Numbers 30: Straight Talk

​Key Verse
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.
 
Meditation
Clarity of words and commitment to integrity of speech are fruit of security in God’s steadfast love through a settled gospel identity. Insecure verbal processors tell people what they want to hear and manipulate others with rhetoric. Jesus teaches to shoot people straight, simply speaking “yes” and “no” (Matthew 5:37). This is divine direction for disciples, more than guidance for giving guarantees. Hearts secure in grace will lovingly shoot people straight.
 
Today’s reading discusses vows. In the larger context of Scripture, people using words to make vows reveals our need for grace in giving guarantees:  Ruth made a vow to Naomi, Sampson took the Nazarite vow before the Lord, and Jephthah made a tragic vow concerning war and his daughter. The higher ideal of keeping our word is only possible within the highest understanding of God’s sovereign grace.
 
Numbers 30 deals with vows in the context of family. Men leading families are called to keep their vows (vv. 1-2) and women living with men in various capacities are called to keep their vows (vv. 3-16). Family headship is empowered and there is Divine accountability established for integrity within families.
 
God’s people seek to speak with integrity because God has kept His vow to us. All God’s promises are “yes!” in Jesus Christ! Christians are secure in God’s steadfast love and must repent of ways we have not kept our word, receive forgiveness, and commit to speak in grace by shooting people straight in all we say.
 
Today’s Reading
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 Vows3 “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, her husband may establish, 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.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Are you a person of your word, keeping the promises and vows you make?
 
-Why do we need grace to keep going in regard to integrity of speech, moving forward as a straight shooter who speaks truth in love? Where, specifically, do you?
 
-How does God keeping His vows with us through the person and work of Jesus compel us to keep our word to others, not backtracking on commitments or promises made?
 
Key Verse
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.