There was this story of a wealthy oil tycoon that one day lay on his deathbed.
His pastor talked to him of God's healing power.
"Pastor," he gasped, "if God heals me, I'll give the church a million dollars."
The pastor prayed for him and anointed him with oil.
Miraculously, the man revived and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital.
One day, several months later, he and the pastor chatted on the sidewalk in front of a hardware store.
"You know," the pastor said, "when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven't got it yet."
"Did I say that?" the tycoon asked. "
"I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!"
Today in the Word, July 1990, p. 34.
There are people who are so sick that they make a vow and they are not able to fulfill it and worst,
they deny in making it.
And so, we need to ask ourselves the question: "Should Christians make vows or promises to God today?"
What do you think?
How many of you says YES, Christians should make vows to the Lord?
How many of you says, NO, Christians should not make any vows at all?
We will try to answer that question at the end, so, listen very carefully.
Do you know that in the Bible, there are about 30 biblical references to vows, most of which are from the Old Testament?
God knew that man is a fallen creature whose commitments will soon cool down and whose religious zeal will soon wane over time.
And so, God desires for his people to make vows as fulfillment of their commitment and responsibility to God.
Let us examine some of the vows in the Old Testament.
JACOB
The first of those vows was made by Jacob when he was about to go to Laban's house to look for a wife.
He made a vow saying "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, then, this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be remembrance (or a pledge) that all you will give me, I will give back my tithe."
And so, his vow is that if God would bless him in his travels, he intends to give God his tithes or the ten per cent of all that he has.
That is found in Genesis 28:20-22.
We know that God has blessed him tremendously in the house of Laban but somehow, he forgot about his vow and God had to remind him through the dream.
Remember the dream concerning the angels ascending and descending in the stairway to heaven.?
It was God's reminder to Jacob that he needs to fulfill his vow before God.
SAMSON
Then, probably, you are familiar with the Nazirite vow of Samson in Judges 13 which we will study in the future.
This Nazirite or Nazarite vow is taken by individuals who have voluntarily dedicated themselves to God.
This vow is a decision, action and desire to yield themselves to God completely.
The Hebrew word "nazir" simply means "to be separated or consecrated."
And that is why, we Nazarenes are simply consecrated or dedicated people before the Lord.
This Nazirite vow appears in Numbers 6:1-21 and was taken seriously by the parents of Samson in Judges 13 and John the baptist in the New Testament.
The Scriptures tell us in Judges 13 that the mother of Samson was childless and unable to give birth.
And so, the angel of the Lord appeared to her and promised that she will someday give birth to a son.
But the parents must make a vow that the child must not drink any wine and not eat anything unclean because he will be a Nazirite who is dedicated to God from the womb.
The parents fulfilled their promise but Samson when he was of age was not able to fulfill his part of the bargain.
And there were some consequences of not fulfilling the vow.
HANNAH
Then, we know of the story of Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, who was also barren but desperately desired a child.
She prayed often in the temple courts and vowed that if God would give her a son, she would give him to God for His service.
Then, God heard her prayer and bore a son named Samuel.
She kept her promise and humbly brought Samuel to the house of Eli, the priest where he lived and grew up for the rest of his life.
God used Samuel mightily in the service of the Lord because he was fully dedicated to the Lord.
You could read her full story in 1 Samuel 1.
So, it is all right to make vows before the Lord.
And God will respond accordingly to our vows.
But the people who make the vows sometimes fall short in fulfilling them.
God wants us to fulfill our vows so that our commitment to Him will be deeper and stronger.
And God wants to communicate to us as well that there will be dire consequences when we do not fulfill our vows.
The most tragic vows that we read from the Bible is that of Jephthah, who although fulfilled his vow, yet it has caused him and his family so much pain and misery.
This is the same man we learned last week who was a mighty man of valor and was rejected by his own family because he was an illegitimate child.
We learned that he fled and went to Tob where a bunch of scoundrels (or vain or castaway men) followed him.
But when the nation of Israel was being attacked by the Ammonites, the elders of Israel went to him and asked for his help to deliver them from the hands of their enemy.
Because the Spirit of the Lord was with him, he did not react with anger or hatred but was able to negotiate a leadership position in the country.
However, as he was about to fight the Ammonites, he was so overcome with doubts and unbelief that he decided that he had to make a vow to the Lord in order to gain a re-sounding victory.
And in these verses that we will study, we will learn the very foolish vow he made which brought about a very distressing time for him and his family.
