UNROLL
At dusk, a young woman stands at the door of a black goat-hair tent with her open hands lifted before her in prayer, the camp's dark tents behind her under a deep blue evening sky.

The Book of

Numbers 30

A promise made to God is not small talk. Here is who could release one, and when.

16 verses≈ 3 min1 personBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–10Ready at SinaiCounted and ordered
  2. 11–14GrumblingTo Kadesh and refusal
  3. 15–21Forty yearsRebellion and mercy
  4. 22–25BalaamA curse turned to blessing
  5. 26–36A new generationReady for the landChapter 30

Laws about Vows

Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded: If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

Numbers 30:1–2

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The law

A daughter’s vow

  1. Father’s house

    A young woman makes a vow

    And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge,

  2. Her father is silent: it stands

    and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

  3. He forbids it that day: void

    But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

  4. The LORD will absolve her

    The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.

In evening lamplight at the open front of a black tent, a gray-bearded father sits on a mat listening closely to his teenage daughter, who kneels before him speaking earnestly, a clay oil lamp between them.

Reflect

Your word

God says that whoever makes a vow “must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.” Think about the promises you have made: to God, to your family, to a friend, at work. Is there one you made lightly and have let slide? Is there one you should never have made, that you need to bring honestly to God and to the person? Write it down, and the next step you will take. Then pray: Lord, make my yes mean yes.

Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her.

The law

A wife’s vow

  1. Wife

    A vow in her husband’s house

    If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath,

  2. He is silent: they stand

    and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

  3. Annulled that day: void

    But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her.

  4. He may confirm or annul

    Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself.

  5. Silence day after day confirms

    But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them.

  6. His guilt

    Annulled later: he bears her guilt

    But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.”

Evening at a tent door: a father, a mother and their young daughter sit together on a mat in the warm glow of a clay oil lamp, the dark camp beyond under the night sky.

These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.

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Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

Yes and no

These laws end with homes: “a man and his wife,” and “a father and a young daughter still in his home.” Pray for truthful words in your own mouth today, so that what you say to God and to others can be trusted. Then pray for the homes you know, starting with your own: for those who lead them to listen well and love well, and for promises kept.

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Numbers 30

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A verse to carry with you

If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

Numbers 30:2

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