Numbers 30 - Laws for Vows | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Numbers 30 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In Numbers 30 we consider making vows. God took vows seriously, and here indicates vows shall not be broken. In the New Testament we are told by Jesus to simply let our yes be yes and our no be no, everything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matt 5:37) Making vows doesn’t make us holier, but instead binds us into legalism, from which we are surely bound to fail.

John Alley (my father) has a great teaching on the danger of vows and covenants. In particular the great Jonathan Edwards had overseen a wonderful revival in Northampton (I believe from memory) that he wanted to protect. He covenanted with the people to do certain things to preserve the revival, where it immediately ceased.

The vows were the death blow. John encourages us to simply cling to Christ’s words and not make our own. Making vows out of sincerity to help enhance our walk with the Lord only hinders instead. The rest of the chapter is about vows that women make, which can be overridden by the men in her life. Firstly here a father can override a daughter’s vow.

But if a woman had taken a vow and then later married, her husband can now override the vow and release her. A husband can override a wife who makes a new vow, but if he doesn’t it stands, but a divorced or woman who is widowed is bound by her vows. Is this similar to Adam, when learning of Eve’s sin, doesn’t overrule it, but accepts it, and thus it becomes his sin? Forever it is the sin of Adam.

Rather than the modern way of thinking which sees this as ‘patriarchal’ and a curse to women, instead this should be seen as a blessing. Rather it is the men who foolishly make vows and bind themselves with no voice to override their momentary words. Christ’s words to not make vows, because they are from the evil one, (Matt 5:37) seems to be relevant here to both men and women.