If a man vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; according to all that hath gone out of his mouth shall he do.
The law in Numbers 30 opens with the simplest case of all: a man who has bound himself to God by his own words. The daughter, the wife and the widow come later in the chapter; this one rule comes first.
Nothing in the law required an Israelite to make a vow.
The Israelites were not told to make vows, but if they voluntarily made them, God said they must conscientiously perform them. Man is ever ready to boast of his strength, not being conscious of his own weakness. Israel, on hearing the law, did not hesitate to say, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do," but they miserably failed. The law made vows binding, and gave directions for exceptional cases where it was impossible to perform them.
For the man there was no exception.
Such was the law about vows. There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had proceeded out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and irreversibly held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
One writer asks who has ever kept a word like that.
Do we not know who this is? We know the One who never needs to recall a word: indeed, there is none other. His word stands; we can trust it without fear.
Another writer follows that binding word into Gethsemane.
Now we know who took this position in perfect grace. He freely bound Himself to do the will of God, whatever that will might be. We know who it is that says, "I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people." He is "the man Christ Jesus." Having taken the vows upon Him, He carried them out perfectly, to the glory of God and the eternal blessing of His people. There was no escape for Him. We hear Him crying out, in the deep anguish of His soul in the garden of Gethsemane, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But it was not possible. He had undertaken the work of man's salvation. He had to go through the deep and dark waters of death, judgement, and wrath, and fully meet all the consequences of man's condition.
Another writer sets Israel's promise beside Christ's.
Some have pointed out that in Scripture a woman often stands figuratively for a system or a community, and it may be so here. Israel as a community pledged themselves to obedience to the law of God. This vow of theirs was not disallowed, and to this day they suffer the governmental consequences of their failure. On the other hand, when our Lord said, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God," there could be no annulment, had He wished it.
Kelly sees God dealing with Israel's rash vows in two ways.
He acted in the power of His own grace, and therefore disallowed what was wrong, not binding the foolish vow on her who spoke so rashly with her lips. He let her words pass away, to be broken, to have no binding force. How gracious is the Lord! On the other hand, dealing in His governmental wisdom, He might allow the foolish one to prove her own folly; and so He did. But the day is surely coming when He will act in the fullness of His grace, and all that is foolish will be as unheard, unregistered, and blotted out for ever.
Kelly finds the same mercy in the Gospels, where the Lord made Peter's rash words void.
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not stay silent and so leave the soul bound! He knows when and how to set aside the foolish and even God-dishonouring word, so that it does not stand and the soul is forgiven! (See Numbers 30.)
One writer draws a line between vows under the law and Christian speech.
Under the law, such an oath or vow was permissible and intended. But an oath follows the legal principle: I take on a task, I assume I have the strength to do it, and I make a vow to match. Whenever a man made such a vow, he came under an absolute obligation to do what he had promised (Numbers 30:2). As a Christian one should not do such a thing. Our word should always be trustworthy.
- Voluntary. No one had to vow; but the moment the words left his mouth, they owned him.
- Unbreakable. For the man there was no back door, no release clause, no way out.
- Fulfilled. Only Christ ever answered this verse. He bound Himself to God's will, asked in Gethsemane for the cup to pass, and got no release.
- Broken. Israel, pictured as the woman, promised to obey the law. No one cancelled that vow, and the nation still carries the cost.
- Disallowed. A father or husband could void a rash word. In the same way God sets aside foolish promises and forgives the one who made them.
If a woman also vow a vow to Jehovah, and bind herself by a bond, in her father's house in her youth,
Numbers 30 is about vows — promises made to the LORD — and it treats a man's word and a woman's differently. Verse 3 turns to a young daughter who makes such a promise while still living at home, and her father can undo it.
The chapter sets two standards side by side:
The subject is the confirmation or annulling of vows. If a man vows a vow to Jehovah, he must do without fail all that he has sworn to do. If a woman vows, however, there are conditions which determine whether it shall bind or not. So, if she is young and in her father's house, he may disallow the oath, and then it does not bind her; or she may be married, and her husband disallow it. But if these keep silence, or she is a widow or divorced, then her vow remains against her, and she is debtor to fulfil it.
Note the timing: the father must speak when she makes the vow, not later.
It was different for a young woman who still lived with her father. If she made a vow, her father could overrule it at the time she made it. If he did not overrule it, the law obliged her to keep it.
The daughter has a way out; the man in verse 2 has none. That difference is the hinge of the chapter.
There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had come out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and irreversibly held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
Commentators read that unbreakable word as pointing beyond any human speaker. As one puts it of the man who never has to take back what he said:
Do we not know who this is? We know the One who never needs to recall a word: indeed, there is none other. His word stands; we can trust it without fear.
