The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Joshua 9:19,
"We [the leaders of Israel] have given them [the Gibionites] our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now."
Merriam-Webster defines "oath" as, "a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says; a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one's words".
We read in Leviticus 5:4-5, "if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned." The Quest Study Bible points to this verse as explaining it would have been a sin for Israel to break their oath to establish a treaty with the Gibeonites, (under false pretenses on behalf of the Gibeonites).
Jesus taught, "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.' But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Matthew 5:33-37.
It seems to me that when Jesus spoke the above in his Sermon on the Mount, he was referring to oaths on a personal level. I'm not sure he had in mind oaths to provide surety for treaties among nations, but don't quote me on that. In any event, I'm certain what he said is for me. Oaths are out.
I suspect it is the rare person these days who has the level of reverence and fear of the Lord to be overly concerned about breaking an oath invoking God's name. Just look at all the divorces within the church!
"[Groom], do you, in the presence of God and these assembled witnesses promise to love and to cherish in sickness and in health, in prosperity and in adversity, this woman whose hand you now hold? Do you promise to be to her in all things a true and faithful husband, to cleave unto her and her only as long as life shall last?"
Would it be better to skip the vows made before God in a wedding ceremony?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"We [the leaders of Israel] have given them [the Gibionites] our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now."
Merriam-Webster defines "oath" as, "a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says; a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one's words".
We read in Leviticus 5:4-5, "if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned." The Quest Study Bible points to this verse as explaining it would have been a sin for Israel to break their oath to establish a treaty with the Gibeonites, (under false pretenses on behalf of the Gibeonites).
Jesus taught, "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.' But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." Matthew 5:33-37.
It seems to me that when Jesus spoke the above in his Sermon on the Mount, he was referring to oaths on a personal level. I'm not sure he had in mind oaths to provide surety for treaties among nations, but don't quote me on that. In any event, I'm certain what he said is for me. Oaths are out.
I suspect it is the rare person these days who has the level of reverence and fear of the Lord to be overly concerned about breaking an oath invoking God's name. Just look at all the divorces within the church!
"[Groom], do you, in the presence of God and these assembled witnesses promise to love and to cherish in sickness and in health, in prosperity and in adversity, this woman whose hand you now hold? Do you promise to be to her in all things a true and faithful husband, to cleave unto her and her only as long as life shall last?"
Would it be better to skip the vows made before God in a wedding ceremony?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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