Leviticus 27:1-34 - Homiletics

Vows are not instituted by the Mosaic legislation; they were already in existence as a habit of the Hebrew people, and they are only regulated by Moses. The principle on the subject of vows is that no one was bound to make a vow, but that when a vow was made, it must be observed by the payment of the thing vowed or its recognized commutation. Thus Deuteronomy 23:21 , "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee." And Numbers 30:2 , "If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." And Ecclesiastes 5:5 , "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay."

I. OLD - TESTAMENT VOWS WERE PROMISES TO GOD TO GIVE UP TO HIM SOMETHING OF VALUE ON CONDITION OF DELIVERANCE IN DISTRESS OR HELP IN ATTAINING SOMETHING DESIRED . Examples:

1 . Jacob's vow: "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" ( Genesis 28:20-22 ).

2 . Jephthah's vow: "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then 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 (or) I will offer it up for a burnt offering" ( 11:30 , 11:31 ). What Jephthah appeared to contemplate as likely to meet him was either a non-sacrificial animal, which would then be handed over to the sanctuary ( Leviticus 27:11-13 ), or a sacrificial animal, which would be offered up. His daughter came under the first head ( Leviticus 27:9 , Leviticus 27:10 ).

3 . Hannah's vow: "And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head" ( 1 Samuel 1:11 ).

4 . Absalom's pretended vow: "For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord (offer sacrifices in Hebron)" ( 2 Samuel 15:8 ).

II. CHRISTIAN VOWS ARE PROMISES MADE TO GOD , DIFFERING FROM THE JEWISH VOW BY BEING INDEPENDENT OF ANY DELIVERANCE OR , BENEFIT TO BE RECEIVED IN RETURN . Examples:

1 . The baptismal vow, ratified and confirmed in Confirmation: "Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life? I will." "Do you here, in the presence of God, and of this congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow that was made in your name at your baptism; ratifying and confirming the same in your own person? I do" (Baptism and Confirmation Services).

2 . The marriage vow: "Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony?" "Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony?" "I will" (Form of Solemnization of Matrimony).

3 . The ordination vow: "Will you then give your faithful diligence always so to minister the doctrine and sacraments, and the discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded, and as this Church and realm hath received the same, according to the commandments of God?" "I will so do, by the help of the Lord" (The Ordering of Priests).

III. THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH VOWS AND OATHS ARE NOT , OR CEASE TO BE , OBLIGATORY . Jeremiah writes ( Jeremiah 4:2 ), "And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness." Isaiah speaks of those "which swear by the Name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness" ( Isaiah 48:1 ). Accordingly, any oath or vow is void which was an unrighteous oath or vow when taken; and the sin of breaking it, though a sin, is less than that of keeping it. Therefore Herod ought not to have kept his oath to the daughter of Herodias ( Matthew 14:9 ); and the observance of their oath by the forty conspirators who had bound themselves to kill Paul, would have been a sin on their part ( Acts 23:12-21 ). Further, a vow, as distinct from an oath or contract, ceases to be obligatory if the person concerned comes to regard it as unrighteous and wrong for him to fulfill with his changed mind or under changed circumstances. Thus, the vow taken at ordination to administer the sacraments in the form received by a special Church, is not binding if a man ceases on conscientious grounds to be a member of that Church, and. the vow of celibacy taken by Luther and others, who have become reformers, no longer binds them when they have come to the conviction that the vow was unrighteous, and when they have rejected the discipline of their Church. The marriage vow, however, stands upon a different basis, because marriage is a contract, containing not only a vow to God, but also a promise to man, by the non-fulfillment of which wrong would be done. f1