Change, Encouragement, Guidance, Honor, Miracles, Obedience, Our Identity, Relationship to Christ, Trust, Truth

Making an Oath to God and Man

Making an oath to God is a serious matter. As Believers, we are to be people of our word. The Bible talks about making oaths. “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ‘You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.’” (Matthew 5:33 CSB)  Jesus is talking about making an oath, such as, “I promise to do such and such, with God as my witness.”  In Bible times, people would swear by Heaven, or by God, that they would keep an oath, and then when they didn’t fulfill their oath, it was a profoundly serious matter with God, because they promised by using God’s name to emphasize their sincerity in keeping their oath.  Jesus goes on to say that we are not to take an oath at all by swearing by God, Heaven, the earth, by Jerusalem, or by ourselves.  But we are to let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no.” Jesus is telling His listeners that we should not take oaths lightly.

J. Vernon McGee, in his commentary on Matthew, says, “The Lord Jesus is saying that we are to be the kind of persons who don’t have to take an oath.” The Enduring Word website says, “Having to swear or make oaths betrays the weakness of your word. It demonstrates that there is not enough weight in your own character to confirm your words.”

The Bible gives several examples of people who made an oath and kept it, showing them to be people of integrity.  The story of Rahab the harlot is one example of this.  Joshua sent men to spy out the city of Jericho.  They came to Rahab’s house and lodged there. She knew who they were and hid them on her roof. The king of Jericho sent men to her house telling her to hand over the spies, and she told the king’s men that men had come to her house, but she didn’t know where they came from and that they had left around the time the gate to the city was closed.  She convinced the king’s men to go looking for the spies.  They left the city to look for them.  She told the spies that she knew who they were and why they were there.  She asked them to take an oath by the Lord so that when they came to take Jericho that they would remember her kindness to them and show kindness to her by saving her and her family. They agreed and she let them down the wall of the city with a red cord out of the window of her house.  When the Israelites came to take Jericho, they remembered their oath and they saved Rahab and her household.  (Joshua 2)

There are times when we make oaths to people also.  When we uphold those oaths, we are showing ourselves to be honorable people.  An oath is associated with trust and being honorable. The Apostle Paul was also concerned about integrity.  He and those with him were tasked with carrying the offering to be administered to the poor at the church in Jerusalem.  He assured the Corinthians that the offering would be administered to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. “For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.” (2 Corinthians 8:20 NIV)  He says that it is important that we are honorable not only before God but also before men.

When we look at God’s Word, we find that He is our example. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19 ESV)  God keeps His word to us always. He never goes back on His word!   Miracles are many times associated with God keeping His oaths.  One instance is the healing of the Centurion’s servant.  The Centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus asking Him to heal the servant.  Jesus went back with the elders, but the Centurion saw them coming and sent other servants telling Jesus not to come in the house because he didn’t feel worthy for Jesus to come.  The Centurion said that all Jesus need do was to say the word and his servant would be healed.  Jesus sent the servants back to the house and when they entered the house the servant was healed.(Luke 7:1-10)

We are to endeavor to be like God in being honorable in keeping our oaths.  Being human, we sometimes fail but He is willing and able to help us. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NASB 1995)  Jesus will give us a way to be obedient, even when we find it hard.  As Believers in Jesus Christ, we should show ourselves as being honorable and full of integrity, making sure that we do what we say we will do, letting our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no.”  Let us keep any oath to God and man that we make.

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Donna Knuth Rice

I am trying a blog for the first time in my life, and frankly, I feel like I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing! But, here goes. I work at a Christian Television network in the Correspondence Department, where I write letters and emails to our viewers, pray with them for their needs, and send materials they request. I am a Christian. I was saved at the age of 11 during a youth meeting at my church. My pastor led me to the Lord, and to say the least, my life has been an adventure. I am a widow. My late husband, Allen, passed away after 34 1/2 years of marriage. He had been sick the last seven years of his life, and it was a struggle, for him and for me. We met as part of a singing group that was affiliated with a Christian Radio station, and we sang together all through our lives together. We both worked in television and radio all through our married life, mostly for Christian stations. Besides singing I also play flute. I had the luxury of having parents who started out as music teachers...so music was in our house constantly. Some people describe me as being a loud-mouthed lime type...can't disagree with that. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count! I also have a tendency to say exactly what's on my mind...which is why I get myself in so much trouble! LOL! Trust me, that's something me and God have been working on for a very long time. I have no children here on earth, although I have a baby in heaven. My baby here is my dog Jack. He's a black lab/ chow mix. He's a big boy....thinks he's a lap dog! Can't think of much else to say. The reason I started this blog is because a few months ago in church, a guest pastor came and delivered a message, and when he asked for those of us who wanted prayer to come forward, I did. When he came to me he asked me if I did any journaling. I told him no 'cause I wasn't very good at it. He told me to start, and prophesied over me that my journal thoughts would impact other people. I wasn't sure just how I was to go about doing this. In fact, I was a little hesitant at first. I started journaling at home, and our assistant pastor's wife asked me to submit something for our Senior newsletter. I didn't the first edition, but something I had heard on Christian radio a long time ago and has stuck with me all these years, came to mind so I submitted an article. That article will be my first post. I don't claim to have all the answers, and my thoughts may seem a little "out there", but I feel God has been prodding me to do this, and so here I am. I hope what I post will bring encouragement, and "Something to Think About".

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