is the third context. This third context is if a woman 301 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:59,640 is either a widow, so her husband has died or a divorced 302 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,760 woman so her husband has left her right. 303 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,600 So if if there if Oma was married, her husband died or her 304 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,640 husband left her. This is becomes a different 305 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,680 context. Usually in their culture, what 306 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,880 would happen if in either of those two situations, the woman 307 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,880 would do one of two things. She would either return to her 308 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,440 father's home and if he were still alive and live with him, 309 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,120 or if he wasn't still alive, she would go to her son's home, 310 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:30,960 right? I mean, you even see this with 311 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:32,880 Mary, right? This is what Jesus on the cross, 312 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,040 why he tells Mary and trust Mary to John because he's not going 313 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,520 to be there. So she would either go to her 314 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:45,320 Father's home or to her son's home and she would live with 315 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:46,760 them. Now this question though, then 316 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,320 the question becomes at that point, can the Father or the Son 317 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,000 void her vows? And the answer is no. 318 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:00,920 The text says that she is now treated as the man in verse 2, 319 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,680 meaning that all of her vows remain binding. 320 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,360 Nobody can void them. Nobody can make them null and 321 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:09,760 void. So for a widow woman or a 322 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,280 divorced woman, every vow that she has is binding at this 323 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,160 point. That's the third context. 324 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,320 Look at verse 11:50. And if she vowed in her 325 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,680 husband's house, or bound herself by a pledge with an 326 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,840 oath, and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her, and 327 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:31,080 did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every 328 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,560 pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 329 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,840 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he 330 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,520 hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips 331 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,680 concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself 332 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,480 shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, 333 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:53,520 and the Lord will forgive her. Now this is the fourth and final 334 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,920 context. This is a wife who makes a vow 335 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,280 or makes a pledge after being married. 336 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,280 So remember the second context was she made it before she's 337 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,280 married? This is a wife who makes a vow 338 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:10,440 or pledge after she is married. The same principle applies which 339 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:15,560 whether she made the vow before or after, same exact principles. 340 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:20,760 I won't rehash that. So what would be an example of 341 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,600 this, of why a husband would or wouldn't do this? 342 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,560 Let me give an example where her husband didn't void his wife's 343 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:28,960 vow. Let me give an example. 344 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:36,840 Remember Hannah, she was barren and had prayed for years to have 345 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,360 a child. One day she made a vow. 346 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,920 She said, Lord, if you will give me a child, if you will give me 347 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,360 a son, I will offer him to the Lord. 348 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,680 She would devote him to the Lord, meaning he would like. 349 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,960 He doesn't live at home anymore. He stays there until he's weaned 350 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:54,520 and then he goes and lives in the temple. 351 00:22:55,240 --> 00:23:00,520 She he's devoted to the Lord. Now, the text doesn't say this, 352 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:06,120 but we are to assume that El Cana, Hannah's wife, Hannah's 353 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:12,280 husband, Sorry, El Cana was OK with it. 354 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:18,800 We are to assume he was OK with this because Hannah's given a 355 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,880 child and she does in fact devote him to the Lord. 356 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,680 But think of it like this. Suppose El Cana wasn't OK with 357 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:31,720 this. Suppose he said, this is my son 358 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,920 too. I don't want to give him up the 359 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,880 temple. Like what if after Ezra was 360 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:41,080 born, Lauren told me she's like, well, actually made a vow that 361 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,960 Ezra is going to go live and be a, a, a monk, a Christian monk. 362 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,400 We have to give him to the, the monastery or the whatever they, 363 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:57,320 those things are called. And I'm like, no, no, he's my 364 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:04,680 son too, right? So he could have made it null 365 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:09,720 and void, but he chose not to. He chose to let her vow play out 366 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,760 and it now became binding. Now she has to devote him to the 367 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,880 Lord. That's the 4th context. 