vow – Praying Pint

51.x. Wilderness – 16.c. “Slaves, Vows, and Lending”

Deu 23:15-16  “You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

Obadiah 1:14    Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

Deu 23:19  “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.

Exodus 22:25   “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.

Luke 6:34-35   And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Deu 23:21  “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Psalms 76:11    Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;

Psalms 116:18    I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5    When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.  It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

Deu 23:24  “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag.

Romans 12:13     Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Hebrews 13:5   Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

It is honourable to shelter and protect the weak, provided they are not wicked. Proselytes and converts to the truth, should be treated with particular tenderness, that they may have no temptation to return to the world. We cannot honour God with our substance, unless it be honestly and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give, but how we got it. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender should share the gain; but to him that borrows for necessary food, pity must be showed. That which is gone out of thy lips, as a solemn and deliberate vow, must not be recalled, but thou shalt keep and perform it punctually and fully. They were allowed to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road side; only they must not carry any away. This law intimated what great plenty of corn and wine they should have in Canaan. It provided for the support of poor travellers, and teaches us to be kind to such, teaches us to be ready to distribute, and not to think every thing lost that is given away. Yet it forbids us to abuse the kindness of friends, or to take advantage of what is allowed. Faithfulness to their engagements should mark the people of God; and they should never encroach upon others. (Henry)

We have all seen warning labels on things we buy. Don’t use this electric device in water, Don’t put your hands in front of the saw blade, Don’t put this plastic bag over your head, Don’t touch the surface when it is hot, Don’t drink this, etc…. Many of these are self-evident but you have to know someone somewhere has done this.

God knows the intent of our hearts. These miscellaneous laws are given because the intents of our hearts is known by God and our heart’s intent would naturally flow towards what God says not to do.

48.n. “Wilderness” – 12.t. “Vows of Women”

Num 30:3  “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth,

Num 30:4  and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.

Num 30:6  “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself,

Num 30:7  and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

Num 30:9  (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.)

Num 30:12  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.

Num 30:16  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.

Significantly, women were able to make vows and have a direct dealing with God. Even young women (with the approval of their father) could make promises to God, vow offerings to Him, or pledge seasons of self-denial to the LORD. “The very fact that women were making vows in this antique age is a step of great significance.” The father of a young woman in such circumstances also had the right to disapprove of his daughter’s vows, and to declare the vow invalid. He could approve of her vow by silence, with silence being understood as agreement. (Guzik)

But if her father held her back when he heard of it, i.e., forbade her fulfilling it, it was not to stand or remain in force, and Jehovah would forgive her because of her father’s refusal. Obedience to a father stood higher than a self-imposed religious service.(Keil)

If a husband objected to vows made by his wife, he had the right to overrule her. God considered the wife released from such disapproved vows. “The husband, as the male authority figure in the relationship, may choose from several courses of action: (1) permit the vow or oath to remain in effect by default—no action, (2) negate the obligation, or (3) affirm the commitment by word or deed.” if the husband confirmed his wife’s vow (either by silence or by specific approval), then he was responsible to make sure the vow was fulfilled (he shall bear her guilt).

That the widow and the divorced woman have the same status regarding the making of vows is significant. Such vows made by a woman not living with her parents and not married to a husband were considered binding. Any vows she made shall stand against her. “A woman who was no longer under the patriarchal authority of her father or her husband, whether by his death or by divorce, possessed the same status and responsibility of a man with regard to vows and obligations.”

This was an outworking of the principle of headship. When God declares someone to be in a position of rightful authority and others are expected to submit to that authority, the head is accountable before God for the result. When God grants authority, He also commands accountability. (Guzik)

“These regulations establish the headship of the father and the husband in regard to matters which belong to religion. And the significance of them lies in this, that no intrusion of the priest is permitted…. the father or husband was the family head and the judge. No countenance whatever is given to any official interference.” (Watson)

25.j. “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,”

2 Corinthians 6:3 Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Ezekiel 16:8    “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.

Luke 19:42-44    saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Hebrews 3:7     Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,

Hebrews 3:13   But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 4:7    again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

God has an acceptable time for us to work with His grace. God has a day of salvation that will not last forever. This is no time for Christian lives consumed with ease and comfort and self-focus. It is time to get busy for the Lord and to be workers together with Him. What is it that keeps us from seeing, knowing, and doing the Work of God? Is it trials? Is it ease and comfort? Are we deceived or influenced into believing He can’t or won’t use us? Do we find excuse after excuse, time and time again? I am not knowledgeable in the bible enough to be used by God. I am too busy. I am not good enough. I am not brave enough. I am not worthy enough. The list is as long as the number of excuses we make that keeps us from making a commitment to listen and then obey. Is the world influencing your ability to listen? Does it steal time away from working for God? Does it deafen your ears to hear His leading and calls for action in your life?

When we understand that our purpose in this life is to honor and glorify God in all we say, think, and do, it is then we will begin to understand His leading and calling and purpose and plans for our lives. Today is the day. Now is the moment. Right now. Make an intentional choice to make God-honoring and God-glorifying the reason for all you say, think, and do.