In fact, he made a rash vow that he would give to the Lord whoever would first come out out from the door of his house to meet him as he returned home as the victor.
And unfortunately, the one who came out to meet him was his beloved and only daughter.
He had no choice but to offer her to the Lord.
What was supposed to be a celebration of victory became a time of pain, of anxiety and emotional affliction for him and his daughter.
The lesson we can learn is that we are not to make vows without understanding the consequences it would bring if we are not able to fulfill it.
Why? Because we do not know for sure the corresponding impact of those vows.
We are human beings who are prone to make errors in our judgment.
At the same time, we don't know what the future will bring - only God knows what lies ahead.
He is the only one who is in control, not us.
That is why Jesus Himself cautioned us in His sermon on the Mount that all we need is to simply say Yes or No.
Matthew 5:37 (NIV) “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
If you know that you could not be able to fulfill that vow, then just simply say Yes or No.
That is what matters most.
You need not have to add anything more.
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE LIFE OF JEPHTHAH
1. HE MADE A FOOLISH VOW
Judges 11:29-33 (NIV) “29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” 32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.”
Notice the words: "Then, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah."
Jephthah started that day with the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him.
He might have felt very good ready to attack the enemy knowing that he was endued with the spiritual power from on high.
This made him more bolder and more wiser than he had ever been when the Spirit is upon him.
And so, he must not lose time but consequently advance against his enemy.
However, Jephthah hesitated and wanted to be certain of victory, so he tried to make a contract with the Lord.
As he was about to move forward and attack the enemy, he decided to pause and pray to God.
But it seems that as he pondered about his position, doubts and unbelief probably came upon him as well.
Suddenly, he doubted the victory that he could gain that day.
He thought that there is still something that he needs to do in order to overcome the enemy.
You see, even great believers can still be motivated by doubts.
Jephthah had every reason to be confident of success in battle especially when the Spirit of the Lord is upon him.
Yet, he seems to hesitate and doubt God's deliverance that is why he made a foolish vow.
He thought that unless he could promise to give something to God, he would not be able to attain success in battle.
Does that happen to you?
One day, you feel so strong in the Lord, but suddenly, doubts will instantly strike your thoughts.
"You will fail. You will not make it. You are not ready for battle!"
That is the voice of the enemy, my brothers and sisters.
Don't believe the lies of the enemy.
Believe on what God will do through you in Christ Jesus!
When God says, you can do it, you sure can. No doubt about it.
All you have to do is to believe by faith and claim your victory in the name of Jesus.
GOD’S PRESENCE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US. Joshua 1:9 (NIV) "Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Discouragement is not from God but faith is fro God.
So, let us have more faith.
When we are strong and courageous, we need not doubt His presence.
Let us examine the content of his vow.
He asked God that if he would bring him back as a conqueror, whosoever or whatsoever should first come out of his
house to meet him should be offered to God as a sacrifice.
It’s one of those “if you will do this for me, then I will do something for you.”
Have you ever done that?
Have you ever tried to bargain with the Lord regarding a matter you are asking from Him?
Brothers and sisters, we must never strike a bargain with God.
Your plan will not change His plan.
Regardless of what you offer Him will not change His mind about what He intends for you to do.
Our God is Sovereign and He will not be coerced into anything that is not part of His perfect plan!
And so, we are to walk by faith and trust the Lord to do with us as He pleases.
Don’t bargain, simply obey!
Victory will always be assured if the Lord wanted to give it to us!
That is why James advises us not to swear but to simply say Yes or No.
WE ARE TO SIMPLY SAY YES OR NO.
James 5:12 (NIV) “12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.”
He is talking about the sin of swearing which will we should not do because it will throw contempt upon the name and authority of God.
Such profane swearing will be condemned, the text says.
And we are not to engage in any of these vain use of words.
GOD WILL GIVE US THE VICTORY. Deuteronomy 20:4(NIV) "4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
Brothers and sisters, it is only God who can give us victory over all our enemies and not of our works.
There is no need to make a vow or anything more to supplement or add to our victory in Christ.
What we can do is just thank Him for such honor we received fro Him.
Then, in verses 32 and 33, we read:
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
When the children of Israel faced the Ammonites on the field of battle, they defeated their enemy and won a great victory.
The battle was waged and the victory was won.
The children of Ammon were defeated because the Lord "gave them" or “delivered” them up to the Israelites.
It was a divine victory and God was given all the glory.
Look at those words: We are told that Jephthah “subdued" or "smote” the Ammonites.
