N30-2: The Lord Treats The Vows Of A Woman Differently Than He Does The Vows Of A Man

You know what’s interesting about human nature?

It hasn’t changed since the beginning of time.

We’re now in Numbers Chapter 30 dealing with the topic of vows and oaths and we’re going find that the ancient Hebrews weren’t any different than us when it came to this subject.

When a major crisis struck, they were down on their knees praying to God to get them out of whatever terrible situation they found themselves in…

…and in the heat of the moment they would make a vow to God to do or not do something if He would come to the rescue.

However, I would say there is one major difference between the attitude towards vow-making back then and vow-making today.

Read verse 2.

“When a man makes a vow to the Lord
or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge,
he must not break his word
but must do everything he said.”

That’s right.

It didn’t matter if the vow was made casually or in the heat of the moment, if one made a vow in the Name of the Almighty, God fully expected that person to carry it out.

And God never forgets even if you may have lost track of all the “promises” you swore to God over the years.

Let’s next take a look at verse 3.

“When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge…”

And take a look at verse 6.

“If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself…”

This may make some ladies uncomfortable, but the Lord treats the vows of a woman differently than He does the vows of a man.

Why the difference?

It all has to do with the divine hierarchy that is well established in the Torah.

FIRST, a man is to submit to the Lord.

SECOND, a woman is to submit to her husband.

THIRD, a child is to submit to his or her parents.

Or to put it another way…

…a man is under the covering and authority of God.

A woman is under the covering and authority of her husband.

And a child is under the covering and authority of his or her parents.

The very definition of one who is rebellious is a person who refuses to submit to God-ordained authority.

A rebellious man is one who refuses to submit to the authority of God.

A rebellious woman is one who refuses to submit to the authority of her husband.

And a rebellious child is one who refuses to submit to the authority of his or her parents.

The rule being established here in Numbers 30 is that a woman is to not think she can override the God-ordained authority of her husband (or her father if she’s still living under her father’s house) by making a vow directly with HASHEM that could be offensive to her husband.

Understand that we’re NOT talking about the nature or intent of the vow, whether vow was evil or irresponsible or not.

This is talking about respecting and obeying the earthly authorities God has put in place.

In the case of vow-making, a woman’s vows are to first go through her earthly authority (her husband) FIRST, before they will be accepted by the ultimate heavenly authority, HASHEM.