The Biblical Vow

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


Every day, both explicit or implied promises are made, some casual, some very formal - some are kept, some are broken. Let's imagine these different types of promises being represented as a stair case.

    Casual Promises - On the first step, on a casual level, a mother might say, "I'll see you after school." Of course it's to be expected, the mother is always there to see her son or daughter after school. But if for some reason the mother is not there, there will be some disappointment and perhaps anxiety.

    Scheduled Promises - On the next step, a husband might say to his wife, "This evening we'll have dinner out." But then the demands of his job are such that he has to work late, and his wife sits home alone, and hungry.

    Anticipated Promises - The third step is represented by a father who says to his son, "Next Saturday we're going to go to see the Mets game." By the time the big day arrives, dad is nowhere to be found - he forgot all about the game and left the house before sun-up in order to go fishing with some buddies from work. The feeling of disappointment is almost too much to bear - the formerly excited lad is now thrust into dismay. After a few broken promises, the one who makes and breaks them loses trust, the integrity has been lost.

    Contracted Promises - Take it up another step. When a large purchase is made, one which requires a loan for furniture, an auto or a home, the borrower signs papers indicating his or her promise to pay back the money according to an agreed upon schedule. If that promise is not kept, there are consequences - poor credit rating, foreclosure or repossession, inability to secure a loan down the road.

    Partnership Promises - The next step might be characterized as a business partnership. Whether it be two or more people, they combine their resources to establish a commercial enterprise. This type of partnership includes the relationship between an employer and employee. There's an agreement between them, a pledge of faithfulness to each other and the goals of the organization.

    Engagement Promises - There are still more steps in this staircase of promises. A man gives a special ring to the woman he loves, communicating a promise that within a certain amount of time he will marry her - we call this commitment the "engagement." Family members and friends are notified, and in some cases a public announcement is made in the local newspaper. This is a very important declaration of one's intentions, and great shame is heaped on the one who leaves the other standing alone at the altar!

    Marriage Vow - On the other hand, when they do reach the altar, an even higher level of promise is made as the starry eyed couple publicly proclaim their love, and repeat their solemn vows to remain faithful to each other until death. The riser for this step is much higher than the others, and we even give this step another name. No longer merely an intention, or commitment, or even promise. What the bride and groom do, is state their decision as a vow. Nothing in human relationships climbs to the level of the moment when a man and woman pledge their vows "in the presence of God and these witnesses."

However, there is one more level, one more step up in this staircase of promises. That is when a vow is made to God. The Bible clearly urges, "Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them. (Psalm 76:11)

So what is a vow? Simply put, a vow is a promised gift. Interestingly, the word is from the same Latin word from which we take our word "vote." Obviously the word has significantly changed, for to "vote" is to ask someone else to do what you want them to do, to "vow" is to make a promise as to what you will do. A vow made to God is an individually and totally voluntary commitment - one which carries the highest degree of importance.

One of the more noticeable types of vows found in Scripture is the Nazarite vow, where persons simply devoted themselves to God. (Numbers 6:2). (Our dictionary defines a Nazarite as "a consecrated person.") Originally, this entailed a life-long commitment, but later it was changed to 30 days unless a different time span was specified. While there were four stipulations (uncut hair, abstinence from any fruit of the vine, staying clear of dead bodies or unclean food), by far the most important was that of allowing the hair to grow. (No, this was not a fashion statement.) When these vows became temporary, at the close of the specified time, there was a significant ritual which included the shaving of the head (again, not a fashion statement) and burning of the hair, as well as the bringing of a free-will offering (Numbers 6:21). The reason the hair was so important was that among the cultures of Old Testament times, the hair was seen as a very important "outcome of the physical life," (Hastings, p. 648) and thus a very fitting gift by a person who wanted to establish or restore communion with God. (Evidence of this has been found in such places as Syria, Arabia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.) This type of vow found its way into the New Testament times in the story of Paul. At one point, after preaching the Gospel at Corinth, ". . . he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken." (Acts 18:18)

Several times in the Bible's handbook for worship, the Psalms, mention is made of vows:

    "From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows." (Psalm 22:25)

    "Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." (Psalm 50:14,15)

    "How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people." (Psalm 116:12-14)

    ". . . we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you -- vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble." (Psalm 66:12-14)

As in this last verse, vows have often been made to God within a kind of bargaining session. For example, this is what Jacob did:

    Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (Genesis 28:20-22) Notice that later on, when God spoke to Jacob, He reminded him of the vow, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land." (Genesis 31:13)

    Our first exposure to the dedicating of a child came about as such a bargaining session. Hanna, who later offered Samuel for temple service, ". . . made a vow, saying, 'O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.'" (I Samuel 1:11)

    Jonah was also one who used the vow as a bargaining chip. In the belly of the great fish, Jonah cried out, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.' And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." (Jonah 2:7-10) (Did you hear about the method of interrogation allegedly used on captured terrorists? It's called "Water Boarding," and is administered by strapping onto a board the body of a terrorist, plunging him under the water, causing him to believe that if he doesn't share the sought after information, he will be left under to drown. The story of Jonah demonstrates a great improvement on that technique - plunge him into the gastric juices of a big fish until he promises to keep the vow he had formerly made!)

    I know that it has often been said, "One should not bargain with God." However, in none of these Biblical examples was any word of correction given, evidently these vows were not displeasing to God.

    By the way, Jonah wasn't the only one making vows in that story. When the sailors tossed him out of the boat, ". . . the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him." (Jonah 1:15,16) Notice, however, that theirs was not a vow for bargaining, but one made out of gratefulness. It took these pagan sailors to teach us that vows should not be made only in order to receive something from God, but to acknowledge what has already been received from Him.

Incidentally, when it came to vows which involved giving of tithes and offerings, it is clear that such gifts were to be brought to the tabernacle or temple:
    "But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. . . . You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose . . . and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to." (Deuteronomy 12:5-7; 17,18)

There are a couple of ways that the vow has been maintained in some parts of today's church. People go to church and light a "votive" candle which mostly represents a prayer request sent up to God, but also involves a promise made to God. One writer put it this way, "The lighting of these simple votive candles is a Catholic way to prepare the soul for a life of dedication and to offer the best of what he has to God."

Then there are the vows taken by some Roman Catholic priests. Besides the vow of chastity, which commits priests to the celibate life-style, there is also the vow of poverty. This seems to have been popularized and institutionalized by Francis of Assisi in his mendicant order officially named "the Order of Little Brothers" which came into being shortly after Francis began preaching when he was not yet 30 years old.

    The son of Pietro Bernardone, a wealthy cloth merchant, Francis was a popular "play-boy" until a serious search for God began in his late teen years. Because he spent so much time in solitude and in prayer, and visited the lepers to care for them, his angry father brought Francis before the bishop to disinherit him - Francis stripped himself of the fine clothes associated with his upper class lifestyle, and openly declared that from that day on, he would only serve "our Father which art in heaven." After a few years of working with his hands to rebuild chapels, Francis felt the call to become a traveling preacher, "proclaiming the kingdom of God and calling men to repentance, doing so in complete poverty, subsisting on whatever food might be given him, and radiating the love of Christ. He sought to imitate Jesus and to obey him to the letter." (Latourette, p. 430)

    When others wanted to join him, Francis required that they sell everything they owned and give to the poor, and to go preaching as Jesus had instructed his disciples - "Take nothing for the journey -- no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic." (Luke 9:3) At their home base at Portiuncula (some forty miles north of Rome), the brothers lived in a colony of simple huts and dressed themselves in tunics made from the coarse brown cloth used by the peasants. Traveling barefooted, these preachers went from town to town preaching and helping the poor peasants who worked in the fields. Even after Francis received Pope Innocent III's approval for this order, and acquired a monastery, Francis continued to insist on complete poverty - the "Brothers Minor" were not allowed to have any money, or even their own copy of the rule book. Their leader feared that if they owned even a book, it would not be long before those who had one would haughtily command one of the others to bring it to him.

    The preaching was simple and direct, emphasizing such themes as the adoration of God, repentance, generosity, forgiveness, love for neighbors and enemies, and abstaining from the vices of the flesh. The brothers not only preached, they also sang hymns, some of which were composed by Francis. One such hymn opened with the words, "Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name." (The Canticle of the Sun) Even before the death of Francis, a mere 17 years after his call to ministry, the movement had begun to drift away from strict adherence to the vow of poverty, perhaps pointing out that vows such as these were never meant to be institutionalized, but observed only as personal commitments according to the direction of the Spirit.

