Bound With An Oath

Moses summoned the leaders of the tribes of Israel and told them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: A man who makes a vow to the LORD or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.” Numbers 30:1-2

AS GOD’S PEOPLE PREPARED to start a new life in the land he had promised them, the place where they were to live as God’s treasured possession and be a light to the Gentiles, the Lord told them something very important. They were to put the character of God on display to the world around them by being truth tellers and faithfully following through on what they promised.

Even today, God’s people are to be people of their word, even when it is costly. Specifically, when we make a vow, we are to fulfill our promise and keep the commitment we made. When we fail to keep our vows to our children, or to other people in full view of our children, we undermine their confidence, not only in our reliability to keep our word but also in the faithfulness of the God whose name we bear. That is why it is so crucial that our yes be yes and our no be no, as Jesus told us in Matthew 5:37.

But as much as we want to be people who live up to our promises, we are promise breakers in big and small ways. Fortunately there is one who has kept his vows perfectly in our place. What’s more, this one we are united to by faith has borne the punishment for all of our broken promises. Joined to Christ by faith, we have become part of God’s family, heirs in Christ to all the promises of God. Our inheritance —and our children’s confidence —rests on his faithfulness, not ours. Our salvation is secure precisely because it does not rest on our ability to keep our vows to God but on his ability to make good on all of his covenant promises to us.

God, you have bound yourself to your people with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that you would never change your mind. You have given both your promise and your oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for you to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to you for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.