This word means “to strike, hit, beat, slay, kill”.
This phrase also refers to “a great blow, incurring a wound, heavy beating, or unstoppable conquest” against a formidable enemy.
Who else could give such resounding victory but God.
2. HE WAS DEVASTATED EMOTIONALLY BY HIS VOW
Judges 11:34-35(NIV) “34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”
When Jephthah arrives home, the first person who comes out to meet him is his daughter.
She is his only child.
She comes out to greet her father with songs of celebration because of the victory the Lord had given to His people.
She is excited that her father has returned home safe, and that he is a hero.
It was only fitting that this young lady should be filled with pride and come out to greet her father.
But when Jephthah sees her, his heart is broken because he made a vow and he fully intends to do it.
And so, he tore his clothes as a sign of mourning and cries “Oh no! My daughter…”
The word “Oh No!” is an expression of inward emotional pain.
It is the same as crying “Alas!” in the midst of a tragedy.
Then he tells her that she has “brought” him down or put him on his knees.
Then, he declared that he has been devastated.
It means, he has been ruined, wrecked, or destroyed inwardly.
He was in so much grief.
The thrill of his victory vanishes completely away and he is left with the searing pain of loss, of tragedy despair.
Imagine for a moment if you are in his own shoes.
What you would feel like if it were your only child!
When Jephthah sees his daughter, he tells that he has made a vow concerning her.
Jephthah knows that vows made to the Lord must be fulfilled.
Apparently, Jephthah is a man of his word.
Jephthah’s actions should speak to us today.
We should also be a people of our word. Honest and trustworthy.
When we tell someone we will do something, we should do it.
When we tell someone we will be somewhere at a given time, we should be there.
We should always do what we say we are going to do regardless of the personal cost or inconvenience it would bring to our lives.
There was a time in our nation when a person’s word was their bond.
Business deals were made, livestock was traded, and crops were sold all on a good word and a handshake.
There was a time when people said what they meant, meant what they said and did what they promised.
But sad to say, those days are passed!
Now, you have to have a contract signed by both parties.
That contract has to be notarized and filed with the courts.
A person’s word is no longer taken at face value and people are prone to sue each other when someone is not able to fulfill his part of the bargain.
That should never be true of a child of God!
When we give our word, we ought to be a people of our word.
We ought to say what we mean, mean what we say and stand by our promises.
This is especially true when the Person to Whom we have made our vow is the Lord.
We are to be people marked by TRUTH.
SPEAK TRUTHFULLY AT ALL TIMES.
Ephesians 4:25(NIV) “25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
When we always speak the truth, our words will have impact in the lives of people.
TAKE OFF THE OLD SELF. Colossians 3:9 (NIV) “9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices."
That old self with its old habits must be sacrificed and put to death on the cross.
No longer must it spew its poison.
KEEP YOUR TONGUE FROM EVIL. Psalm 34:13(NIV) "13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies."
As far as we are concerned, we are not to use our mouth for speaking evil of someone.
We are to always use our mouth to praise God and to tell the truth at all times.
Story:
There was a story of a Christian brother in a small town sick and dying with typhoid fever.
He was a member of a member of a church that was very poor and was meting in a schoolroom which was 150 years old.
It was also too small for the congregation of God's people.
They very much needed a hall sufficiently spacious for the increasing numbers being added to the local church.
They had very limited funds available for the church expansion project.
The sick brother then made a vow that, if the Lord would restored him to health, he would provide a commodious hall for the local assembly.
When he recovered from his sickness, Satan tempted him to break his vow and withhold the money.
But the Lord had the victory and the hall was built and it was called `Bethany'
It simply means 'the house of the poor'.
It not only provided what was so much needed for the assembly but became, as the years passed, the birthplace of many souls won for Christ.
In addition, the brother who was healed by the Lord and fulfilled his vow by being generous was richly blessed.
He was a man of his word.
He fulfilled his vow.
No wonder, God gave him renewed health and he prospered in his business.
It is good to make a vow but we are to be men and women of our words.
3. HE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO FULFILL HIS VOW.
Judges 11:36-40(NIV) 36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” 38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry.39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.”
It is amazing to see that Jephthah’s daughter encourages her father to do all that he has promised the Lord he would do.
She submits herself to the will of God.
There was no sign of anger, there was no rebellious spirit, just humbly acknowledging what must be done.
She did not even blamed her father for making such a foolish vow.
She knew how much her father has suffered already emotionally.
