June 2, 2023

Commitment comes with accountability.

Numbers 30

Lauren Heiser
Friday's Devo

June 2, 2023

Friday's Devo

June 2, 2023

Friday's Devo

June 2, 2023

Friday's Devo

June 2, 2023

Big Idea

God's instruction can always be trusted.

Key Verse | Numbers 30:2

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

Men and Vows

1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. 2 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.

Women and Vows

3 If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her.

6 If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her. 9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) 10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, 11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, 1 30:13 Or to fast her husband may establish, 2 30:13 Or may allow to stand or her husband may make void. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.”

16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's house.

Footnotes

[1] 30:13 Or to fast
[2] 30:13 Or may allow to stand

S2:105 Numbers 30

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Numbers 30

From the start of chapter 30, we see that God thinks our words are meaningful, ". . . he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth." (Numbers 30:2). To examine why something is important to God, let's first look at His character. 

From God's mouth, His words created the world and breathed life into mankind (Genesis 1-2). From His lips came His promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) of His plan to redeem mankind that would be fulfilled throughout the entire Bible. Throughout Scripture, we see countless promises God makes to His people that He always accomplishes. He never fails to do what He has promised. Although we have failed God, He has never failed us. His words are powerful and true (Isaiah 55:11). Because of this, we know that God is reliable and trustworthy—what a comfort that is for us. 

Why does that matter to us? Because we are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27) to reflect Him and to make Him known. What then, does this mean for you and me? It means that our words, too, are meant to be meaningful and to be trustworthy, as He is. When our words don't match our actions, our words no longer carry the same value. 

In Numbers 30:6, "thoughtless utterance" can also be translated as "rash promise" (NIV) or "impulsive statement" (NASB). This makes me think about how words are thrown around in our culture. Whether giving a "yes" to an event or exchanging simple pleasantries of "I'd love to grab lunch soon to catch up," we often give people our word without the full intention of following through or without assurance that we have the capacity/resources to remain true to it. Numbers 30 demonstrates that our commitment comes with accountability.

While this call to intentionality and accountability with our words may feel paralyzing, God's Word says that He has not left us to follow Him on our own; rather, He has given us a Helper—the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). The more we know Him, the more His character rubs off on us.

This month's memory verse

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

– 1 Corinthians 15:58

Discussion Questions

1. When you think of the promises of God, what are the top three promises you think of? 

2. Have you observed any promises of God that you find yourself not believing in certain areas of your life? 

3. How often do you say "yes" without sincere intention of following through on that "yes"? In what circumstances have you noticed yourself most likely to do this? 

4. When do you most frequently break commitments to others, and what tends to be the cause? When do you most frequently break commitments to yourself? For example, "I'm going to work out tomorrow," or "I'm going to pay off my credit card debt next month."

5. In what ways this week can you pray over and seek to follow Christ in staying true to your word?

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Lauren. So many great points in your devo. I love Genesis 1:26-28 yet I had not linked that foundational verse with the implication that we should be as true to our words as He is to His because we are made in His image. Very well said. I also love how you made the direct tie to His promises. The contrast was stated plainly in a class Amy and I took that said simply- “God is faithful even when we are faithless.” This short little statement of truth sets such a stark contrast! Lastly, I love your wrap up in the call on the Holy Spirt as the only way we can have any consistency. For me, this highlights not only my sinful nature but the reality of the battle in the spiritual realm laid out throughout all 66 books and articulated in Ephesians 6:10-20.
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Hugh Stephenson

Q1. These are always my go-to verses in promises: JOY - John 15:10-11 https://www.gotquestions.org/search.php?zoom_sort=0&zoom_query=joy PEACE - Philippians 4:6-7 https://www.gotquestions.org/search.php?zoom_sort=0&zoom_query=peace REST - Matthew 11:28-30 https://www.gotquestions.org/search.php?zoom_sort=0&zoom_query=rest Q2. This is a HAHA question. I kind of laugh when I read them because of the difference in my old life versus new life. I believe that every promises God has made will be true. I don’t know the timing or the nature of the fulfillment. But I know it will be true. I have absolutely zero doubt in my mind or my heart. Q3. Like many of these questions, all I can say is I’m "less worse". I still have some people pleasing that God has to wring out of me. Q4. I am most apt to break a commitment when I’m over committed. This is another area where I’m less worse. Slowly I am learning to say no as a first option. This gives me time to pray and reflect.
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Hugh Stephenson