368 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:22,000 Look at verses 13 to 16. Any vow and any binding oath to 369 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,320 afflict herself, her husband may establish or her husband may 370 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,640 make void. But if her husband says nothing 371 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,480 to her from the day today the establishes all her vows or all 372 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,160 the pledges that are upon her, he has established them because 373 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,640 he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 374 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,680 But if he makes them null and void after he's heard of them, 375 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,840 then he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statues that the 376 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,360 Lord commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father 377 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:50,720 and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's 378 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,880 house. Now these verses deal with a 379 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:58,000 specific example in marriage. So not a different context, a 380 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,360 specific example. If a wife took a vow or a 381 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:06,200 binding oath to afflict herself. Now what does that mean to 382 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,520 afflict herself? We actually looked at that word 383 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,640 last week. If you remember, on Yom Kippur, 384 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:13,880 the Israelites on one day out of the year, on Yom Kippur, were 385 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:15,880 all commanded to afflict themselves. 386 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:20,440 Now in, as I mentioned last week, in that context, I think 387 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,240 it means to fast. I think it means to fast that 388 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,000 you would take a, you would you were commanded to fast on Yom 389 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,240 Kippur. What does it mean in this 390 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,040 context? Because you kind of wonder, 391 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:37,880 like, why would a husband oppose his wife's fasting, right? 392 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:39,560 That makes, I mean that affect him at all. 393 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:41,400 You know what? I actually think it may mean 394 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,160 something else because the word that's usually the Hebrew word 395 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,320 is a very broad term. The net Bible has a note here. 396 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,720 The case here may be that the woman would take a religious vow 397 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,320 on such an occasion to humble herself, to mortify her flesh, 398 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:01,560 to abstain from certain things, perhaps even sexual relations 399 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,360 within marriage. I think that's what this is 400 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:11,080 referring to, that if a wife took a vow after she was married 401 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:15,880 and said I take a vow to abstain from sexual relations for the 402 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:20,200 next year, the husband has a choice. 403 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:25,320 He can establish it or he can make it void again. 404 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,840 The way that he establishes it is by saying nothing. 405 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,280 The way that he makes it void is by opposing it on the day that 406 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,920 he hears about it. And God adds A clarification to 407 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:36,680 this at the very end. Look at verse 15. 408 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:41,600 In verse 15 he says, but if he makes them null and void after 409 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,320 he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity. 410 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:50,000 What does that mean? If for whatever reason he 411 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,920 doesn't oppose it on the day that he hears about it, Right, 412 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,240 He hears about it, but he doesn't oppose it. 413 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:58,080 Why? Maybe he's passive. 414 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:04,200 Maybe he procrastinates, Maybe he's indecisive, I don't know. 415 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,200 And then a week goes by and then he's like, no, you're not doing 416 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,840 this. This vow is now Nolan void. 417 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:19,120 He can still do that, but God says the husband will bear his 418 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,360 her iniquity. In other words, he will pay the 419 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:26,760 penalty for making her break her vows. 420 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,040 He will be guilty before the Lord, not her. 421 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:32,680 He will bear that, that iniquity. 422 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:34,920 She will not be held responsible for it. 423 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,360 And that stops our expedition of the text, application of the 424 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:43,400 text. Like it's like, let's have a 425 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,600 pastor. What you got for us. 426 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:49,280 How do you get application from this chapter? 427 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:51,920 I had eight. I did have 10. 428 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,800 I whittled it down to 8. I have eight points of 429 00:27:54,800 --> 00:28:01,600 application #1 God takes vows seriously. 430 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:07,560 God takes vows seriously. Now we all know that God takes 431 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,360 marriage vows seriously. I hope that goes without saying. 432 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,400 God takes marriage vows seriously. 433 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:15,960 Jesus says what? Therefore, God has joined 434 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,800 together. Let no man separate. 435 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,240 Matthew 19/6. Paul writes in the 1st 436 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,080 Corinthians 7 that a wife should not separate from her husband 437 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,440 and a husband must not divorce his wife. 438 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:33,080 And God even says in Malachi 217 that God hates divorce. 