Several writers read the woman here as a picture of a whole community.
Others have noted that in Scripture a woman often pictures a system or a community, and it may be so here. Israel as a community pledged themselves to obey the law of God. Their vow was never disallowed. To this day they suffer the consequences of their failure under God's government.
Another writer looks at that pledge at Sinai, and at why God let it stand:
Israel took such vows upon themselves at Sinai, and the result proved what a "rash utterance of the lips" it was. "The law made nothing perfect": grace alone could do this. Yet God did not disallow it. He was "Father" and "Husband" to them, and the vow was spoken in His hearing. Still He left it in force, in the wisdom of His government and in tender care for man himself.
One writer finds two ways God answered Israel's rash words — in grace, and in the way He governs:
Many a rash word they said; many a foolish vow they made. How did He treat all? In two ways. He acted in the power of His own grace, and so He disallowed what was wrong. He did not bind the foolish vow on her who spoke so carelessly with her lips… On the other hand, in His governmental wisdom, He might let the foolish prove her own folly; and so He did… But the day is surely coming when He will act in the fulness of His grace. All that is foolish will be as unheard, unrecorded, and blotted out for ever.
Another writer names the day when Israel's vow is finally lifted:
One day God will disallow the vow Israel has put herself under, and then He receives Israel back into favour. "And the LORD will forgive her."
Not every vow in Scripture was made by someone too weak to keep it.
But some vows were not taken rashly by those too weak to fulfil them. They were made by One who is mighty, One on whom God has laid help. If the woman's vows stand, thank God, so do the Man's!
One writer turns to this chapter when a disciple had spoken words he should never have said:
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not stay silent and so bind the soul with a bond! He knows when and how to disallow the foolish, even God-dishonouring word, so that it does not stand and the soul is forgiven. (See Numbers 30.)
- Heard. A daughter makes her vow within her father's hearing, and his answer at that moment decides everything.
- Silence binds. If he says nothing, the pledge stands and she must pay it — silence is consent, not neutrality.
- A word frees. If he overrules her, not one of her bonds holds, and the Lord forgives her.
- Israel bound. The nation pledged obedience at Sinai. God did not cancel that vow, and Israel has lived under it ever since.
- Christ's vow. Christ made the one pledge no one could annul, and He kept it. So grace, not our own performance, can answer the vow that still stands against the weak.
and her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall be silent at her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
A young woman makes a promise to God while still living in her father's house. Everything turns on what her father does when he hears it. If he says nothing, his silence is consent, and her word holds.
Several conditions decide whether a woman's vow binds her:
If a man vows a vow to the Lord, he must do without fail all that he has sworn to do. If a woman vows, however, there are conditions which decide whether it binds her or not. If she is young and in her father's house, he may disallow the oath. Then it does not bind her. Or she may be married, and her husband may disallow it. But if these keep silence, or she is a widow or divorced, then her vow remains against her, and she is bound to fulfil it.
A man is held to his own words. A woman's word stands or falls with someone over her. One writer reads that position as a picture of God's people:
This is our position, as it was that of Israel. They held the place of the woman according to the type of this chapter, as the man was the Lord Messiah, no doubt, in its full import. But it was the Lord who spoke, and His words stood; the Lord Messiah was the unfailing One of Israel.
Israel took vows like this in God's hearing, and He did not cancel them:
Numbers 30 deals with the vows of women. It also points to what happened to Israel. They did take these vows upon themselves, in the hearing of God, and He has not cancelled them in His government here below. Israel has stayed responsible for the vow it bound itself with — and, on the other hand, the precious Saviour had to take the burden of that vow upon Himself.
A vow left standing must then be paid. Here "bonds" are the pledges named in the verse:
Looked at from the side of God's government, the Lord is at once the Father and the Husband. He has kept silent toward her, so He lets her vows and bonds stand. To this day she is suffering the consequences, and feeling the force of those words: "It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay."
The other half of the law is the happier half. One writer sees the good news of it in the way the Lord handled Peter's rash words:
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not keep silent so as to bind the soul with a bond! He knows when and how to disallow the foolish and even God-dishonouring word, so that it shall not stand and the soul is forgiven. (See Num. 30.) The Lord made Peter's words completely void the moment He heard them, in the grace which corrects every fault, and bore all our iniquity.
Not every vow is made by someone too weak to keep it:
But there are vows not rashly undertaken by those too feeble to fulfil them, but by One upon whom, as one that is mighty, God has laid help. If the woman's vows stand, thank God, so do the Man's!
And the rash words of God's people will not stand for ever:
But the day is surely coming when He will act in the fullness of His grace, and everything foolish will be as if never heard, never recorded, and blotted out for ever.