Let me ask this question, when was the last time, other than at a wedding, have you heard of someone making a vow, and particularly a vow to God? Why are we today so reluctant to make vows? Is this just some outmoded form of religious activity that no longer applies to us? Probably if we have surrendered vow making to the scrap heap of religious history, it's simply because we don't want to make them. Why? One reason could be that there is a fear of making a vow and failing to keep it. After all, the Bible gives some pretty stern advice about this:

    "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth." (Deuteronomy 23:21-23)

    "When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it." (Ecclesiastes 5:4,5)

    "It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows." (Proverbs 20:25)

However, there is a better response to this reluctance to make a vow out of fear of not keeping it. That is, be careful to make a vow you are going to keep, and then seek strength from above to do just that. Not making vows, for any reason, is falling short of what God has required of us.

Actually, I think the real reason we don't make vows is that we don't want to make any decision now which could limit our freedom to do as we please at some later time. For example, if a vow is made to attend church worship services each Lord's Day unless physically or mentally incapacitated, that limits our freedom to go do something else on Sunday. Who knows, perhaps next Sunday there will arise an opportunity to do something that is more interesting, or more fun, or more financially productive than going to church, and we certainly don't want to limit ourselves in this way. Or, let's say a vow has been made to give the tithe of our income to the Lord through His church. To make such a vow will limit us when we go to write out checks, or decide to take a vacation. Looking back, just think about all the money you could be free to spend today if you hadn't given it away.

In fact, this is what happens when the marriage vow is undertaken. Recently I met with a 36 year old man who has decided to get married. I asked him if he understood that marriage meant giving up the freedom his single life-style afforded him. He said he did, and the obvious follow up question is, "Why would he do that?" Because of the expected benefits that would result from a life-long companionship with the woman he loved. So why would we be willing to make vows to God? Because of the expected benefits that will result from a life-long relationship with the Lord whom we love.

Today we are being called on to reconsider this matter of making vows to God. We have seen that it is clearly advocated in Scripture. We understand that it has everything to do with the development of our relationship with God.

Think about it this way. Not many people in this room would agree to the situation where a man and woman live together without having declared their vows in a solemn marriage ceremony. We believe that a secure and stable relationship requires commitments from both husband and wife. Should it be any less with our relationship with the Lord? He has already gone on record with His own vows which He has pledged to those who seek Him - He has made His promises, and He has now popped the question and is waiting for our response.

When people who have associated themselves with our church are thinking about becoming a member, we ask them to consider making four vows. No, we don't demand or legislate this, nor do we set up any kind of accountability structure. This is strictly between them and God. Here are the four statements put in the form of vows:

    1. I vow before God to faithfully join with my brothers and sisters at least once each week for worship and ministry. (Hebrews 10:25)

    2. I vow to take time on a regular basis during the week to have a personal time of prayer and Bible reading. (Isaiah 58:2)

    3. With whatever power of influence I have, I vow to keep my personal life and my environment pure and clear of unholy influences. (Job 31:1)

    4. I vow to bring the Lord's tithes and my offerings to this "storehouse," our local House of Prayer. (Malachi 3:19)

It was on January 20, 1961 that newly elected President John F. Kennedy gave these memorable words at the close of his inaugural address:

    "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

    "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.

    "My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

    "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

Today we send forth a similar call - "My fellow Christians: ask not what God can do for you - ask what you can do for your God." Let us not be like Jonah by waiting until we arrive at a difficult place, and only then make our vows in an attempt to bargain with God.

Let us make our vows simply because we are taught by Scripture to do so - "Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them. (Psalm 76:11)

Discussion Questions

The Biblical Vow

1. What are some examples of casual promises that are made in our daily lives?

2. Why is it damaging to make a promise to be with another person and not keep it?

3. What are some consequences of breaking financial commitments?

4. In human relationships, what is the highest form of commitment, and why is it so important that this type of promise be kept?

5. What is the most simple and clear reason for making and keeping vows?

6. What is the most often cited Biblical example of the Nazarite vow? 7. Who are the Bible characters who made a vow when they were in trouble?

8. When it came to vows which involved giving of tithes and offerings, where were such gifts to be brought?

9. What is "lighting a votive candle," and is it a good thing for us to do?

10. Under what condition would it be acceptable to make a vow of celibacy or a vow of poverty?

11. If we are reluctant to make vows today, why?

12. What are some reasons we feel that a man and woman would not live together without being married?

13. What four vows are members of Crossroads Church invited to make?

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