439 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,480 But it's not just marriage vows that God takes seriously. 440 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,640 It's all vows. Let me point to us to a few 441 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,040 scripture verses that testify to this reality. 442 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:49,640 Deuteronomy 2321 The Lord says, if you make a vow to the Lord 443 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,000 your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your 444 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,440 God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of 445 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,640 sin. Or Ecclesiastes 5 four to five, 446 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:05,280 pay what you vow. It is better that you should not 447 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,120 vow than you should vow and not pay. 448 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,640 Or Proverbs 2025 It is a trap for a man to dedicate something 449 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:19,120 rashly and only later to consider his vows Or one more 450 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:25,640 Malachi 114 who has a male in his flock, vows it and yet 451 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,080 sacrifices to the Lord. What is blemished. 452 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,600 Now from these passages that I just read to you, I want to give 453 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:40,600 you 3 principles about vows. A Don't be quick to make vows, 454 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,880 but once made, be quick to fulfill them. 455 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:51,160 Don't be quick to make vows, but once you do make them, be quick 456 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,680 to fulfill them. Just as the Bible exhorts us to 457 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:58,880 be slow to speak, we should also be slow to make vows because 458 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,720 they are a serious matter. That's true for marriage vows. 459 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:07,440 That's true for all vows, because once we make them, they 460 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,520 are binding, and once we make them, we are to be quick at 461 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,600 fulfilling them. B. 462 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:20,200 It is better to not vow than to vow and break it. 463 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,680 I'll give a very practical, very simple example of this. 464 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:30,720 It's better not to marry than to marry the wrong person and get a 465 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,960 divorce. You're better off being single. 466 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:41,960 C God considers the breaking of a vow as sin. 467 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:46,640 If we make a vow and we break it, God actually considers it to 468 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,600 be sin. So often in our language today, 469 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:55,040 we hear things like, I was just playing, I didn't mean it, I was 470 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,960 only joking, right? Don't we, that kind of our 471 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,360 common vernacular these days, we say something. 472 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:09,120 I'm just kidding. God takes our vows as binding 473 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:18,120 and the breaking of them as sin #2 I want to exhort you to 474 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:25,480 consider making vows to God. You may have been wondering 475 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:27,520 maybe maybe some of you been sending this whole time of like 476 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,760 what, what man, what, what does any of this have to do with me? 477 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:37,160 Here's here's something has to do with you consider making vows 478 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,000 to God. Let me ask you a question. 479 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:47,480 Are New Year's resolutions more known for people making them or 480 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:52,160 breaking them? They're more known them, aren't 481 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,720 they? It's it's kind of ironic that 482 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,800 the for something to be known for breaking it rather than 483 00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:59,720 making it, but that's what it is. 484 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:02,040 It, it seems kind of pointless to make. 485 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:03,840 I don't make New Year's resolutions and many of you 486 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:04,680 probably don't either. Why? 487 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:06,480 Because you're like, well, I'm just going to break it. 488 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,160 What's the point of making it if I'm just going to break it? 489 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,560 We want to be careful that we don't have the same mentality 490 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,360 with vows. When you read this about how 491 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:21,080 seriously God takes vows 1, you may think, well, then I just 492 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:24,760 won't make them. And if these things are binding 493 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,680 and if it's sin if I break them, I just won't make them. 494 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:30,800 You saved yourself, Pastor, that the Word of God says that it's 495 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,880 better not to make it than to make it and break it. 496 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,360 So the safe play is just don't make them right. 497 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:42,360 In other words, is there any benefit to making a vow? 498 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,680 Is there any upside? There's certainly risk. 499 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,360 Is the upside? Yes. 500 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:57,680 Yes. Vows can serve as a powerful 501 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,840 means of accountability and renewed commitment to the Lord. 502 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:09,160 When you make a vow, it can be a powerful means of accountability 503 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,920 in your life and a powerful means of renewed commitment to 504 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:15,760 the Lord. Let me give you a few examples. 