TEXT: JUDGES 11:30-39
A vow is a promise to do a specific thing.
As believers we are fond of making vows when we want God
to do some things for us. Many make their vows out of emotions or anxiety, some
makes vow out of ignorance, they don’t really know the implication of making a
vow and not redeeming it.
Jephthah made a vow to the lord, when he wanted to go and
fight the Ammonites, he said “ If you give the Ammonites into my hands,
whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph
from the Ammonites will be the lord’s and I will sacrifice as a burnt offering.”
(Judges 11:30-31).
Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord
gave them into his hands. When he returned into his house, guess who came to
meet him? His only daughter! She was dancing to the sound of tambourine of
victory. Jephthah had no other son or daughter, the girl was the only child he
had, when he saw who came out of the door of his house, he tore his cloth and
cried, he said “Oh daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I
have made a vow to the lord that I cannot break.” He ended up sacrificing his
innocent daughter to fulfil his vow.
The lesson here is that we should be very careful when making
our vows, God does not joke with vows. “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.” (Deuteronomy
23:21)
Don’t make a vow out of your emotions; don’t let the
situation you are in push you to make vows that you will find difficult to
redeem.
Be sensible when making a vow, you are not compelled to
make vows; are you?. Deuteronomy 23:22-23 says “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.”
Vow sensibly and redeem your vows.
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