To Vow or Not To Vow? Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

The Answer- Deuteronomy 23:21-22-When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

Promise– vow; to assure somebody that something will certainly happen or be done Vow-a solemn promise or assertion; specifically :   one by which a person is bound to an act, service, or condition

At some phase in our lives, every one of us have made and broken many promises. Promises that were broken, due to carelessness, forgetfulness, anger issues, and/or circumstances beyond our control are still promises…right? I also believe that most promises are broken because of a person’s heart condition and mistrust aka missed trust that evolved between parties. This post will not focus on vow/promises made to one another. Its focus will be on vows/promises made to God. Studying this I began to ponder…What is the value of a vow? What initiates a vow? Can mistrust exist between us and God?

Solomon tells us to fear God and keep our vows made to God. He has given us clear instructions on the matter of handling vows made to God. His writings are from his life experiences. And so, I must agree with Solomon, per my life experiences and in seeing the life experiences of others that we must (and I paraphrase):

• Tread lightly and prepare yourself to hear when you go to the house of God.
• Be seen and not heard until your heart is in alignment with God’s will.
• Pay as you vow. God does not have a pay as you go cell phone plan, nor a pay as you earn plan like Obama’s pay as you earn (PAYE) plan for student loans.
• Do not make vows to God when you KNOW you are not able to do so.
• “Don’t let your mouth overload your capabilities” per Dolly Parton and don’t make any excuses because “There is a lie in between a promise and many excuses.” ( Toba Beta)
• Fear God so that you are more likely to keep your word uttered from a rented heart. Did Pharaoh fear God?

 No pinky swearing is allowed between us and God.

I have received the answers to my questions above. I pray that you get an understanding of the verses presented.

1. What is the value of a vow? It depends on how much we fear God. (TYHS) Read Matthew 10:28-29.
2. What initiates a vow? It begins with God’s will and your acceptance to do His will. (TYHS) Read Exodus 23:20-33 and Exodus 24:1-8.
3. Can mistrust exist between us and God? Yes, when we do not believe in Him or His word. We cannot serve nor believe in two masters if our trust is in God. (TYHS) Read Matthew 6:24.

 

I just had a thought that some may be offended by the lyrics from the songs that come to mind while I am writing. If so, please accept my apology. Trust! The Lord works with me in mysterious ways and often it is through the words of songs I have heard of old. He leads me to see in a different sense with the focus being on Him. I am thankful to have been blessed with the gift of hearing, not listening, with a deeper sense of words spoken that most never pay attention to.

Songs are poetry turned into words with a beat. That belief could have come from my dad’s poetry writings… making us girls sing what he wrote and turned into music at a moment’s notice. I always had to voice my opinion about a song, because to me, the words didn’t make sense.

It was not a good thing to be yelled at and made to sing his musical notes when we didn’t even know how to read music. We did not know what that big cursive S, d’s and p’s were on five lines.  I guess that is why we were then forced into taking piano lessons.

It is so true, that most things we are taught to do as a child will drop off to the wayside for a time. As we grow older and older, the time comes back to haunt us. On that note, I’ll leave you with this poetry titled Promises, Promises from an old 90’s group-Naked Eyes:

Never had a doubt in the beginning

Never a doubt

Trusted you true in the beginning

I loved you right through

On and on we laughed like kids

At all the silly things we did

You made me promises, promises

Knowing I’d believe promises, promises

You knew you’d never keep

Second time around, I’m still believing

The words that you said

You said you’d always be here

And love forever still repeats in my head

You can’t finish what you start

If this is love it breaks my heart

We do break God’s heart when we do not fulfill a vow made to him. And let us not forget what Jesus said, “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”- Matthew 5:33-37