One writer turns this chapter into a practical caution:
I do not believe that it is right for a New Testament believer to make a vow. If we truly understood the plague of our own hearts, we would not dare trust ourselves to be able to perform what we have promised. It is better to tell the Lord that we love Him truly, and want to please Him, but that we need Him to help us. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
- Silence binds. If the father hears and says nothing, the vow stands. If he disallows it, it never binds her.
- Dependence protects. Her word does not rest on her own strength but on the one over her — a position commentators read as Israel's, and ours.
- Israel bound itself. The nation took its vows in God's hearing, and He did not cancel them.
- Government let it stand. Held to their own word, they still feel the weight of a vow made and not paid.
- Grace overrules. The One who disallows our foolish words has Himself made a vow that needed no cancelling. One day every foolish word of His people will be blotted out.
But if her father prohibited her in the day that he heard, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand; and Jehovah shall pardon her, because her father prohibited her.
A young woman still living at home makes a vow to God; her father hears it, says no, and the vow falls. She is not just released — she is forgiven, and for a reason that has nothing to do with her own repentance.
The chapter sets two cases side by side. Who else is listening decides the second one.
The subject is the confirmation or annulling of vows. If a man makes a vow to Jehovah, he must do all that he has sworn to do, without fail. If a woman vows, however, there are conditions which determine whether it shall bind or not. So, if she is young and in her father's house, he may refuse the oath, and then it does not bind her. Or she may be married, and her husband may refuse it. But if they keep silent, or if she is a widow or divorced, then her vow stands against her, and she must carry it out.
Why should the father's word carry such power? Kelly points to the order of relationships.
Here we meet with a very blessed principle. The order of relationship depends on the one to whom we are related. It is He that governs. In these matters God does not rest the weight on the weaker one, who stands in the place of responsibility. He rests it on the higher one, who is expected to have strength and wisdom.
Kelly finds two ways the Lord dealt with a foolish vow.
He acted in the power of His own grace. So He refused what was wrong, and did not bind the foolish vow on the woman who spoke so rashly. He let her words pass away, to be broken, to have no binding force. How gracious is the Lord! On the other hand, He might deal in His governmental wisdom and let the foolish one prove her own folly. And so He did.
Kelly applies this same chapter to Peter's rash word to his Master.
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not stay silent and so let a bond bind the soul! He knows when and how to refuse the foolish word, even the word that dishonours God. Then it does not stand, and the soul is forgiven! (See Num. 30) The Lord made Peter's words completely void the moment He heard them... in the grace which corrects every fault, and bore all our iniquity.
Commentators read the woman of this chapter as a picture of Israel, the nation that bound itself by vows at Mount Sinai.
At Sinai, Israel took such vows upon themselves. The result proved what a "rash utterance of the lips" it was. "The law made nothing perfect": grace alone could do this. Yet God did not refuse that vow. In the wisdom of His government, and in tender care for man himself, He let it stand — though He was "Father" and "Husband" to them, and though they spoke the vow in His hearing. So they have had to stand under it, and answer for breaking it.
The release costs the woman nothing. Mackintosh looks ahead to the day her forgiveness arrives.
But there is another side. Seen from the blessed standpoint of grace, the Father and the Husband has taken it all upon Himself. So she shall be forgiven, and brought into the fullness of blessing by and by. This does not rest on vows carried out or bonds confirmed. It rests on sovereign grace and mercy, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
What then should a Christian do about making vows? Grant answers plainly.
Therefore, vows have no place in Christianity. Only One has kept His vows perfectly. The Lord Jesus says in Psalm 116:18, "I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people." He did this at Calvary. So we rest on the absolute truth of His word, which could not fail, and not on our own reliability.
- Hearing. A vow binds only when the one in authority hears it and stays silent. The father's word on the day he hears settles it.
- Weight. God rests responsibility on the stronger party, not on the one less able to carry it.
- Disallowing. The One who hears a foolish word can cancel it. That is grace, not indulgence.
- Silence. Where God leaves a promise standing, people feel its consequences. Commentators apply this to Israel's vow at Sinai.
- Forgiveness. She goes free because another stepped in, not because she delivered. Blessing rests on grace and on the One who did pay His vows.
And if she have a husband, when she hath her vow upon her or ought that hath passed her lips wherewith she hath bound her soul,
The law of vows in this chapter treats a woman's word differently from a man's. Hers could be confirmed or cancelled by her father or her husband, and here the case is a woman who carries a vow into her marriage. What happens when her husband hears it and says nothing? And why does the verse call such a promise a thoughtless utterance of her lips?
The verse deals with a promise already made and still in force when the woman marries. One writer sets out the situation plainly:
The case was similar if a woman was married. Since she had made the vow before marriage, her husband could cancel her obligation when he heard of it. But if he did not cancel it on hearing of it, then the vow remained in force.
