by rr

Numbers 30:1-16

Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, "This is the word which the LORD has commanded.

"If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

"Also if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by an obligation in her father's house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand.

"But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her because her father had forbidden her.

"However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand.

"But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the LORD will forgive her.

"But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

"However, if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath,

and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand.

"But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the LORD will forgive her.

"Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it.

"But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them.

"But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.'' 

These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, as between a man and his wife, and as between a father and his daughter, while she is in her youth in her father's house.

As he read this I sat there thinking, “Well, that pretty much seals my fate, cause there’s no one around to annul anything I’ve said.”  But he didn’t stop there.  He reminded me that we who have given ourselves to Yeshua do have a husband who can annul any vow that was ever spoken (voluntarily or under duress). And he already bore the guilt for it.

Isaiah 54:5

For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

Hosea 3:14-23

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

"In that day," declares the LORD, "you will call me `my husband'; you will no longer call me `my master. '

I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.

I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.

I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.

"In that day I will respond," declares the LORD-- "I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.

I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called `Not my loved one. ' I will say to those called `Not my people, ' `You are my people'; and they will say, `You are my God.'"

He forgives not only our sins, but any vow that was ever made, upon hearing, he can annul our obligation to fulfill it, actually forbid us to carry it out.  And he promises to do just that.

Isaiah 55:10-13

As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace: the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.  This will be for the Lord’s renown for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.”