505 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:25,880 Suppose someone is overweight or drinks or smokes, and they 506 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:29,040 develop a medical condition that is threatening their life. 507 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,520 They are in the hospital bed and they're not sure if they're 508 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:39,200 going to live or die. They could make a vow to God 509 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,080 right then, right there as they lie in the hospital bed. 510 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,920 God, if you will preserve my life. 511 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:51,600 I vow to go on a diet and lose 50 lbs. 512 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:59,440 Or I vow to stop drinking. I will never drink again. 513 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,880 I vow to stop smoking. I will never smoke again. 514 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:12,080 You could make that vow. Or suppose someone is secretly 515 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,840 addicted to pornography and one day they're caught. 516 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,920 They're found out. They're not sure what the 517 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,760 consequences are going to be. They're scared. 518 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:28,040 What's this going to mean? They could make a vow right 519 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:33,800 then, right there. God, I vow I will never look at 520 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:39,840 pornography again. I'll give you one more. 521 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,040 Suppose you have a wife and three kids who are financially 522 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:47,360 dependent on you and you get laid off from your job. 523 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,320 You need a job. You've got 5 mouths to feed. 524 00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:56,360 You have to have a job, but the job market is frozen. 525 00:34:57,680 --> 00:34:59,960 You, you just, you can't seem to find a job. 526 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,240 You could make a vow right then right there. 527 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:08,640 God, if you will give me a job, I vow to give 10% of our 528 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:11,640 finances every year for the rest of my life. 529 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:21,560 You could do that. See, vows can serve as a 530 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:27,200 powerful means of accountability and a powerful means of renewed 531 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:31,720 commitment to the Lord. And if you make this vow, you 532 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:39,120 have to keep it. Now again you might say, well if 533 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:44,640 I break it, then don't ever get married. 534 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:56,960 There is an accountability there where you know that you vowed 535 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:02,000 this to the Lord, and I would be willing to venture that your 536 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,400 odds of keeping that increase dramatically if you don't make 537 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:16,960 the vow #3 be not rash with your mouth. 538 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,680 Be not rash with your mouth. There's an interesting phrase in 539 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:24,240 verses 6:00 and 8:00, and the phrase is this thoughtless 540 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,680 utterance of her lips. You know, I was thinking about 541 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,440 this phrase, thoughtless utterance of her lips. 542 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:34,160 How many times do we speak and what is said out of our mouth is 543 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,200 a thoughtless utterance of our lips. 544 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:42,120 I think the broader implication of this principle in this 545 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:47,320 chapter is this words matter. Words matter. 546 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,560 How many times are we warned and exhorted in the Scriptures about 547 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:56,720 our words? Ecclesiastes 52 Be not rash with 548 00:36:56,720 --> 00:37:00,120 your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before 549 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,880 God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. 550 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:09,440 Therefore let your words be few. Or James one night let every 551 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,360 person be here, and slow to speak. 552 00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:20,040 Oh, Proverbs 1728, Even a fool who keeps silent is considered 553 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:25,920 wise. You ever put your car and drive 554 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:30,120 and then you hit the gas and your car doesn't go anywhere? 555 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:33,440 You're like, what? Go? 556 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:35,680 Why is my car going away? And then all of a sudden you 557 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,200 realize your emergency brake is on. 558 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:45,920 Like, oh you see, our spiritual minds are to function like an 559 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:54,400 emergency brake. Before I engage this, I need to 560 00:37:54,440 --> 00:38:06,480 engage this #4 Let your yes and your no be enough. 561 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:11,680 Let your yes and your no be enough. 562 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:15,360 One of the questions that this chapter raises is the issue of 563 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,520 taking oaths, right? The chapter deals with vows, but 564 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,400 it also deals with pledges and oaths. 565 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:25,200 In 10 of the verses you either see the term pledge or oath, 566 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,400 which then raises the question, is it OK if we take an oath? 567 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:32,640 Is it OK if we swear on something? 568 00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:36,800 This is a tricky question which will is beyond the scope of the 569 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,880 sermon, but we certainly see oaths all throughout the Old 570 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:42,880 Testament. We even see oaths and a few 571 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:45,000 places in the New Testament. We do see them in the New 572 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:49,200 Testament, but the overall guiding principle on this topic 573 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,480 has to be the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. 