Scripture Reading - Numbers 30

Vows, Oaths, and Covenant Faithfulness

Good morning.

Today we'll be reading numbers 30. It's a passage about vows. You'll be able to find it in page 138 in your pew Bible. I will too. All right, so how'd we get here? So the Israelites here have made it to the promised land or about to enter a promised land.

And the Lord is giving Moses some last commands for them. These are commands about vows and oaths. So what is a vow? So a vow is a promise that's made to the Lord. It could be in the form of an action an offering or an abstention such as fasting.

Some examples the Nazarite vow Was a vow where men or women would abstain from alcohol dead bodies or cutting hair. When people get married, they also make vows. They were often made when you were asking God for help.

Often in battle and they were intended to be an external sign of significant commitment and devotion to the Lord. So an oath Is a promise made to a person with the additional authority of another entity or an object.

Example this is in the recent presidential inauguration where both Donald Trump and JD Vance gave a vice presidential and a presidential oath. Where they swore on Bibles. They are tended to give weight of religious authority to the statements.

You may not think it but there are plenty of vows that we make in our lives as Christians. As I said before marriage, it's a promise made to the Lord about your spouse. And baptism being a pledge of commitment to as a follower of Christ in the presence and affirmation of a local church.

We also think of the Lord's Supper as a vow. It's a reminder of the covenant of grace in a regular renewal of the pledge of faithfulness to God. Normally a lot of people think of the Lord's Supper is simply a time of remembrance.

But many of the ordinance and festivals that we talked about in the Bible Especially the Old Testament were seen as renewals of covenants and commitments to service that were punctuated by oaths and vows.

Covenant Renewal, Church Discipline, and the Weight of Promises

So in Nehemiah after the exiles had come back. From Persia the people renewed their vow to the Lord by having the Feast of Booths and letting the Torah be read. So from Nehemiah 10 all these now join their fellow speaking of the returned Israelites.

All these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the law of God Given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands regulation and decrees of the Lord our Lord.

So this is also Why church discipline involves not taking the cup. One of the ways that we can think about it Is that it's a church's way of saying that they cannot in good conscience Affirm that this person is able to commit to be faithful to the Lord when they take communion.

So in this passage God establishes rules about vows and oaths and how there are two standards for women and men in the responsibilities to their oaths. Numbers 32 Establishes the general principle and the rule for men.

When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge He must not break his word, but must do everything he said. Here we see that men have a greater responsibility to or less protections from their word when making vows.

Men were expected to start being held to their vows without examination at about the age of 13. In addition men were also tasked with the responsibility of affirming or opposing the vows of their daughters and wives.

So for women, there's four categories. Unmarried women if they made a vow and their father hears it and approves it then they are to keep it. Newlywed women if they have made a vow and when their husband hears about it He approves it then they must keep their vow.

For married women the pattern continues. If a married woman makes a vow and her husband Approves it and does not oppose it. Then they all must also keep their vow.

And.

Divorced women or widows must keep their vows as a man would. So a woman's responsibility to her vow is filtered through her father or husband's authority.

So.

Jesus’ Teaching on Oaths and the 1689 Confession

What does this all mean. First of all, the general principle is that our word should be treasured. We get this both in the New and the Old Testament where Jesus talks about making vows saying Again, you have heard that it was said of those of old You shall not swear falsely that shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.

But I say to you that do not take an oath at all either by heaven For it is the throne of God or by the earth for it is his footstool or by Jerusalem For it is the city of the great king. And do not take an oath by your head for you cannot make one hair white or.

Black.

Let what you say be simply yes or no. Anything more than this comes from evil, but vows are good and they have their place. Matthew 5 is not prohibited vows or oaths entirely but rather put into context what we should swear by God alone and our hearts when we swear with honesty and integrity and at the proper time.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession confirms this as well. It says the name of God only is that by which men ought to swear and Therein it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence. Therefore to swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name or to swear at all by any other thing is sinful and to be abhorred.

Yet as in matter of wait and moment for the confirmation of truth and Ending of all strife an oath is warranted by the Word of God. So a lawful oath being imposed by lawful authority in such matters ought to be taken.

