Numbers 30

A Hebrew vow was a conditional promise based on the Lord fulfilling for the worshiper some solemn request. Remember Hannah's vow in 1 Samuel 1? “If You will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.” If the Lord did not give a son to Hannah, there was no binding obligation on this woman to do anything. But if the Lord did give a son, then she needed to pay her vow.

A binding oath or pledge was like a vow, but without the “if” part. It was just a solemn promise, such as we take upon ourselves in our marital commitments.

Vows and oaths were significant legal and moral obligations. For a man, they were instantly binding. But the Lord had a merciful provision for women consistent with the institutions of protection and provision that He had established in marriage and the family. A father or husband could remove the binding nature of the oath or vow upon a woman when he heard about the commitment that his daughter or wife had made.

Once the husband or father heard about the commitment, if he said and did nothing, his wife's or daughter's obligation was in force. But if he refused to go along with the vow or oath, then the obligation was gone.

The situation of a woman who did not have this protection was different, as in the case of a divorced woman. Her vows or oaths would stand.

The church is the wife of a very faithful and wise husband. He has been very careful in all of His promises to only vow what He will surely pay. All of His pledges are trustworthy.

Our promises may fail. We may even make commitments that He will overturn for our own good and for His glory. But Jesus will keep His Word. He will never leave us. He will present us blameless before the Father, without spot or blemish, or any such thing. He will work all things together for our good and for God's glory.

He will never take back His Word. He assured us of His faithfulness through the shedding of His blood.