Numbers 30: 1 –16
I didn’t mean it
30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her. 6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her. 9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 “If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD will release her. 13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.” 16 These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.
Today we are going to see some information about vows. Our Lord Is bringing this act up and how He handles someone who makes a vow to Him.
As time progressed people have changed the significance of vows. What is the first thing that comes into your mind when I say the word, ‘vow’. You think of weddings don’t you? When couples come together do you think that they really are sincere in their entrance into a vow with someone before our Holy God? Then why is the divorce rate around 70%?
The world even recognizes that a vow is a transaction between a person and a deity, where the former promises to render some service or gift, or devotes something valuable to the deity's use. The vow is a kind of oath, with the deity being both the witness and recipient of the promise.
The god is usually expected to grant, on entering into contracts or covenants with man, the claims his vow establishes on their benevolence, and valuing of his gratitude. Conversely, in taking a vow, the petitioner's piety and spiritual attitude have begun to outweigh those merely ritual details of the ceremony that are all-important in rites.
It is often difficult to distinguish a vow from an oath. A vow is an oath, but an oath is only a vow if the divine being is the recipient of the promise and is not merely a witness.
Many times after someone has made a vow they and do not want to stick to it, they make up the excuse that they ‘didn’t mean what they said.’ So I thought an example of this lousy excuse would sound something like this;
When you say those words, those four little words
You're in at the deep end
You give up your past words
And you give up any future assurances
You give up my trust
When you say, ‘I didn’t mean it’
When you give up what you said was true
You give up the chance to ever be believed
Let the feelings take over
Then the only way out is to lie if you can
But you don't have the knack
And you can’t come crawling back, saying
I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it
I didn't mean to say what I said when I said I didn't mean it
Well I was like you and all I could do was
Give up and surrender
The people can trace what they did in my face
But they're just pretenders
I have been told when ‘I didn’t mean it’ is a line as simple and sure
But what if you found you made a mistake
The medicine's worse than the cure
And you'll be back for more, saying
I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it
I didn't mean to say what I said when I said I didn't mean it
Vows were an essential part of life. By them men demonstrate their dedication to their gods, and it was no different for Israel. So such vows were a further evidence of Israel’s dedication. That is one reason why the general question of vows was introduced here, when the total dedication of Israel into the future was in mind. Furthermore a large number of vows would be accompanied by peace offerings both at their commencement and at their end. A number of people would partake of that offering in recognition and celebration of the vow and its final accomplishment. Thus they were a sacred matter.
This chapter must not be read as though it was simply describing a way for women to get out of their vows. Its emphasis is positive. Both men and women could make vows in order to demonstrate that they were dedicated to Yahweh. The exceptions were introduced simply in order to prevent a group being bound by one member who was not the head without its consent.
The main principle was easily dealt with. Solemn vows made to Yahweh were to be seen as a serious matter. They were binding -Once made they had to be fulfilled. Only in this way could Israel be pleasing to Yahweh and worthy to enter the land (30.1-2).
But a problem then arose because of the popularity of vows among Yahweh’s people which were made either in order to demonstrate their love for Him or in a time of crisis when special help was needed. The result was that people such as young women made vows who were not really in a position to do so, concerning matters over which they did not really have control, especially under the stress of war. In that case the vows could either be confirmed or rescinded by the head of the household at the time when he first heard of them.
In this chapter this situation was especially dealt with as regards women. The point was, however, not that all such vows would be rescinded, but that the final decision must rest with the head of the household which was affected by the vow for he was responsible for both the wealth and behavior of the household.
Comparison of the first with the last partly explains why women are especially in mind in this passage. We have here a contrast between on the one hand the loyalty and faith of the daughters of Zelophehad which were exalted and rewarded by Yahweh, with, and, on the other hand, the general situation of young women and married women who were not to usurp authority over their men. Their vows therefore, which were also an expression of loyalty and faith, had to be subject to their men whom our Holy God placed the responsibility on. The decision with regard to the daughters of Zelophehad was not to be seen as a general declaration of independence.
A man’s vows were an expression of dedication to Yahweh. To break them would therefore be to withdraw his dedication.
30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded:
What is here spoken was to the heads of the tribes who would be responsible for the administration of the consequences of vows. It was necessary that they made clear to the people the seriousness of vows and the situation in which they could be rescinded. For in the end a vow was not just a personal matter. It reflected on the whole of the tribe. Please take note the emphasis on the fact that this was a command of Yahweh. Vows to God were not to be treated lightly.
2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
The general principle is clear. When a responsible adult male vows a vow or swears an oath they are to be seen as absolutely binding. Such a person must not break his word. He must do in accordance with the words that he has spoken. It is an act of dedication that is irreversible.