574 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,400 Where Jesus says in Matthew and the Sermon on Mount Matthew 575 00:38:55,400 --> 00:39:00,320 53337 you have heard that it was said of those of old, You shall 576 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,760 not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you 577 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,240 have sworn, which is exactly what he's referring to here. 578 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:10,040 But I say to you, do not take an oath at all. 579 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,680 Let what you say be simply yes or no. 580 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:19,120 Anything more than this comes from the evil 1. 581 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:23,800 I like what Leon Morse, who's a commentator, writes about this. 582 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:27,280 He writes. The conclusion of the matter is 583 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:31,440 that it is never necessary for Christ's people to swear an oath 584 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,720 before they utter the truth. Their words should always be so 585 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:40,160 reliable that nothing more than a statement is needed from them. 586 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,680 God is in all of life and every statement is made before Him. 587 00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:48,120 All right, now I'm leaving off the court. 588 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:49,840 I know something like what about in court, right? 589 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:52,480 That's talk to me later about that. 590 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,920 I'm talking about like if I'm talking to Tim and Tim says, 591 00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:59,040 Hey, you borrowed my car the other day. 592 00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:01,920 There's a there's a mark on it. Did you hit something? 593 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:04,320 He's like, well, I didn't hit something. 594 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:06,520 I did it. I swear. 595 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,880 What Jesus is saying is that our word as Christians. 596 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:21,600 Should be enough. You know how on Amazon they have 597 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:24,960 something called verified reviews, right? 598 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,680 Why do they have that? Because credibility issues. 599 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:29,880 How do you know this review wasn't paid for? 600 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,560 That wasn't solicited, right? We have credibility issues. 601 00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:39,560 As Christians, we shouldn't feel the need to boost our 602 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:44,480 credibility. The truth of our words should be 603 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,000 enough. That's what Jesus is saying. 604 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:54,320 Five. God has called us to be men and 605 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:59,440 women of commitment. God has called us to be men and 606 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,800 women of commitment. A vow is basically a commitment. 607 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:04,600 If you ask, like give me a synonym of a vow. 608 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:06,160 Commitment. That's what a vow is. 609 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,520 It's a commitment. It's a commitment either to do 610 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:13,600 something or not do something. Now it is no secret that 611 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,320 commitment is an issue in our culture today, is it not? 612 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:22,680 We've all experienced it, maybe even being guilty of it. 613 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,960 We've all heard the term fear of commitment, right? 614 00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:31,840 Go go to the local talk to any like group of women talking 615 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:34,000 young women, you know that manners, they have fear of 616 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:39,320 commitment, right? I wonder if the term is better. 617 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:43,760 Aversion to commitment, fear, kind of, you know, I think 618 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:48,480 aversion to commitment. Many people delay getting 619 00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:50,760 married because they are averse to commitment. 620 00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:54,440 Not everybody, but some people, they delay getting married 621 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:56,000 because they are averse to commitment. 622 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:01,320 Even after getting married, many married couples don't want to 623 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:06,800 have kids because they are averse to commitment because 624 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:08,880 once you have this child, you're committed. 625 00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:13,760 Some people may not buy property or take a risk in business 626 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,160 because they are a verse to commitment. 627 00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:20,640 Many Christians will attend church but will never become a 628 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:25,360 member of their church because they are a verse to commitment. 629 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,720 How many times are we invited to something and the options are 630 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:40,320 yes, no, or maybe, and we put maybe because we need to keep 631 00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:44,560 our options open because of because maybe a better 632 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:52,320 opportunity will come along. As Christians, one of the 633 00:42:52,320 --> 00:43:00,160 primary ways that we can be a man or a woman of commitment is 634 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:08,880 to be a man or woman of our word, which means we do what we 635 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:14,160 say. We don't want to be the person 636 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:18,680 who says, hey, I'll be there and then don't show up. 637 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:27,360 We don't want to be somebody who says, yes, I'll take to do it. 638 00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:37,960 God has called us to be men and women of commitment. 