Unnecessary Oaths
By Jason Lovelace
Key Scriptures:
Judges 11.30-35 – 30And
Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver
the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31Then it shall be, that
whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in
peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer
it up for a burnt offering. 32So Jephthah passed over unto the
children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his
hands. 33And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to
Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very
great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of
Israel. 34And Jephthah came to
Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with
timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither
son nor daughter. 35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that
he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low,
and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the
LORD, and I cannot go back.
Ecclesiastes 5.2-7 – 2Be not rash
with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God:
for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3For
a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by
multitude of words. 4When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not
to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest
vow and not pay. 6Suffer 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? 7For
in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but
fear thou God.
Matthew 5.33-37 – 33Again, ye have
heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear
thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34But I
say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
35Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem;
for it is the city of the great King. 36Neither shalt thou
swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever
is more than these cometh of evil.
James 5.12 – But above all
things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither
by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into
condemnation.
How often have you heard the phrase, “I swear!”?
When was the last time you gave someone a promise, and used the phrase,
“I swear!”? This phrase (“I swear!”) is often used today, but many people
do not understand the weight of swearing in such a way. A lot of people in
today’s world say this statement almost every day, but do we really, truly
understand what these words, and their weight, mean?
Oaths are Serious Business!
In English, using the phrase “I Swear,” is often
referred to as “Taking an oath.” In a court of law in the USA,
when someone is about to testify before a judge, he or she takes an oath, being
asked “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?” At any point during this person’s testimony,
if he or she is found to be telling a lie, that person will go to jail, and his
or her words are counted as unreliable. Taking an oath is not to be
lightly entered into! Even in modern times,
when someone speaks words of affirmation, if there are more than two or three
witnesses, those words become that person’s oath. The Bible, further,
speaks very seriously about oaths and swearing. So serious is God about
swearing oaths that specific and clear rules are set out about how they should
be done. In the Old Testament, in the Books of Moses, the ways people
swear oaths and how they can be disallowed are very precise and specific.
They were not to be entered into lightly.
Not So Fast!!!
The Bible is full of warnings to people about taking
and giving oaths, especially in front of God. Ecclesiastes 5.2 says that
we should not speak rashly in front of God. Verses 4 and 5 of that same
chapter say that if we make a vow, a promise or an oath in front of God, we need
to do what we said we would do. Ecclesiastes 5.6 says that we should not
allow our mouths to cause us to sin. There is a deep level of severity and
seriousness in making an oath, speaking a promise, or even giving our word to
someone. In fact, the Bible speaks clearly about oaths and swearing: if
you don’t live up to your oath and to the thing you have sworn to, it is a lie
in God’s eyes. In the Books of the Law of Moses in the Old Testament,
breaking a vow and going back on an oath were both grounds for receiving the
death penalty. God views oaths as very serious and not to be done or
executed lightly.
The Tragedy of Jephthah
Have you ever heard of the Biblical Hero named
Jephthah? Is today the first tiem you have heard this great Judge’s name?
Jephthah was one of the greatest heroes of the Bible. He is even mentioned
in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Jephthah judged Israel at a time
when she was under the heavy hand of her neighbors. For several years the
Israelites were dominated by the Ammonites, Amalekites, and Moabites – all three
of these peoples being enemies of
Israel. Jephthah came along and God used
him mightily to crush Israel’s enemies. He won a
great battle and is remembered as one of
Israel’s greatest judges. The tragic part
of Jephthah’s life is that he made a very foolish vow! He took a very heavy oath
in front of God! Look at Judges 12.30-31. Jephthah prayed to God,
and asked him for victory and, if God
gave him and Israel the victory, he would
sacrifice the first thing that came out of the doors of his house. How
smart was it of Jephthah to take and to make such an oath? A better
question is, why did Jephthah make such an oath? Reading further in Judges
12, we see why this oath was so foolish, and why Jephthah’s life was so tragic.
Verse 34 states that the first thing out of Jephthah’s house doors was his only
daughter! Jephthah, who had come home from a great victory in VERY high
spirits, was brought to the lowest of the low. After giving his daughter
leave to spend time with her friends,
Jephthah kept his word, and kept his vow, and sacrificed his only daughter to
the Lord.
Why Such a Foolish Oath?
Again, many people ask, “Why did Jephthah make such a
foolish oath?” Jephthah made his foolish oath for the same reason that
many of us make foolish oaths today: lack of faith in God. Jephthah had no
reason to give an oath of any kind to God. God was faithful (and he still
is) and was ready to help both Jephthah and his Israelite Brethren. Yet,
because he did not fully trust in God’s goodness, grace, and help, Jephthah felt
the need to challenge God by offering up an oath. How many of us do the
same thing? How many of us, when praying for God’s mercy, aid, or
strength, also offer up some sort of oath or promise to do something for God?