She only asks for some time to mourn her virginity.
This girl was willing to make a huge sacrifice to help her father fulfill and honor his vow to the Lord.
She willingly gave up the joy of becoming a wife and mother.
She goes away with her friends for two months and they “bewailed her virginity”.
That is, they mourned with her that she would never be a wife or a mother.
For two long months, they wept, they wept and they wept.
It was a weeping party full of sadness and misery.
When she returned home, her father fulfilled his vow to the Lord and did with her the thing he promised to do.
In the same manner, we are to be careful of what we promised to God.
DO NOT DELAY IN FULFILLING IT.
Ecc. 5:4-5 (NIV) “4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.”
That word "delay" means a time of interruption or suspension that can stop an action to happen.
It means, we have to eliminate those times when we allow doubts from the enemy to enter in our thoughts that can prevent us from fulfilling our vows.
God really wants to listen to our vows and fulfill them as a token of our love and commitment to Him.
SACRIFICE THANK OFFERINGS TO GOD.
Psalm 50:14 (NIV) 14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High.”
Again, this verses tells us that fulfilling our vows is a token of our sacrifice and a thank offering to Him.
Again, he wants us to make a vow of surrender to Him.
Story:
There is a story in India of a person who went on a voyage to a distant land and was returning by ship to his own country when the ship suddenly encountered stormy seas.
In great fear of drowning, he prayed to his god, and vowed to sacrifice ten fat oxen if his life was saved. Suddenly, the storm passed over and the sea became calm again.
It seems his god heard his prayer.
But before he landed at the port, he reconsidered his promise of ten oxen, and thought the god might be satisfied with just five, one-half of what he promised.
On his way home, he again thought over his vow, and feared he was still too generous, so he vowed to sacrifice two oxen instead of five if he reached home safely without mishap.
Finally, he arrived home, he retired to rest, but could not sleep, and vowed that he would the next day take one fat bullock from his herd and make a public sacrifice to his god in thanks giving for his preservation and safe return.
But, awaking in the night, he again changed his mind, and thought his goat might be a good substitute for an ox.
When he told his wife the next morning that he intended offering the one goat they had to their god in gratitude for the preservation of his life, she strongly objected, saying that it had just begun to give a seer of milk daily and she could not afford to lose that milk.
'All right,' said he, 'I shall take to the temple a large basket of peanuts: and these will surely be better and more pleasing to the god than an animal sacrifice.'
So he prepared the basket of peanuts and was on his way to the temple, when it occurred to him that he had not tasted peanuts for some considerable time.
So he began to take a few and liked them so well that he had eaten them all by the time he reached the temple.
All that was left to pay the vow that he had made was an empty basket.
He kept on bargaining and bargaining and was not able to fulfill his vow.
It is a sad story but brothers and sisters, that is the human nature of man.
We are prone to make a vow when we are in great need and eventually, we are not able to fulfill that vow when things are doing great.
And so, let us go back to the question: Should Christians make vows?
My answer is YES.
We must make godly vows to God.
Why? Because we have the tendency to "cool down" in our spiritual fervor.
Our enthusiasm will wane and our commitment can become less intense over a period of time.
And so, we need to have some form of spiritual discipline and diligence to keep our commitment going.
Making a realistic vow of your goals in your spiritual life therefore can be very beneficial as a turning point to your maturity.
What are some vows that we need to make?
We need to make a vow of walking closely with God for the rest of our lives.
We need to make a vow in reading the Bible at least once in our lifetime.
We need to make a vow of speaking the truth for the rest of our lives.
We need to make a vow of fulfilling our financial obligations to God and to others at all times.
We need to make a vow of walking in integrity of heart and mind at all times.
We need to make a vow that we will never watch any porn in the in-ternet.
We need to make a vow of becoming a better wife or a better husband.
We need to make a vow of becoming a great father or mother to our children.
These and more are some of the vows we need to make in the presence of God.
I am sure that God will be happy when we make those vows and fulfill them by heart.
Vows therefore can be a significant benefit to our spiritual walk by defining clearly what we intend to do and how we should seek to glorify God.
But as we make these vows, we must always remember not to make hasty vows which we may later regret or be inclined to forsake.
As I close this message, let me ask you if there are vows in your life which should have been made years before that you are not able to make.
It is never too late.
You can start making them right now.
Are there foolish vows you made in your life which should have been reversed?
May the Lord release you from an evil vow.
May the Lord touch your hearts that you will make and keep these and other vows to His glory and for your good.
Amen!
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