Promises Performed
Numbers 30:1-2
Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”
There’s quite clearly a connection in God’s mind between being a man of the Word and being a man of your word. It’s a contradiction to say, on the one hand, that you take the Bible seriously, that you hang on the truth of every jot and tittle, while, on the other hand, you use your own words flippantly. Yes, God’s speech is more significant than ours by an infinite margin, because He’s a righteous Speaker at all times. But the medium of communication is still speech—still words—which means that only those who understand that the God-given power of language, the power to name and associate and encourage and exhort and condemn and promise, is an agency that makes us the most divine-like beings in all the universe, can understand why a God Who keeps His word down to the letter would expect men in His image to do likewise.
And now I’m convicted. Because, as I sit to write this, it occurs to me that I promised a friend about a month ago that I’d send him a box of books as a gift. Thrice he’s asked me about them, and thrice I’ve apologized for my negligence, yet, I still haven’t driven to the post office to deliver them! And that isn’t all that comes to mind. During breakfast this morning, my daughter Skye asked if I’d play a game with her, and I carelessly replied, “Sure, honey—after breakfast!”; but ten minutes later I was packing my bags for work and heading out the door. “I’ll play with you tonight after work,“ I told her as I left. So now I’ve got two apologies I need to make today when I get home; two vows that need performing before a holy God and my fellow man.
Friend, if the Spirit is convicting you of a similar negligence through this reflection, join me today in making it right! Now’s the time.