“Dear Lord, if you will bring healing to my daughter, I’ll give my life to you
and do whatever you want!” “Dear Lord, if you will help me to get that job
or that position at work, I’ll give you half of my salary!” “Heavenly
Father, if you will just answer this prayer, I’ll give you this, this, and this,
and I’ll do that, that, and that over there!” Friends, is this really
necessary? When praying and asking God to move, or for his help, do we
really and truly need to offer up an oath or a vow? A further question is,
how often, when praying and making such vows, do we keep our word and perform
the oath we spoke?
A Simple Remedy: Don’t Make Oaths (Especially Ones
You Don’t Intend to Keep)!
Our Scripture Verses from Matthew and James are very,
very simple and plain: don’t
even make a vow! In fact, what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5 is that everything
you say you will do, you should do. In a way, Jesus is saying that
everything you say should be a vow! Look at what he says. Matthew
5.37 says to let our “Yes” be yes, and our “No” be no, and further, anything
more than this comes from evil. James 5.12 says the identical thing!
Again, Ecclesiastes 5.5 says that it is better to not make an oath in the first
place, rather than to make an oath and not carry through on performing it out.
Ecclesiastes 5.7 echoes what Jesus and James both state: in many words
there are also many pitfalls. So what is the remedy? Don’t make
vows. Don’t make oaths and swear to this or that, especially if you do not
plan to carry out your oath to begin with.
A Time to Make an Oath…
What is the Bible saying? Should we never make
an Oath? Should we refuse to swear or vow or make promises? The
Bible isn’t necessarily saying this, as there are times
and instances where we need to make public promises and oaths to the outside
world. The earlier oath of swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth is an important oath, especially in a court of law.
But friends, we should be under that oath anyway. One of God’s
commandments is to tell the truth. There are other times to make vows and promises. Marriage is one
such instance where vows are important. My wife and I made public vows to
love, honor, and take care of each other for as long as we live. Others
when they marry say the same or similar
vows. Why are these words and vows done in such a way? They are done
not only to remind the two people taking the vows, but also to keep the two
accountable before their friends and family, and, more
importantly, in front of God! Further instances of the
need to take an oath or to make a public promise is in business, especially with
contracts. In such cases, there is no real sin of taking or making an
oath. The problem with making an oath is not in the making.
The Bottom Line: Breaking an Oath is a Sin!
The problem that Jesus, James, and King Solomon were
addressing is the taking of an oath only to break it later. Too many times in our world today people take oaths, make vows,
and swear to things only to not follow through and finish them. The
reasons for these may be many and varied, but there is always a root cause:
the oath-taker was thinking only of himself
or herself when the oath was taken. The reason why the vows of marriage
are broken so often in these modern times is because the two getting married n the first
place were thinking selfishly, and not sacrificially. The reason why
companies break their contracts or promises to people is because the company in
question is looking more to the almighty dollar or yen, rather than to serving
their customers. The problems with elected officials who get caught in
some scandal or another is not that these people took their oath to public
service, but the fact that they didn’t take their oath to public service to
heart, and were thinking of themselves first. This kind of oath-breaking
is a sin, and it is so because it is theft and bearing false witness: theft in
that another person’s trust was stolen, and lying in that the person’s word to
the other party was broken. Friends, we also need to know that God will
judge sin, including the breaking of an oath or vow. But, also, just as
God will judge oath-breaking, he, too, will forgive as well.
Conclusion – My Word is My Vow
This is a common saying in English, and it has such
great meaning! If we are living a life of truthfulness and keeping our
word, then we should never have any trouble with vows, oaths, or swearing to
something. The bottom line is this: If you make an oath, stick to
it, and finish it. God will bless anyone who keeps his or her word.
If you know that it will be too difficult to do something, then don’t swear to
do it. As Ecclesiastes states, it’s better to not make a vow than to make
a vow and not carry it out. Finally, remember, friends, that one of the
signs of the end is that many people will be in the habit of breaking their
word, and not keeping their oaths. This is all too easy to see in today’s
world! Remember that it is important
to just let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No”. Mean what you say,
and do what you say you will do, and leave the oaths for the times
when they are most needed. Let’s pray….
Verse to remember:
“Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that
thou shouldest vow and not pay.”
– Ecclesiastes 5.5