Silence, then, is not neutral. By saying nothing, the husband lets the vow stand.
The verse calls the promise a "thoughtless utterance of her lips." One writer explains what lies behind any vow:
What we commonly call a vow means pledging yourself, with or without penalties if you break it. In itself it is the fruit of self-confidence and energy in the flesh — two things that mark fallen men, and which God hates.
A wife had a way out. Earlier in the chapter, a man had none:
There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had come out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and irreversibly held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
The chapter reaches further than one household:
In the case of the woman, whether as the daughter or the wife, we have the nation of Israel. We see her in two ways: under government and under grace. Looked at from the side of government, the Lord, who is at once the Father and the Husband, has kept silence at her. So He lets her vows and bonds stand. She is, to this day, suffering the consequences, and made to feel the force of those words: "It is better that you should not vow than that you vow and not pay."
That is the sober side of the verse. A vow God lets stand must be paid.
But the chapter has a man's vow in it too. One writer sets that vow beside the woman's:
But some vows are not taken rashly by people too weak to keep them. They are taken by One who is mighty, and on whom God has laid help. If the woman's vows stand, thank God, so do the Man's! … If, then, Christ has gone up to His rest, it is because His vow is accomplished.
In this chapter, silence is what binds. Christ does the opposite. When Peter, one of His followers, spoke words that dishonoured Him, the Lord did not let them stand:
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not keep silence in a way that binds the soul with a bond! He knows when and how to disallow the foolish and even God-dishonouring word, so that it shall not stand and the soul is forgiven! (See Numbers 30.) The Lord made Peter's words completely void the moment He heard them, in the grace that corrects every fault, and bore all our iniquity.
- The bond. A vow is a pledge you make about yourself, and it rests on self-confidence and the flesh — two things God hates.
- The silence. A husband who hears and says nothing on that day confirms his wife's vow; it stands, and she must pay it.
- The picture. Israel stands in that wife's place. God, her Father and Husband, kept silence, so her vow stands, and she has lived under the consequences ever since.
- The stronger Vow. If the woman's vow stands, so does the Man's — Christ took vows He was able to pay, and He has paid them.
- The release. Our safety is not in a word we keep. It rests on One who disallows the foolish word and forgives.
and her husband hear it and be silent at her in the day that he heareth it, then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
A woman comes into marriage already bound by a promise she made to God. Her husband hears of it and says nothing, so her promise stands. Commentators read this rule as a picture of God's dealings with Israel, whose Father and Husband He is — and of the one Man whose vows never needed cancelling.
The day the husband hears settles the matter, one way or the other. His silence does not leave it open. It confirms her vow.
The case was similar if a woman was married. Even though she had made the vow before her marriage, her husband could cancel her obligation when he heard of it. But if he did not cancel it on hearing of it, then the vow remained in force.
The chapter has already dealt with a father and his child. Now the same rule moves to marriage, and one writer applies it to Israel and to the church.
The same thing is true, viewed in another relationship. Suppose it was not a father with a child, but a husband (verses 6-8): in this case all depended on the husband. How perfectly this applies, whether you look at Israel or the church, needs no explaining. All our blessedness depends upon Him to whom we belong. At the same time, in His government He may let us feel our own lack of wisdom and our failure to wait on Him.
Israel made vows at Mount Sinai. God heard them and did not overrule them, and the nation has carried the weight ever since.
Reading the same chapter, another writer draws out what that silence has cost.
Looked at from a governmental point of view, the Lord, who is at once the Father and the Husband, has held His peace at her, so that her vows and bonds are allowed to stand; and she is, to this day, suffering the consequences, and made to feel the force of those words, "It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay."
The law has a mercy in it too. The one who hears a foolish word can cancel it on the spot. One commentator sees this law at work when Peter spoke foolishly to Jesus.
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One Who does not keep silent in a way that binds the soul with a bond! He knows when and how to disallow the foolish and even God-dishonouring word. So it does not stand, and the soul is forgiven. (See Numbers 30.) The Lord made Peter's words void the moment He heard them, in the grace which corrects every fault and bore all our iniquity.
That standing vow is not the end of the story. The same Husband who let it stand takes it on Himself.
One writer sets a different vow beside hers — one taken by someone strong enough to keep it.
But there are vows that were not taken rashly by people too weak to keep them. They were taken by One who is mighty, on whom God has laid help. If the woman's vows stand, thank God, so do the Man's!
So commentators warn against copying the practice today.
The law permitted the people to make vows about what they might do in the future, for as long as a man is under law he is on trial. But this time of testing for Israel — a sample of all mankind — has proved man untrustworthy about keeping what he promises... Vows have no place in Christianity. There is only One who has kept His vows in full... We rest on the absolute truth of His word, which could not fail, rather than on our own reliability.
- Heard — the day he hears settles it. His silence confirms her vow as surely as a word would cancel it.
- Held — God heard Israel's vow at Sinai and let it stand. The nation has carried that bond ever since.
- Hushed — the law's mercy is the right to cancel a rash word at once. Christ cancelled Peter's words, so no bond held and the soul was forgiven.
- Borne — grace goes further. The Father and Husband takes the whole debt on Himself, so blessing comes by mercy, not by vows kept.
- Kept — if the woman's vow stands, so does the Man's. Rest on His word, not on your own promises.
But if her husband prohibit her on the day that he heareth it, and annul her vow which is upon her, and what hath passed her lips, wherewith she hath bound her soul, then Jehovah shall pardon her.
A wife makes a vow, her husband hears it and says no, and the vow falls to the ground — and God forgives her. Two questions follow: how can one person's voice cancel another's promise to God, and who do the man and the woman in this chapter stand for?
One writer states the rule simply:
The case was similar if a woman was married. Even as she had made the vow before marriage, when her husband heard of it he was in a position to cancel her obligation. But if he did not cancel it on hearing of it, then the vow remained in force.
A woman could be released from her vow. A man could not.
Such was the law about vows. There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had come out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and unchangeably held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
Commentators read that unbreakable bond as a picture of Christ:
We know who it is that says, "I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people." It is the man Christ Jesus. He took the vows upon Him, and He carried them out perfectly to the glory of God and the eternal blessing of His people. There was no escape for Him. We hear Him crying out in the deep anguish of His soul, in the garden of Gethsemane, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But it was not possible. He had undertaken the work of man's salvation, and He had to go through the deep and dark waters of death, judgement, and wrath.
Commentators read the woman as a picture of Israel. Kelly looks at how God has handled her vows:
Many a rash word they said; many a foolish vow they made. How did He treat it all? In two ways. He acted in the power of His own grace, and so disallowed what was wrong, not binding the foolish vow on her who spoke so carelessly with her lips. He let her words pass away, to be broken, to have no binding force. How gracious is the Lord! On the other hand, dealing in His governmental wisdom, He might let the foolish prove her own folly; and so He did.
Commentators differ on which side applies now. One writer holds that Israel's vow was never cancelled:
It has been noted that in Scripture a woman often stands figuratively for a system or a community, and it may be so here. Israel as a community pledged themselves to obedience to the law of God. This vow of theirs was not disallowed, and to this day they suffer the governmental consequences of their failure.
One writer reads the closing words as Israel's future:
Some day the vow under which Israel has put herself will be disallowed, and then Israel is received back into favour. "And the LORD will forgive her" (verse 8).
Another writer names the ground of that forgiveness:
But seen from the blessed side of grace, the Father and the Husband has taken it all upon Himself. So she will be forgiven, and brought into the fullness of blessing in the days to come. This does not rest on vows carried out and bonds confirmed. It rests on sovereign grace and mercy, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Kelly applies verses 6–8 to the reader:
In this case everything depended on the husband. How perfectly this applies, whether you look at Israel or the church, need not be enlarged on. All our blessedness depends on Him to whom we belong. At the same time, in His government He may let us feel our own lack of wisdom and of waiting on Him.
He sees the same grace at work when Peter spoke rashly to the Lord:
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not stay silent and so leave the soul bound by its own word! He knows when and how to cancel the foolish and even God-dishonouring word. So it will not stand, and the soul is forgiven. (See Numbers 30.) The Lord made Peter's words completely void the moment He heard them.
- Heard — the husband must act on the day he hears the vow. Silence confirms it. A word against it cancels it.
- Held — the man had no such release. That unbreakable word points to Christ, who took the vows upon Him and found no escape.
- Bound — the woman pictures Israel, who pledged to keep God's law. While that vow stands, she feels the consequences of her own words.
- Released — the LORD forgives her because another voice cancelled the vow, not because she kept it. Grace frees her, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
- Ours — everything depends on the One we belong to. He knows when to set a rash word aside, so that it never stands against the soul.
But the vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, -- everything wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand against her.
The chapter on vows gives one line to the woman who has no father and no husband. Her word stands, and nobody can cancel it. That raises the real question of the chapter: who answers for a vow when the one who made it fails?
The chapter works through cases, and this line takes up the woman whose marriage has ended. Losing a husband did not reopen a vow already settled while he lived.
The status of a vow of a widow or a divorced woman would not change when she was no longer married. If her husband had before made void her vow, then the vow would not stand. If he had not made it void, then she remained under obligation to keep it (verses 9-15).
In every earlier case the vow met someone with authority to release her. Here there is no such person. One writer links her case to that missing relationship, and then draws a sharp line between Israel and the church.
When we hear of a widow or one divorced, each is plainly a person out of relationship. In that case everything stands (verse 9). But this is not the relation of the Christian or of the church, if we believe the Scriptures. Israel may be a widow, and we may view her as divorced too, but never the church, the bride of Christ. For us we know the marriage is yet future; and that is the way in which Scripture views it. So you see the power of full grace remains in the hands of our Bridegroom.
Commentators read the chapter as more than household law. Israel too once made a vow of its own.
Israel took such vows upon themselves at Sinai, and the result proved what a "rash utterance of the lips" it was. "The law made nothing perfect"; grace alone could do this. He was "Father" and "Husband" to them (Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:32), and they spoke the vow in His hearing. Yet God did not disallow it. He acted in the wisdom of His government, and in tender consideration for man himself. So they have had to stand under it and answer for its breach. Sadly, the gracious offer of redemption came to them, and by then they had long been under the penalty of their breach. Still they refused redemption. They clung to their broken contract, and remain under it today. They stand as the lasting lesson, published in every land, of what the law is for those who seek righteousness by it.
One writer turns from the woman's case to Christ, who came under no release at all — and never looked for one.
When our Lord said, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God," there could be no annulment, had He wanted one. He did not want it, or say, "Father, save me from this hour." He said instead, "Father, glorify your name," as we read in John 12.
If the vow stands and the vower fails, the case looks closed. One writer points to a second outcome, resting not on the vow at all but on another ground.
On the other hand, seen from the blessed standpoint of grace, the Father and the Husband has taken everything upon Himself. So she will be forgiven and brought into the fullness of blessing by and by. This will rest not on accomplished vows and ratified bonds, but on sovereign grace and mercy, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
For the Christian the vow itself is a thing of the past. Something better has taken its place.
The vow has wholly passed away. It has gone to make room for Christ's strength to rest upon us, so that we glory in our very weaknesses on this account (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). God's oath is sworn to us, that His abundant grace shall be our sufficiency.
- Rule. A widow or divorced woman had no father or husband able to cancel her vow, so whatever she bound on herself held.
- Reason. She stands outside relationship. In the earlier cases release came through the one she belonged to. She has no such head.
- Nation. God heard Israel's vow at Sinai and let it stand. The nation has answered for breaking it ever since — a lesson published in every land about seeking righteousness by law.
- Contrast. Christ came under no release, and He wanted none. He did not ask to escape that hour; He asked the Father to glorify His name.
- Outcome. Blessing comes at last from sovereign grace, not from vows kept. For us the vow is gone. God's own oath now stands in its place: His grace is enough.
And if she have vowed in her husband's house, or have bound her soul by an oath with a bond,
Numbers 30:10 turns to a wife who makes a vow in her husband's house. Whether her word stands does not rest on her, and the rest of the chapter shows why.
Each condition in the chapter depends on who is over the woman when she speaks:
The subject is the confirmation or annulling of vows. If a man vows a vow to the LORD, he must do without fail all that he has sworn to do. If a woman vows, however, there are conditions which decide whether it shall bind her or not. So, if she is young and in her father's house, her father may disallow the oath, and then it does not bind her. Or she may be married, and her husband may disallow it. But if these keep silence, or if she is a widow or divorced, then her vow remains against her, and she is a debtor to fulfil it.
Being under authority here is not a disadvantage. It is the very thing that gives her relief.
It is a question of various relationships. Here we meet a very blessed principle. The order of relationship depends on the one to whom we are related. It is He that governs. In these matters God does not rest the weight on the weaker one, who is in the place of responsibility. He rests it on the higher one, whom He expects to have strength and wisdom.
The widow and the divorced woman show the other side of the same principle. No one stands over them, so their words stand. Kelly draws a line between their position and the Christian's:
Where we hear of a widow or one divorced, either is a person out of relationship, and there everything stands. But this is not the position of the Christian or of the church, if we believe the Scriptures. Israel may be a widow, and may be viewed as divorced too, but never the church, the bride of Christ. For us the marriage is still future. So the power of full grace remains in the hands of our Bridegroom.
The wife's escape route only stands out against the man's total liability in verse 2.
There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had come out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and irreversibly held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
Commentators read the woman of this chapter as a picture of Israel. The nation bound itself at Sinai to keep a law it could not keep.
The vow is clearly a legal covenant, as such; and, because of our weakness, it is forbidden in the New Testament. Israel took such vows upon themselves at Sinai, however, and the result proved what a rash utterance of the lips it was. "The law made nothing perfect": grace alone could do this. Yet God did not disallow it. In the wisdom of His government — and in tender consideration for man himself — He let it stand. He was "Father" and "Husband" to them, and He heard the vow spoken. So they have had to stand under it, and answer for breaking it.
Mackintosh draws the same line, and names the consequence still being felt:
Looked at from a governmental point of view, the LORD, who is at once the Father and the Husband, has stayed silent at her, so that her vows and bonds are allowed to stand; and she is, to this day, suffering the consequences.
If the woman pictures those too weak to keep their word, the man of verse 2 points to One who kept His.
The making of vows was not imposed on anyone, but if a vow was made by a man it was binding; if by a woman, it could be disallowed by father or husband… On the other hand, when our Lord said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God," there could be no annulment, had He wanted one. He did not want one, and did not say, "Father, save Me from this hour." He said rather, "Father, glorify Your name."
One writer sees two ways the LORD has dealt with rash words:
He acted in the power of His own grace, and so disallowed what was wrong. He did not bind the foolish vow on the one who spoke so rashly with her lips… On the other hand, dealing in His governmental wisdom, He might let the foolish one prove her own folly; and so He did… But the day is coming when He will act in the fullness of His grace, and all that is foolish will be as unheard, unrecorded, and blotted out for ever.
The picture does not end with what she owes. The same Father and Husband settles it Himself:
The Father and the Husband has taken everything on Himself. She will be forgiven and brought into the fullness of blessing in the days to come — not on the ground of vows carried out and bonds confirmed, but on the ground of sovereign grace and mercy, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
- Relationship decides. Whether a vow binds does not depend on the one who spoke it. It depends on the one she belongs to. The widow stands outside relationship, so her every word stands; the believer never stands outside it.
- Weight upward. God does not load the weaker one with the results of her own words. He lays them on the one with strength and wisdom to carry them.
- Silence binds. The husband's silence lets her vow stand. Only his word can set her free.
- Israel bound. The nation vowed at Sinai. God did not disallow it, and the vow has stood against them since — proof that the law made nothing perfect.
- Grace cancels. Christ's own vow allowed no annulment. For His people, grace will one day blot out every rash word as if it had never been spoken.
and her husband have heard it, and been silent at her, and hath not prohibited her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
In Numbers 30 a wife may bind herself to the Lord by a vow. Her husband decides whether it holds. Verse 11 is the case where he hears her and says nothing. His silence locks the vow in place. That raises a bigger question: who stands behind the promises we make to God?
The chapter runs through several cases. Each one turns on what the head of the household does when he hears the vow. If he says nothing, the woman carries it.
The subject is the confirmation or annulling of vows. If a woman vows, there are conditions which determine whether it shall bind or not. So, if she is young and in her father's house, he may disallow the oath, and then it does not bind her; or she may be married, and her husband disallow it. But if these keep silence, or she is a widow or divorced, then her vow remains against her, and she is under a debt to carry it out.
The wife cannot free herself. One writer reads that relationship as a picture of our own.
Suppose it was not a father with a child, but a husband (verses 6-8): in this case everything depended on the husband. How perfectly this applies, whether you look at Israel or the church, hardly needs spelling out. All our blessedness depends upon Him to whom we belong. At the same time, in His government He may allow us to feel our own lack of wisdom and of waiting upon Him.
Set the woman's case beside the man's. He had no way out.
Such was the law about vows. There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had come out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and irreversibly held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
The same was true of Christ, and He did not want it otherwise.
When our Lord said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God," there could be no annulment, had He wished it. He did not wish it, or say, "Father, save Me from this hour." He said rather, "Father, glorify Your name," as we read in John 12.
One writer presses the point further.
But there are vows not rashly taken by those too weak to keep them. They were made by One who is mighty, on whom God has laid help. If the woman's vows stand, thank God, so do the Man's!
A whole nation once stood where this verse puts the wife.
A vow is clearly a legal covenant, and because we are weak, the New Testament forbids it. Israel took such vows upon themselves at Sinai, and the result proved what a "rash utterance of the lips" it was. "The law made nothing perfect"; grace alone could do this. Yet God in the wisdom of His government — yes, in tender consideration for man himself, though He was "Father" and "Husband" to them (Ex. 4:22; Jer. 31:32), and though the vow was uttered in His hearing — did not disallow it. They have had to stand under it and answer for its breach.
The One who left the vow standing also takes it on Himself.
But there is another side. Seen from the blessed standpoint of grace, the Father and the Husband has taken everything upon Himself. So she shall be forgiven and brought into the fullness of blessing later on — not on the ground of accomplished vows and ratified bonds, but on the ground of sovereign grace and mercy, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
The Lord does not always keep silent. When Peter spoke a rash word, He would not let it stand.
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not stay silent and so bind the soul with a bond! He knows when and how to disallow the foolish and even God-dishonouring word, so that it shall not stand and the soul be forgiven. (See Num. 30.) The Lord made Peter's words utterly void the moment He heard them, in the grace which corrects every fault and bore all our iniquity.
- Silence binds. A husband who hears his wife's vow and says nothing has confirmed it. From then on the vow is a debt she must pay.
- The husband decides. She cannot release herself. Everything turns on the one she belongs to — which writers apply to Israel and to the church alike.
- The man has no exit. Against her case stands the man's: bound irreversibly to his own word, with no back door.
- Christ took that place. He came to do God's will and refused release from it. The woman's vows stand — and so do His.
- Grace outlasts government. Israel still stands under its Sinai vow. Yet the Father and Husband takes the whole burden on Himself, so blessing comes by mercy, not by vows kept — which is why the New Testament leaves no room for vows now.
But if her husband have expressly annulled them on the day that he heard them, then nothing of that which is gone out of her lips as to her vows or the bond on her soul, shall stand her husband hath annulled them; and Jehovah will pardon her.
A vow to God was serious business. Yet here a husband's word can cancel his wife's vow, which raises two questions: why does a binding word stop binding, and why does she still need forgiving?
The chapter sets conditions. A vow held or fell depending on who heard it and whether he stayed silent.
The subject is the confirmation or annulling of vows. If a man vows a vow to Jehovah, he must do without fail all that he has sworn to do. If a woman vows, however, there are conditions which determine whether it shall bind or not. So, if she is young and still in her father's house, he may disallow the oath, and then it does not bind her. Or she may be married, and her husband may disallow it. But if these keep silence, or she is a widow or divorced, then her vow remains against her, and she is debtor to fulfil it.
The release given here stands out against the rule for a man.
Such was the law about vows. There was no relief for the man. He was bound to go right through with whatever had come out of his mouth. Whatever he undertook to do, he was solemnly and irreversibly held to it. There was no back door, as we say — no way of getting out of it.
The Lord forgives her not because she kept her word, but because her husband refused to let it stand. One writer sees the same two-sided dealing in how the Lord treated Israel's rash words.
Israel held the place of the woman in the picture this chapter gives. Many a rash word they said; many a foolish vow they made. How did He treat all? In two ways. He acted in the power of His own grace, and so disallowed what was wrong, not binding the foolish vow on her who spoke so carelessly with her lips. He let her words pass away, to be broken, to have no binding force. How gracious is the Lord! On the other hand, dealing in His governmental wisdom, He might let the foolish one prove her own folly; and so He did.
Israel took obligations on themselves at Sinai. God heard — and did not annul them. That silence is the other half of this chapter.
God, in the wisdom of His government, was also tender toward man himself. He was "Father" and "Husband" to them (Ex. 4:22; Jer. 31:32), and they spoke the vow in His hearing. Yet He did not disallow it. So they have had to stand under it, and answer for breaking it. Sadly, when the gracious offer of redemption came, they had long been under its penalty already. Still they refused redemption. They clung to their broken contract, and they remain under it today.
Mackintosh looks at the same picture from the side of grace:
Seen from the blessed standpoint of grace, the Father and the Husband has taken everything upon Himself. So she shall be forgiven and brought into the fullness of blessing by and by. This will not rest on vows accomplished and bonds ratified. It will rest on sovereign grace and mercy, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
One writer contrasts it with the Lord's own words, where no cancelling was possible:
When our Lord said, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God," there could be no annulment, had He wished it. He did not wish it, or say, "Father, save me from this hour." He said rather, "Father, glorify your name," as we read in John 12.
Everything turns on hearing. The cancelling happens the day the words reach the one responsible. Her forgiveness also assumes real fault in the rash word itself. One writer sees the same mercy when Peter spoke rashly to the Lord.
How blessed that he had, and that we have, to do with One who does not stay silent and so bind the soul with a bond! He knows when and how to disallow the foolish and even God-dishonouring word, so that it shall not stand and the soul be forgiven. (See Num. 30.) The Lord made Peter's words completely void the moment He heard them. He did it in the grace that corrects every fault and bore all our iniquity.
- Heard — everything turns on the day the word reaches the one responsible. Silence confirms the vow; a word cancels it.
- Voided — her release is not a loophole she found. Another person spoke the word that freed her, and the man had no such door.
- Forgiven — the LORD clears her because her vow no longer stands. The cancelling, not her own performance, is the ground.
- Israel — God heard their vow at Sinai and let it stand, so the consequences continue. Their release, when it comes, will rest on grace, not on vows kept.
- Christ — He took up a vow that no one could annul and carried it through, so that rash words like Peter's fall the moment He hears them.
Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband can establish it, or her husband can annul it.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And if her husband be altogether silent at her from day to day, then he hath established all her vows or all her bonds which are upon her; he hath confirmed them, for he hath been silent at her in the day that he heard them.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.