So in certain matters of weight or moment lawful oaths are to be taken so given that We should consider the proper weight of our vows in the ones that we make. Consider that the breakers of vows in the Old Testament were well understood to implicate themselves in sin with the expectation Of God's wrath.

This was known as bearing the weight. One of the vows the Book of Common Prayer says. Marriage is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently discreetly advisedly soberly and in the fear of God.

These things are serious to the unmarried. Consider the weight of what you are preparing for as you make decisions about marriage and Consider getting input from pastors and trusted elders sooner rather than later.

To the married I would have you consider that this person is your greatest responsibility After the Lord and should be treated as such. For communion. Consider that this is a church ordinance and you are promising to God that you are committing to covenant ting with a body of believers.

Willfully skipping out on communion is a sign that one is unable or unwilling to commit to continent ting with this group of people. Now to the rest of the passage Men are being called to a higher standard.

They have been equipped and called by God to be responsible strong and rational leaders. It is a well understood principle from the Bible that men have the special role of being strong first. Corinthians 16 13.

Be watchful stand firm in the faith act like men and be strong. Additionally, they must be wise to care for the spiritual health of the people under their authority and steer them away from making foolish choices.

That said for the women the safest place. For those who are weak is to be under the authority of a godly man or father. These laws might appear restrictive but they are meant for great protection of those under authority in ancient Israel and today.

Wives and daughters were meant to be in safety under the nurturing of a man who not only cared for their physical needs. But their spiritual health as well. For a man though, he may make a thoughtless utterance.

His vow will stand but a woman has the opportunity to have it annulled whenever her authority figure hears about it. Look specifically at the widow in verse 9. We see that her vows stand with the same weight as a man.

And you might be thinking oh, isn't it great that she is a quality with the man. Yes, this is a sign that her words stand alone. It is a sign of the equality of the essence of men and women that their words Stand as equal and that she does not need to return to her father's house.

However, it's also the case that the Bible is full of reminders that widows are especially vulnerable if We understand these rules to be ones of protection authority. Then it makes this scenario one of these reminders that she does not have someone watching over her as a potential protector from thoughtless utterances.

What does this look like today? Those who are weak should be under the protection of those who are strong in The Bible the covenants that are described as marriages covenants apply to those who are truly needy.

God with Israel Christ with the church and husbands with wives. For both men and women the safest place to be is under the authority of the one godly father God Who is able to save us from sin and death?

For both men and women the safest place to be is under the I'm sorry secondly, it's for our protection to put ourselves under the authority of godly elders who have watched over our souls and Then lastly for women and children to put ourselves.

It is good and safe to be under the authority of a godly father and husband who can spiritually guide and financially provide.

For you.

Christ Bearing Our Sin Debt and Guilt

So in the grander scheme of things We should all understand that we are needy in having a sin debt. We need someone to covenant with us and protect us from the wrath of God. Jesus Christ has taken believers on as his bride So that we might be protected from the pain of sin and death.

His work on the cross and his active obedience protect us from guilt and provide us with new life in him There is no other safe place to turn. There is no one strong enough who will save you from the immense burden that you carry.

We have sinned against God and deserve his judgment. God has sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in the place of sinners like you and me bearing their weight and guilt Resurrecting on the third day to prove his power over death.

Only Christ is good enough. And only Christ is strong enough to bear your iniquity. Believe in him and you'll be safe. This is numbers 30. Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel saying This is what the Lord commanded.

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 is bound herself shall stand. If her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it No vow of hers no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand and the Lord will forgive her.

Because her father opposed her. If she marries a husband while under her vows Or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on The day that he hears then her vow shall stand and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

But if on the day that her husband comes to hear of it He opposes her then he makes void her vow that was on her and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself And the Lord will forgive her.

But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman anything by which she has bound herself shall stand against her.

And.

If she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath and Her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her Then all her vows shall stand and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.

But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them then whatever Proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void and the Lord will forgive her.

Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself her husband may establish or her husband may make void. But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day Then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her.

He has established them because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter.

While she is in her youth within her father's house.

Amen.