639 00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:48,880 We do what we say. 6 The Lord is willing to forgive our foolish 640 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:53,080 mistakes. The Lord is willing to forgive 641 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:55,360 our foolish mistakes. Three times in this chapter the 642 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,560 same statement is made and the Lord will forgive her. 643 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:02,120 Now this comes in the context of a daughter or a wife not 644 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:05,760 fulfilling her vow, either because her vow, her father 645 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:08,120 opposed it or because her husband opposed it. 646 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:12,240 Sometimes vows are made impulsively or foolishly. 647 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:15,080 Now, I don't want to suggest this is always the case, that 648 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:19,360 like were there times that a husband or a father opposed it 649 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:22,240 because they were in sin? Yes, of course I'm sure that's 650 00:44:22,240 --> 00:44:24,280 the case. I don't want to suggest that 651 00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:26,240 every time they oppose this because the full the vow was 652 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:29,520 foolish, that I don't think that's the case, but sometimes 653 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:34,800 that is the case. Gordon Wenham writes this Facing 654 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,880 death. Even hardened atheists are known 655 00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:41,280 to pray. Throughout human history, when 656 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:43,880 men have found themselves in dire straits, they have prayed 657 00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:47,560 for deliverance and made vows to God, promising to do something 658 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:51,400 for God if he rescued them. Vows are made in the heat of the 659 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:53,960 moment. In retrospect, when the crisis 660 00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:58,120 is over, they may well seem foolish and unnecessary, and the 661 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,400 person who made the vow may be tempted to forget it or only 662 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:09,400 fulfill it partially. This seems to be at least one of 663 00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:12,280 the reasons, not every but one of the reasons, why a father 664 00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:15,320 might oppose his daughter's vow or why a husband might oppose 665 00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:20,480 his wife's vow. One, I mean, one of the 666 00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:23,400 questions we have in the book of Judges is this, did Jephta have 667 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:27,280 to sacrifice his daughter? Remember, Remember, Jephta, he 668 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:29,520 was going into the battle and he said, Lord, if you give us the 669 00:45:29,520 --> 00:45:32,040 victory, I'll sacrifice to you whatever comes out of my door 670 00:45:32,040 --> 00:45:33,880 first. He wins the victory. 671 00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:36,520 And when he comes home, as he's returning home, his daughter 672 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:40,480 walks out the door first. I preached the entire sermon 673 00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:44,600 answering this single question. Did Jephta have to sacrifice his 674 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:48,240 daughter? And in that sermon, I argue that 675 00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:52,920 you could argue yes and no. I think you can make both 676 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,920 arguments. I still don't know which is 677 00:45:55,920 --> 00:46:01,160 true. And, and, and the part of the no 678 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:05,520 argument part of the no argument that no he didn't is that he 679 00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:07,680 could have chose not to. And yes, he would have had to 680 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:10,680 pay a hefty price, but not the price of his daughter. 681 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:12,760 The Lord would have forgiven him. 682 00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:17,920 But you could also make the argument no based on verses one 683 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:19,480 and two. He absolutely had to do it. 684 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:22,160 It was binding. He had to sacrifice her. 685 00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:24,280 I think you can make the argument both ways. 686 00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:27,640 I don't know what's true, but here's what I do know. 687 00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:33,400 The Lord is willing to forgive our foolish mistakes. 688 00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:38,000 Don't ever think that like if you make a mistake, you're 689 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,040 locked into it and there's no turning back. 690 00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:47,080 There's no one doing this right there. 691 00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:49,440 I mean like there are couples who will be engaged and they 692 00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:52,760 think like engagement has almost become like saying wedding vows. 693 00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:56,640 Like once you're engaged, it's like man, we have to get married 694 00:46:56,640 --> 00:46:57,680 now. No, you don't. 695 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:01,880 No you don't. You can break this off. 696 00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:12,840 You have not said I do. The Lord is willing to forgive 697 00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:21,920 our foolish mistakes. 7 Vows, oaths, and promises should never 698 00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:25,080 be used for manipulation or deceptive purposes. 699 00:47:25,480 --> 00:47:29,800 Vows, oaths, and promises should never be used for manipulation 700 00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:32,120 or deceptive purposes. You say, well, how would you do 701 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:33,360 that? There are three examples in the 702 00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:37,360 New Testament where a vow or an oath or a promise was used or 703 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:39,560 could be used for manipulation or deceptive purposes. 