Commitments

“If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”
(Numbers 30:2, ESV)

Commitment seems to be something missing in our society today. I mean real commitment. During my time in ministry, I have presided over many weddings. Today couples seem very contemplative about entering the marriage commitment. I mean that they are waiting until they are much older than my generation did. Yet they seem so quick to sever the commitment through divorce for willy-nilly reasons. Even among churchgoers, we see no significant difference in divorce rates from that of non-churchgoers. The meaning of real commitment seems misunderstood by many.

The vow in the Mosaic Law refers to a serious promise or pledge that one makes to God. We see many examples of vows in the Old Testament and a couple in the New Testament. In the Old Testament we see the Nazirite vow, a vow of consecration. We also see vows connected with God’s providential intervention in the person’s life. For example, we see that Jacob promised worship and the tithe in response for God’s protection and provision for him. The Law considered that the breaking of a vow was sin, a very serious issue.

While the Law of the vow specifically relates to a promise made by a person to God, the principle has a much broader context. God’s standard for us is complete integrity. A person needs to do what he says he will do in everything providing it falls within the moral context of God’s word.

In the case of marriage, the marriage vows are the couple’s affirmation of their joining God’s holy design for the family. In all areas of life people make commitments to serve or help their employers, their families, their friends, their church, etc. Integrity demands that we keep all our promises. Whether it is the promises that we make to God or fellow man, we have an obligation to fulfill them.