A vow could either be
(1) With a view to general performance in the light of God’s favor (Genesis 28.20-22),
(2) With a view to abstaining from something (Psalm 132.2-5),
(3) With a view to performing an act in return for God’s favor (Judges 11.30-31)
(4) As an expression of zeal and devotion towards God (Psalm 22.22-25).
These are not to be seen as simply special exceptions enabling the avoidance of vows, but as a positive declaration that a vow must be confirmed by the head of the household in order to be finally binding. Thus a vow could not be finalized which bound or affected others unless agreed to by the head of the particular group, but the emphasis is on the probable confirmation of the vows. It should be noted that the whole tenor of the passage is positive. The expectation is that the vows would be confirmed if they were reasonable and acceptable to the head of the group.
3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand.
The first example was of a young woman still unmarried and living at home under her father’s jurisdiction. Note that she was ‘in her youth’. She was in expectancy of marriage. Normally such a young woman would be in her early teens, or younger. When she vowed a vow it was subject to the agreement of her father. If when he first heard of it he said nothing then he was seen as approving of the vow and the vow became firm and could not afterwards be rescinded. By his silence he was seen as having given his approval. The vow stood and any bond had to be fulfilled. The positive aspect comes first. Making vows of dedication was still in mind as something positive and meaningful.
5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her.
However, if her father immediately rescinded her vows on the day that he heard of them then none of her vows would officially stand. She would not be bound to them by God or man. And Yahweh would forgive her because it was her father’s decision. She could, of course, still act in accordance with them, but the point is that neither God nor man would hold her bound to them.
This must not be assumed to be an easy get out. The father would be seen as responsible to honor vows that were made which were positive and sensible. He would not be expected to hinder his daughter’s dedication to Yahweh. But the point is that the vows may have been the rash act of a young teenager, or may have affected things outside her own life. Thus the father was put in a position to decide whether they should have been made, and to confirm or deny them accordingly
6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand.
The second example is of a young woman who made a vow or vows and then either became betrothed or married. She had now come under the authority of her husband. Thus he had the right to decide whether to confirm her vows. She could not bring binding vows into the marriage without his agreement. Note the mention of ‘the rash utterance of her lips’. It was recognition that a young teenage girl could make rather foolish vows. But the overall point was that if her husband came to know of her vows and by silence gave his consent to them, then they became firm and binding. Once again the positive aspect is in mind.
8 But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her.
However once again there was a means of withdrawal. If her husband disallowed her vows on the day that he learned of them then no one would be bound by them,, and Yahweh would forgive the woman because it was not a sign of her change in dedication. Once again the husband would be seen as having a responsibility before Yahweh.
9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.
The vow made by a widow or a divorced woman was seen as being as binding as adult males. She was not under the authority of father or husband and her vow was thus seen as irrevocable. Even a divorced woman who returned to her father’s household was thus still seen as having her own measure of independence. Even here, however, she could presumably only vow in a binding way concerning her own position and wealth.
This example is especially of interest in regard to the question of women’s ‘equality’. It was not that women were not seen as equal with men. That fact is confirmed here. It was that there had always to be a head of a group, and that that head was to be seen as having overall responsibility.
10 “If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand.
This case was of a married woman who made a vow without consulting her husband as the head of the household. Such a vow was always to be seen as subject to the husband’s agreement, for her fulfilling of the vow would necessarily affect the whole household. If he heard of it and allowed it by his silence then the vow continued as binding on all. She was bound by her dedicatory vow.
12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD will release her.
But if her husband disallowed the vow or vows on the day that he heard of it/them, then they ceased to be binding. Whatever she had spoken was cancelled. Her husband had made them void and Yahweh would forgive her.
13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them.
The whole position with regard to husband and wife was now summarized. On the day that he heard of his wife’s vow, whether it was to perform something positive, or abstain from doing something, or to afflict her in some way, he could make it void. But if from day to day he said nothing once he had heard of it, then it became binding. All such vows would be established. All such bonds would be binding. By holding his peace and saying nothing on the day that he heard of them he has firmly established them.
15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
This principle has been seen in two ways. Some see this as representing a case where the husband having said nothing on the day that he heard of the vow, decided later to rescind it. Had he rescinded it immediately there would have been no iniquity. But because he has rescinded it late he must pay any penalty required for failure to fulfill the vow. This rested on him as the head of the household because he had originally confirmed the vow by his silence.
But it seems more probable that this is simply a reminder that the husband must not rescind any vows made by his wife lightly. While the woman would be forgiven because it was at her husband’s demand that the vow was rescinded, he himself was still to be held as accountable. He must bear the result of his decision. If his decision was wise and reasonable there would be no cost. If it was not then he was accountable to Yahweh. The responsibility had come on him.
16 These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.
The chapter finishes with a summary of what the chapter was about. The principle behind this chapter was of overall authority in a household and not just a matter of vows. It covers the situation between a man and his wife, and a father and his young unmarried daughters with regard to overall authority.
