THE LAW OF MAKING A VOW
Moses establishes the lawn of making a vow. The Bible clearly states that a vow is a very serious thing and is not be taken lightly.
- Ecclesiastes 5:4-6
- When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
- Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
In the Bible, a vow is a promise made to God. The first mention of a vow is about Jacob, who dreamed of a ladder reaching from heaven to earth, with angels going up and down on it. He took this as a sign of God’s favor on the place where he slept and named it “Bethel,” meaning “House of God.” Jacob also vowed that if the Lord blessed him, he would return a tenth (tithe) back to God (Genesis 28:10-22).
The Vow: Neder or Issar?
There are two types of Hebrew vows. One is called a neder and the other issar.
- The neder vow is when a man vows a vow unto God.
- We would say that tithing is a neder vow
- The issar vow is when a man swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond
- marriage between a man and a woman is an issar vow
Nazarite Vow
One of the strongest vows in the Bible was the Nazarite vow. A Nazarite vow could be a voluntary vow
commanded vow. For example, two men in the Bible were to be Nazarites from their mother’s womb-Samson and Samuel (see Judg. 13-1-7; 1 Sam. 1:11). According to Numbers 6, a Nazarite vow consisted of three parts:
- A Nazarite was never to drink wine or strong drink.
- Numbers 6:3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
- A Nazarite was never to use a razor to shave his hair.
- Numbers 6:5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
- A Nazarite was never to touch a dead body, human or animal.
- Numbers 6:6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body.
Samson is a prime example of someone who broke a Nazarite vow.
- He attended a seven-day feast (believed to be a wedding feast) where no doubt people were drinking wine. Yet he arose and accomplished a great feat through the anointing of the Spirit (see Judg. 14-10-20).
- He had touched the carcass of a lion (see Judg. 14.8-9) and the jawbone of a donkey (see Judg. 15:15-17).
- Touching a dead body was forbidden in the vow, yet the Spirit of God touched him again.
- Finally, he rested in Delilah’s lap and under pressure revealed the final aspect of his vow to God (never to shave his hair).
- Delilah subsequently cut his hair, breaking the third part of the vow (see Judg. 16:1-19)
- When Samson awoke, he assumed the Lord would continue to anoint him; however, the Spirit departed from him (see Judg. 16:20
- God had extended His mercy through two acts of vow breaking, but when the third and final commandment of the vow was broken, God was no longer obligated to anoint Samson.
Foolish Vows
- The most foolish vow in the Old Testament
- The vow took place when a judge named Jephthah vowed that if God would help him defeat the descendants of Ammon in battle, the first thing to come out of his house following the conflict would become a burnt offering unto the Lord.
- Judges 11:30-31
- And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
- Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
- Judges 11:30-31
- After a great victory, Jephthah returned home and his only child, a daughter, met him. She was dancing with a tambourine because of her father’s victory.
- Then the judge remembered his foolish vow. Jephthah knew the power of the vow.
- He said, “I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back” (Judg. 11:35).
- The reason this vow was so serious is that he made a neder vow to God.
- The vow took place when a judge named Jephthah vowed that if God would help him defeat the descendants of Ammon in battle, the first thing to come out of his house following the conflict would become a burnt offering unto the Lord.
- The most foolish vow in the New Testament
- This vow took place when a renegade band of forty men with a hateful agenda bound themselves with an oath” that they would not eat or drink until they killed the apostle Paul (Acts 23:21
- The conspiracy was exposed, and Paul was secretly escorted out of the city (see Acts 23:20-35).
- Did these forty men eventually starve to death? Probably not. When they realized that Paul was in safe hands, away from their reach, they went back to eating and drinking. Their death vow was made in the heat of the moment.
- This vow is an issar vow made to men, which is not bound by the Holy Spirit, can be repented of.
All Vows are serious and should never be treated lightly.
Many people make vows to God in times of trouble.
- For examples:
- when a child is ill or in an accident, parents may tell God, “let my child live and I will serve you and and attend church.
- Others my have a companion dying and will cry out, “heal my companion. I can’t live without this person. If you do, I will follow you!”
- Some end up in prison and will say, “Get me out and I will minister to others.”
- A businessman about to go bankrupt may promise God, “if you will save and prosper my business, I will tithe and support your work.
- Sometimes the child recovers, the loved one is healed, the prisoner is released, and the business is saved, but within a few months, the people forget the vow that they had made to the Lord.
- People do not realize that the Holy Spirit takes the promises they make very seriously.
- Your promises are not mere words but are equal to a sacrifice laid on the altar for transgression under the Old Covenant.
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