Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God" .... 5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
This passage of scripture teaches us the very serious and sacred nature of vows that are made to God, and the very same principle extends out to our fellowman in contracts and pledges taken under solemn oath. If a pledge that is made to God does not force us to commit sin, then it should be honored, even though this may cause severe hardship, or may cost us much more than we previously anticipated. Hence the reason why the passage states that very careful consideration must be made before pledging anything to God, or taking an oath before Him. Many of us as Christians do not understand the depth of what is being stated here, and for this reason our vows to God, whether it be in finances or services are held subjectively, only being honored when it is easy and convenient to do so.
In days of old when the Hebrews had been deceived by the Gibeonites into making a peace treaty with them, they then entered into a solemn vow before God to let the foreigners live peaceably amongst them. But it was not long after that they realized the deception practiced upon them, and the people became very upset with the leaders for making such a vow before God, and apparently some of the people had suggested that the solemn oath be annulled, since as they thought, deception on the part of the Gibeonites was involved initially, and therefore the vow thus made was done in ignorance. Let's read:
Joshua 9:3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
To many minds this may seem as a valid reason to renege on that which was promised in ignorance, especially when we consider that deliberate and well orchestrated falsehoods were used by the men of Gibeon. But the leaders who understood the sacred nature of vows made before God remonstrated, and though it was at great cost, and great anger on the part of the people, they decided to go through with the commitment thus made, and they spared the city of Gibeon. Let's read:
Joshua 9:16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. 19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
Many of us as Christians do not understand the sacred nature of our vows made to God, whether it be in goods or services, and because of this our pledges are held in a light and careless manner, and are often retracted for the most trivial of reasons. Some of us have solemnly pledged before God to serve in certain church offices, and we embarked upon the fulfillment of our vows with zeal and gusto, only to find out later that it involves much more than we catered for initially. And now when we become tired, or are consumed with other responsibilities, or when no one appreciates our services, or we are heckled, criticized or tormented by our fellows, we often give up our posts before the due expiration date, and we then leave our position unfilled and the work undone.
This attitude constitutes sin, and should be avoided, for as our passage for today rightly states, these unfulfilled obligations place us in a negative position with God, and more than that, it adversely affects our character and our reputation with others, for howsoever we treat God, we will likewise treat our fellowmen. Moses was pushed to the brink of insanity when the children of Israel threatened to stone him on several occasions, yet he did not lay down the rod that was placed in his hand by God, and which he previously agreed to wield in God's stead. Our pledges and vows to God and man should be held just as sacred, and if we form the habit of sticking to our word, regardless of the cost, characters of sterling worth will be ours, and then we can be entrusted with weightier responsibilities and offices in the kingdom of God.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reiterates this point, and may we be ever found faithful to this sacred truth and duty, as long as life will last. Let's read:
Psalms 15:1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 4 ..."He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. 5 ..."He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!