A businessman was traveling on a plane for the first time. He had always been terrified of flying but his next appointment required him to do so. The flight was going well when suddenly the plane shuddered. The pilot came over the intercom and announced that the engines on the right side had stopped so they were making an emergency landing. Shortly there after, another shudder and the pilot announced the other engines had stopped. Everyone was informed to assume the crash position with their head between their knees.
For the first time the businessman felt vulnerable. He had never felt the need to cry out to God but at that moment, he did. “God,” he prayed. “If you will allow me to survive this crash I take a solemn vow to give to charity half of all my possessions.”
Suddenly all four engines began working again and the plane glided smoothly onto the runway. The businessman rushed to disembark.
As he made his way out of the runway area, the man who had been seated beside him spoke to him. “Excuse me sir. I am a pastor involved in several charities. I heard your vow to the Lord concerning your possessions. I can guide you in keeping that vow by recommending some outstanding charities that have needs.”
The businessman replied, “That won’t be necessary. You see I made a new vow with God. I vowed if I ever got on another plane, He could have it all.”
I think we have all been guilty of that. We find ourselves in a tough situation, usually of our own makings, and we begin to make deals with God. If He will do this than we will do that. We are sincere in the moment of our crisis but when that moment passes, we are reluctant and perhaps even unable to follow through on our vows. That was the problem facing the Jews at the time Jesus was teaching.
The Jews were living under the Law of Moses concerning the keeping of vows made to God. Leviticus 19:12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.” When God stated in the Ten Commandments “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name” this is what He spoke of. It was a serious matter to swear in the name of God. It was binding. He states that in Numbers 30:2. “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.” Under no circumstances was it acceptable to God for someone to vow to him or to pledge to someone else in God’s name to break it. It was sin as stated in Deuteronomy 23:21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin.”
This was the Law that the Jews were very acquainted with. If you made a vow before God or used his name, He demanded that you fulfill that vow, pledge, or promise. It was stronger than a pinky swear.
How many of you have know what a pinky swear is? Have you even heard of it? I thought a pinky swear was relatively current but in the United States, the pinky swear has existed since at latest 1860, when Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms listed the following rhyme accompanying the promise:
Pinky, pinky bow-bell,
Whoever tells a lie
Will sink down to the bad place
And never rise up again.
You see pinky promises cannot be broken. You can swear on your mother’s grave or on the heads of your children but when someone asks “Do you pinky promise?” you are obligated to the truth. You are bound by it. You can break any vow on anything but a pinky promise. If you break that, you are to be never trusted again. To the Jews taking a vow to the Lord or by his name was a pinky promise. But they had discovered away around that Law. Jesus came along and upset their applecart.
Matthew 5:33-36 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.”
Instead of vowing to God and making pinky promises they were possibly vowing things like; “I will keep my vow as long as the heavens are over me.” Or “As long as I walk upon this earth, I will keep my vow.” Maybe “By the Holy city of Jerusalem you can trust me to keep my vow.” Or “By the hairs on my head I am trustworthy.”
But here was the glitch. Isaiah 66:1 states “This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.”
So to make a vow by heaven, they were making a vow by God’s throne. To make a vow by the earth, they were making a vow by God’s footstool. To make a vow on Jerusalem, they were making a vow by the Holy City of God. To make a vow on their head, they were making a vow by God’s sovereignty. In other words, they were misusing the name of God.
Jesus had a show down with the religious leaders who had encouraged people by deciding what things of God were binding and what things weren’t. Let’s read Matthew 23:16-22 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.” To take an oath was a serious matter that had become abused.
During a trial, in a small Missouri town, the local prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand. The witness was a proper well-dressed elderly lady, the Grandmother type, well spoken, and poised. She was sworn in, asked if she would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, on the Bible, so help her God.
The prosecuting attorney approached the woman and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?’” She responded, “Why, yes I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy and frankly, since I’ve taken an oath to tell the truth, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, cheat on your wife, manipulate people and talk badly about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot when you haven’t the sense to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper-pushing shyster. Yes, I know you quite well.”
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?”
She again replied, “Why, yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. But since I’ve taken an oath, I must admit he’s lazy, bigoted, has a bad drinking problem. The man can’t build or keep a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. Yes, I know him.”
The defense attorney almost fainted. Laughter mixed with gasps, thundered throughout the courtroom and the audience was on the verge of chaos.
At this point, the judge brought the courtroom to silence, called both counselors to the bench, and in a very quiet voice said, “If either of you morons asks her if she knows me, you’re going to jail.” ( Illustration by Mark Eberly)
Can you imagine taking vows to this level? How serious are vows really to God? Let’s look at the story of Jephthah in the Old Testament. The story takes place when there were judges ruling Israel. Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute. His half-brothers drove him away to keep him from any inheritance. When war broke out against the Ammonites, the elders sought Jephthah because he was a mighty warrior. He made a deal with them that if the LORD gave him victory he would be in charge. They agreed.
Now let’s read Judges 11:30-35. “And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory. He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites.
When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters. When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” The story ends with him doing as he had vowed.
This is the seriousness of vows taken before God. Ecclesiastes 5: 4-5 “When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.” God labels us as stupid, disrespectful people when we make vows that we do not keep. When you find yourself in a hard place, do not make deals with God unless you intend on keeping your half of the bargain. The best thing to do is simply pray and seek his mercy.
Not only should you be wary of making deals with God but also making deals with others. Once an elderly couple was traveling through upstate NY. As they were driving along, they saw a sign that said, "Helicopter rides ahead". The elderly man said to his wife that he always wanted to ride in one of them helicopters.
So they pull into the place and find the pilot. The elderly man asks him how much for the ride. The pilot says, "$20 each." He scratches his chin and states that that’s an awful lot of money. "I would like to ride but that’s too much money". Feeling a little sorry for the old folks the pilot tells them, "Here is what I will do. If you or your wife doesn’t make a sound, I’ll take you up for free. But if either one of you says a word then you have to pay me $40".
The elderly man says, "Sure, I’ll take that deal."
So they take off. They go straight up, and then the pilot does a power dive just above the trees. He turns the craft one way then the other at times almost going upside down.
He finally lands and says, "Sir I am a man of my word, and a deal is a deal. You never made a sound. That ride is for free."
The elderly man said, "Yup, but I almost said something when the wife fell out the side."
When we deal in deals bad things can happen. We may find ourselves unable to live up to the deal we have made. Or in trying to keep our vow experience terrible consequences. Jesus put it quite simply. Matthew 5:37 “Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.”
Jesus says that as a Christian our word should be rock solid. If we say, we will do something we can be counted to see it through. If we realize what is being asked of us is now within our capacity then we refuse. When we are asked to swear, especially pinky swear, there is an element of distrust toward our word. This distrust comes from our spiritual enemy as a way to sow discord between ourselves and others.
So do we never take a vow? There are times when it is appropriate to take a vow. For example in a court of law, you are required to take a vow to tell the truth to insure that your yes is yes. Also wedding vows are needed to bind two people together. However, as we learned last week, 34% of those have been spoken carelessly. Whatever you vow, do it. No matter the cost. But be careful making vows. Make sure you are willing to pay the cost. Let yourself be known as a person who keeps his word and there will be no need for careless vows. I pinky swear.
