Numbers – Chapter 30

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. Numbers 30:2 – In scriptural times we see individuals making different vows, or promises, to the Lord for different things. Maybe it would be a vow to abstain from a certain food for a certain amount of time, or to take the Nazarite vow which had a whole list of different things the individuals must not do during the timespan of their vow. What do we see was God’s expectation of those individuals making these vows to Him? He expected them to keep their word. What they vowed He expected them to fulfill. How about in today’s time? Does God still view vows and promises to Him like this? While some may take it that Jesus forbid such things in His message within Matthew 5 about swearing things to the Lord, know the heartbeat of that talk was Jesus telling His listeners that God demands honesty. Whatever we commit to the Lord, however that commitment is made, it should be held seriously by us for God is holding it seriously. If we tell the Lord that we will not do ____ again, then we shouldn’t do that again. If we tell the Lord we’ll start going to church, start praying, or start living for Him again, then we should do those very things we said we’d do. We will never receive a lie or deception from the Lord, nor should He receive that from us. This means we better be wise with what we promise to the Lord for He will hold us accountable for such things, and if we break that commitment to Him we must understand that is a sin that needs to be confessed to Him. While the breaking of a commitment is certainly an option for us, praise the Lord that it isn’t for Him. He always keeps His word and is faithful to the end. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3380

Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void. Numbers 30:13 – While this isn’t at all what this passage is speaking on, my mind went immediately to our relationship with Christ after reading these verses. The church is called the bride of Christ. We, as the bride of Christ, have also in our past vowed ourselves over to sin and given ourselves to the consequences it brings. Jesus though stepped into our story and made that vow void. He made it possible for us to not be under the vow to sin we made and possible to not deal with consequences of that vow. The question then for you is has Jesus broken the vow you have to sin yet? Has He made your vow void? Know He is ready to welcome you to Himself and set you into a lifetime with Him. Let Him make your vow to sin and death void. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1446

Numbers 30 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO But 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. Numbers 30:5 – Chapter 30 is all about vows being made and the allowance of fathers/husbands to oppose certain vows being made. We can take away a few things from this chapter. One, see how truly important it is to the Lord that we keep our word. A character trait of the Lord is trustworthiness, and as imitators of His we should seek to be trustworthy in all we do. When you speak then, whether in private or in public, follow through with what you said and show yourself to be worthy of someone’s trust. Second, we learn here how our promises and vows, if not handled properly, can truly hurt someone. This is why there was this allowance for fathers/husbands to opposes a vow made. If the daughter/wife made a vow that would impact the family in a hurtful way or made a vow that would hurt themselves, they could oppose it and nullify it. Example, if the daughter made a vow to give away their family estate, the father could oppose it because it would cause the family massive loss if kept (and remember, vows were important to God, so if not opposed, they would have to bear the weight of such a vow). Scripture then is teaching us to think about others when making promises and commitments. How will this affect them? What will happen to them if I don’t keep my word? Am I truly able to keep my word to them like I said I would? These are questions we need to be asking before we commit ourselves to someone for our words can greatly impact others. Takeaway then from our chapter? Our word is important to the Lord and before we make commitments we must be willing to think of how those words/actions will impact others. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2311