On Vows… FLASHBACK- 12/10/10. I have told this (pre-sobriety) story in my testimony. I was out with a friend for an evening of fun with steaks & drinks and then to a Mavs game. We hit the bars afterwards. Then a group gathered at his penthouse apartment downtown. The night lingered on and on. At about 3:00 he took me down to the valet and got them to get me a cab. I woke up as the cab was driving and saw what I thought was the fence outside my house. I asked him to stop and I got out. He drove off. It was not my house. I was over a mile away from my house. I could barely stand. I was certain an HP cop would drive by and arrest me. I tried to hide but there was no place to hide. Literally. I sat down on the sidewalk and realized that my imminent arrest would likely result in the loss of my professional licenses and the possible expulsion from my firm. I would be in the HP/UP paper and would be humiliated. I also knew I deserved every bit of it. I made a vow. For the first time ever I made a vow and really meant it. I prayed that if God would get me out of this I would change. Then I just hung my head. Amazingly, I was too drunk to cry. Then, my Blackberry rang. It was Amy. She NEVER woke up in the middle of the night. But this time she did. She asked where I was and I mumbled the street. She came and got me. I was a box-checking believer. How could God possible answer my prayer? Mercy, that’s how. I didn’t get what I deserved. Even more, I got what I did not deserve. A second chance. I was in bed for several days. A lot of time to think. Over the next two years there were a few stumbles but I knew what I had to do. Eventually, the last drink came 12/1/12. https://www.watermark.org/blog/real-peace https://vimeo.com/320366537/8cf4d0b482
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Michael Sisson

Re: Num 30:2 Num 30:2 (NASB) “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, >>>he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.<<< See Lev 5:4; Mt 5:33-37; Mt 12:36-37; Jas 5:12 “The Torah states that a whoever makes a vow or takes an oath ‘shall not break his word’ (לא יַחֵל דְּבָרוֹ). The word translated ‘break’ comes from the root chalal (חָלַל) which means to profane or make unholy. This is the same root used in the phrase chillul Hashem (חִלוּל הַשֵּׁם) which means to desecrate the Name of the LORD: ‘And you shall not profane (חָלַל) My holy name; but I will be sanctified (קָדַשׁ) among the children of Israel: I am the Lord who sanctifies you’ (Lev 22:32). Since it is chillul HaShem to break your word, keeping your word is a form of kiddush HaShem (קִדּוּשׁ הַשֵּׁם), ‘sanctifying the Name of the LORD.’” — Hebrew For Christians https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Matot/Vows/vows.html
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Sue Bohlin

Oh Lauren. Love how you nailed the heart of this passage on vows! Our promises matter because we are made in the image of a God who is trustworthy so His words matter. I have long thought that this chapter explains why God lays the guilt of disobedient rebellion on Adam rather than Eve (Romans 5). Eve was deceived; she did a stupid stupid stupid thing in response to the serpent's lies . . . but if Adam had stood up in a holy freak-out and exclaimed, "Eve! What are you DOING??!! Why are you listening to this serpent smear the character of our God? Precious wife, NO NO NO NO NO!!!! He said not to eat the fruit of this one tree--all these yeses and just one no!" I think if Adam had stood in his protective position of his wife's head (Ephesians 5:23), he could have nullified Eve's action. Just as a husband could nullify a wife's foolish vow, as we see in Numbers 30. But. Adam. Didn't. His passivity (which is specifically highlighted several times in this passage) triggered his sin, which caused the collapse of all creation. Blessedly, Jesus is big enough and strong enough to unwind all that collapse and renew all things, which we look forward to with hope and anticipation. Praise You Lord!
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Michael Scaman

Samuel's mother Hanna made a pledge after receiving a blessing. Her husband or father had to override it the day he heard by the laws here. Did he? Was he surprised when Hanna became pregnant with Samuel and was dedicated to God and brought to the temple? Did Mary tell her father an angel appeared? And she said may it be done to me according to what you say. What did her parents think or say? Or would this apply to her betrothed Joseph? Unfortunately there were many stupid promises in the Bible as well. Those are there to remind us not to make promises out of your control "I will offer the first thing that comes out of my house" comes to mind and "40 men took an oath not to eat until they kill Saul" . By the spirit of the law we might say a parent or husband gets a say in some promises and commitments by wife or child. But they should act 'the day they hear" and not change their mind back and forth over time.
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Amy Lowther

1. Three top promises from God I think of are: Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 41:10, and Romans 10:10. 2. No. 3. No, I try to be sincere in everything I do. 4. Life is pretty good. If a commitment is broken, there tends to be more to do than planned or more to learn. 5. I am starting a new job next week and working to start it right.