Matthew 5:33-37 "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
As I read these verses again this morning, I thought of a few passages in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 23:21 tells us if we make a vow to the LORD, He will surely require that fulfillment of that vow. If we fail to keep the vow, it is sin in us. Ecclesiastes 5:5 tells us it is better to not make a vow than to make a vow and not keep it. In Jonah 2:9, we find him declaring that he would pay his vow unto the LORD. If you are familiar with the Book of Jonah, then you know what happened when Jonah tried to skip out on his vow.
When Jesus spoke these words, He could certainly have been thinking of the scripture in Deuteronomy. I do not think He was telling us that there is never a time to make a promise to God. However, we should always be aware that making a promise to God is a serious matter. Pledging to serve Him and failing to do so has consequences. The lesson here is that we should never make a hasty vow or swear BY the things that belong to God or by God Himself. How many times have you heard it said (or maybe said yourself), “I swear to God?” As it is often used, this phrase is taking God’s name in vain. Regardless of our intention at the time, these words matter. The same thing applies to our declaration, “As God is my witness,” when we are telling something we want others to absolutely believe. God is not deaf to these declarations.
Jesus’s admonition here is simple; do not swear by the things that belong to God (and everything belongs to Him). Do not make an oath when you have no control over the situation and circumstances surrounding it. Jesus made our power over things quite clear when He said we did not have the ability to change our hair color. Let us affirm in the moment either yes or no and stand by that answer.
We have all had the experience of promising someone we would do a thing and then fail to fulfill that promise. There may have been a legitimate reason such as disease, death, or human error. The fact remains that we did not keep our vow. At the same time, we all have situations where someone needs our commitment to a plan or situation. Those of us who are ministers experience this when we are asked to come and be the guest preacher at a meeting that may be months in the future.
I am thankful that God does not leave us to flounder in our uncertainty. In the Book of James, He gives us the right answer to these situations. In James 4:13-15 we find that we ought to say, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” Dear ones, may we stand by our declaration of what we will and will not do in the present moment and always say (and mean) that we will do the things asked of us is the Lord will. His promises are sure and steadfast!