Day 58: Rash Vows (Bible Tribe Judges 11–15) - Denise Pass

bible tribe 58

Rash Vows

Good Morning! Welcome to Day Fifty-Eight! “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.” This seems like wise counsel, but in humility, we recognize that we are not capable of keeping one vow apart from the grace of God.

 Bible Reading: Judges 11-15

Verse of the day: Judges 11:35(b) “For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”

Word of the day: Vow. It is the Hebrew word פֶּה (pê) in verse 35,but later in verse 39 we see another Hebrew word for vow: נֶדֶר (neh’-der).

This word means: To promise; an oath.

A Vow Matters

Judges 11 introduces us to Jephthah the Gileadite. He was a mighty man of valor but he had skeletons in is closet. His mom was a prostitute and Jephthah was shamed as he fled from his brothers. But Jephthah rose to fame when his brothers were in trouble and came to him for help.

Jephthah went to fight the Ammonites and in his zeal, Jephthah uttered a vow that God never would have required. He said in Judges 11:30–31, “30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

Jephthah’s daughter came out of that door. Yet, Jephthah said he could not take back his vow.

Our Heart Behind the Vow Matters Too

Have you ever made a rash vow? Like, “God, if you will just get me out of this situation, I will . . .fill in the blank.”

God is not seeking vows from us. Instead, He is seeking our heart and devotion.

Matthew 5:34–37 says:

“34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

 Application

  • Rather than making vows, we can ask God to help us be faithful.
  • God is not looking for good works, but just our heart.

Go with God and His precious word, friends! Join us tomorrow in the book of Isaiah.

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