704 00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:43,240 Let me give you those examples. The 1st is Mark 7 with Corbin, a 705 00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:45,080 priest on this several a few years back. 706 00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:49,280 Another word, the topic of Corbin is that let's say that a 707 00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:53,840 person, let's say I owned a parcel of land and I devoted it 708 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:57,880 to the Lord. Now under Corbin rules, I get to 709 00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:01,080 still retain use of that land and I can make a profit off of 710 00:48:01,080 --> 00:48:03,000 it. So I could grow crops on it. 711 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:05,880 I grow grapes and I and I make wine. 712 00:48:05,880 --> 00:48:08,640 I sell it out, right? And then when I die, it'll go to 713 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:11,200 the Lord, or maybe in other terms that go to the Lord, 714 00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:13,200 right? I get to retain possession of 715 00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:14,800 it. But then let's say that my 716 00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:18,680 parents fell on hard times. Parents came to me and they 717 00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:21,160 said, Hey, we can't work. We, we can't eat. 718 00:48:21,200 --> 00:48:23,280 We, we, you know, can you help us out financially? 719 00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:28,560 And I said I'd love to, but I can't. 720 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:30,200 I've offered this land as Corbin. 721 00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:37,600 In other words, Corbin was used as a loophole to get out of 722 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:40,880 helping parents, of honoring your father and mother. 723 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:44,040 This is what Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for. 724 00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:46,760 That's the first case. The second case is First 725 00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:50,840 Corinthians 7, where Paul writes, do not deprive one 726 00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:54,280 another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, 727 00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:58,320 that you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come 728 00:48:58,320 --> 00:49:02,360 together again. Paul is saying that a wife 729 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:07,600 cannot make a vow by herself to abstain from intimate relations 730 00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:09,680 unless it is mutually agreed upon. 731 00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:14,240 You can only abstain, right? Say, you know, if you say, well, 732 00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:17,320 my New Year's resolute, you know, if Lauren came to me and 733 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:21,040 said, Matt, my New Year's resolution for 2026 is for this 734 00:49:21,040 --> 00:49:23,520 whole year, no intimate relations. 735 00:49:29,650 --> 00:49:33,450 You can't do that unless it's mutually agreed upon. 736 00:49:35,570 --> 00:49:38,050 Paul's argument is there. It has to be mutually agreed 737 00:49:38,050 --> 00:49:39,930 upon. Now, you could mutually agree 738 00:49:39,930 --> 00:49:41,450 upon it. You could say for the next week, 739 00:49:41,690 --> 00:49:44,810 the next month, whatever, we're not going to come together so 740 00:49:44,810 --> 00:49:48,280 that we may devote ourselves to prayer, but it can't be used for 741 00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:54,040 manipulation purposes. The third example is First 742 00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:57,160 Timothy 4. There are church leaders that 743 00:49:57,160 --> 00:50:00,520 Paul says who forbid marriage and require abstinence from 744 00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:02,600 foods that God created be received with Thanksgiving. 745 00:50:02,920 --> 00:50:05,560 Now, what's interesting is that there are entire branches of 746 00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:11,880 Christianity that do just this, who require their leaders to 747 00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:18,640 abstain from marriage, and yet Paul says right here not to do 748 00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:26,320 that. Vows and oaths were always 749 00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:30,920 intended to bring us closer to God, not further from one 750 00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:38,520 another. Last point #8 Silence often 751 00:50:38,520 --> 00:50:42,680 conveys agreement, possibly even approval. 752 00:50:44,040 --> 00:50:48,640 Silence often conveys agreement, possibly even approval. 753 00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:55,760 What did a father need to say to convey that he approved of his 754 00:50:55,760 --> 00:51:00,760 daughter's vow? What did a husband need to say 755 00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:05,240 to convey that he approved of his wife's vow? 756 00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:11,160 Nothing. Nothing. 757 00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:15,920 Four times in the text the Lord affirms that what makes the vow 758 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:19,640 binding is the father or husband saying nothing. 759 00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:24,080 Now, I think what's interesting is that there is a broader, a 760 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:28,160 much broader spiritual implication here, and it is this 761 00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:36,400 silence often conveys agreement, possibly even approval. 762 00:51:38,680 --> 00:51:41,480 Let me give a facetious example. Facetious. 763 00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:43,760 Suppose my wife comes in my office. 764 00:51:43,760 --> 00:51:45,280 I'm busy right in the sermon, right? 765 00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:50,640 She comes in, she says, hey, I'm heading out, I'm going to buy a 766 00:51:50,640 --> 00:51:56,680 new car. And I say later, what is that? 767 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:02,720 What is she supposed to take that as tacit approval? 768 00:52:05,880 --> 00:52:10,800 I didn't say anything. Of course, she would take that 769 00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:16,280 as tacit approval. The same principle applies and 770 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:19,280 countless examples. In the Christian life. 771 00:52:21,280 --> 00:52:26,040 Silence often conveys agreement, possibly even approval. 772 00:52:26,320 --> 00:52:36,400 God has called us to speak up because words matter, especially 773 00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:42,440 words of exhortation as we close. 774 00:52:44,720 --> 00:52:49,360 At the very least, all of you in in Christ have made a vow. 775 00:52:51,040 --> 00:52:54,440 Everyone in this room who was in Christ has made a vow. 776 00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:59,560 I know that I did not baptize all of you, only a very small 777 00:52:59,560 --> 00:53:01,520 few of you. But whenever I baptize someone, 778 00:53:01,720 --> 00:53:05,240 I asked them a series of questions, and it always ends 779 00:53:05,240 --> 00:53:11,680 with this question. Do you commit to follow Jesus 780 00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:14,280 Christ all the days of your life? 781 00:53:18,920 --> 00:53:21,440 All of you in Christ took this vow. 782 00:53:23,280 --> 00:53:32,760 You made a commitment to follow Jesus all days of your life to 783 00:53:32,760 --> 00:53:36,960 the day you die. I want to exhort you. 784 00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:43,120 Keep your thou, let's pray.