2If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
3“Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth, 4and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father had forbidden her.
6“However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her.
9“But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10However, if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, 11and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. 12But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her.
13“Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. 14But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. 15But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
16These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, as between a man and his wife, and as between a father and his daughter, while she is in her youth in her father’s house.
Your Attitude Toward God
1Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 2Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. 3For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.
4When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
1) What are some safeguards against rash vows?
2) How does James echo Numbers 30?
3) Think about one commitment you must either fulfill promptly or release lawfully.
PSALM 113
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
1Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the Lord is to be praised.
4The Lord is high above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.
5Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8To make them sit with princes,
With the princes of His people.
9He makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
Obey Rulers
1Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam.
2I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God. 3Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” 4Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. 6For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. 7If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? 8No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it. 9All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.
10So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility.