THIS CHAPTER has to do with I vows. Israel were not told to make vows but the Lord said that if a man made a vow to the Lord, he must not break his word; he must do whatever he vowed to do. If a woman made a vow to the Lord, or promised to do anything, if her father or her husband said he did not approve of her vow, the Lord would forgive her, because it was right for a woman to obey her father or her husband. However, if a woman, who was a widow, made a vow, she must keep it.
“If a man vow a vow unto the Lord,... he shall not break his word.” How often men fail to keep a promise! But there is One who stands out above all others here, One who never went back on His promises. He will fulfill every word that He has spoken, for “All the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Thus we can trust His word without fear.
“If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord.” Here two different cases are taken up. If she had a husband and he heard her vow and held his peace then her vow must stand and she must bear the responsibility of her vow. But if her husband heard and disallowed her vow which she foolishly made then her vow would be of none effect, and the Lord would forgive her.
We have a picture here of Israel and the Lord. How many foolish vows and promises they made in which they were not able to keep. They said, All that the Lord hath spoken will we do. In one way the Lord in His government has allowed them to prove the folly of their ways. Israel even today is suffering from the foolish vows they made long ago but which they were unable to keep. However the Lord Jesus, that precious Saviour, has taken upon Himself the full responsibility of fulfilling those vows. In the coming day He will act in grace towards Israel and all that stood against them as a result of failure to keep their promises will be blotted out forever.
Man is ever ready to boast of his strength, not being aware of his weakness. But we who are saved have a new nature and without a vow at all, this new nature delights in pleasing the Lord. When we walk in the Spirit we do please Him and not in any other way.
In the next chapter the Lord said to Moses, “Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.” That wicked man, Balaam, was not allowed to curse the people of God; but he accomplished his purpose in another way. He taught the people of Moab to corrupt the children of Israel who followed them in their idolatrous practices. The hand of the Lord was heavy upon Israel for their sin and 24,000 died from the plague.
But how gracious God was to Moses before he died. He might have waited to avenge the Midianites until after His dear servant passed away; but no, He thought of the painful burden that must have weighed on Moses’ heart as a result of this sad blot on Israel’s history. And He so ordered that Moses was enabled to remove this disgrace. This was putting great honor upon Moses. God allowed him to show by his last act on earth, how entirely his heart desired to have God honored. These Midianites, who had brought in such sorrow, were to be destroyed by him before he died.
ML-08/11/1974