Again, it has been written by them of old time: You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform unto the Lord your 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 shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatever is more than these comes of evil. (Matthew 5:33-37)
For this commandment I would like to recall to your mind the story of Jephthah and his oath as found in the book of Judges within the Old Testament.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, then it shall be that whatever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer even until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus, the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh, unto his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances, and she was his only child. Besides her, he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass when he saw her that he rent his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord and I cannot go back. (Judges 11:29-40)
Under the Law of Moses you were capable of making an oath with God as your witness such that you were calling on God to smite you should you fail to keep your oath. I sincerely believe God does not want to do that. Instead he wants you to repent when you mess up.
How might this commandment factor into our day? Well what about in the court of law where you are called to make an oath with God as your witness to tell the truth? Isn't that an exact example of what he says to not do?
It may or may not work but if I were in that position I would try to resolve it by giving “asseveration” and hope it would be accepted instead of an oath. Asseveration is a legal word meaning:
The proof which a man gives of the truth of what he says, by appealing to his conscience as a witness. It differs from an oath in this, that by the latter he appeals to God as a witness of the truth of what he says, and invokes him as the avenger of falsehood and perfidy, to punish him if he speak not the truth. (The Free Dictionary By Farlex)
Do you want to promise to do something? Why not simply say you will or won't and then prove your word true by your actions rather than by an oath that you “swear” to fulfill. Don't bind yourself by an oath in a moment of passion to do something you will later regret. We all commit to things that we later wish we hadn't. God would rather Jephthah had repented of his rash oath rather than slay his daughter.
Thank God we get to repent!
Do my teachings entice you to take more seriously Christ's commandments? Do you recognize the need to spend time sincerely pondering what they mean and how to obey? I hope so. Moving on.
