Title Yes or No
"Yes or No"
January 23, 2010 (Sat) Tel Aviv Joppa Church
Text: Matthew 5:33-37
Today's verse is Jesus' teaching about oaths. In fact, if you think about it, we make a lot of oaths in our lives. There is a difference in degree, but they also make a lot of promises. This too can be said to fall into the category of oaths. In the case of those of us who live a life of faith, we also make vows to God. Think about that promise or oath. How long did you keep it?
Also, we say a lot of words similar to oaths. ‘I never did’, ‘I will definitely do it’, ‘I really do. I swear.' and so on. How much credibility do you think there is in those words? And how much did you actually keep to those words?
Do you know why people use so many words related to such vows? I use it when the other person doesn't believe me, but I use it to make people believe in me. There are cases where it is because it is really true, but when you try to convince yourself even if it is a lie, you swear by using the words “never, really, absolutely”. And then it is often not followed or forgotten. We don't know how many times we make false oaths, false oaths, and promises that we will not keep.
In this reality, the teachings of Jesus today make us take a serious look at our own words and actions. As in the previous words, Jesus first refers to the teachings of the Old Testament and the teachings of the Jewish rabbis at the time.
Verse 33, “And you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not swear in vain, but keep your oath to the Lord.
This section is not a quotation from any specific text in the Old Testament, but rather a summary of its core content by synthesizing the Old Testament teachings on oaths. In the Old Testament, there are several passages related to oaths.
Leviticus 19:12, “You shall not profane the name of your God by swearing falsely in my name, for I am the Lord.”
Numbers 30:2, “If a man has made a vow to the LORD, or has made a decision and made an oath, he shall not break it; he shall do all that he has spoken.”
Deuteronomy 23:21-23, “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely demand it from you, and it will be a sin against you if you delay. Be careful to do it; whatever voluntary gift you make, you shall make a vow to the LORD your God and do it according to the covenant with your mouth.”
The above are representative verses related to oaths in the Old Testament. Other words that could be referred to as an oath are vows and vows. An oath is an oath and promise, while a vow is a voluntary promise to God that you will do something or not do something for a certain period of time. Both signify an oath, but a vow has the meaning of an oath to God more than a vow.
In other words, a vow is a voluntary vow to do or give something to God in order to receive God's help or to thank God for His grace, or to refrain from doing anything for a certain period of time. It is not a sin not to make a vow, but as long as you have made a vow, you must keep it. If you didn't fulfill your vows, you had to offer a trespass offering to be forgiven. Therefore, it is said that you should not make a vow recklessly, and that you must keep what you have prayed for.
There are people who have made this vow and have been harmed by their slowness. This is Jacob. In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob was on his way to Paddan Aram to escape from Esau, and was homeless at Bethel, where he met God. Then Jacob made a vow.
“Jacob made a vow and said, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this way I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothes to wear, so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD will be my God, and this stone that I have set up as a pillar is the house of God. And of all that you give me, I will surely give to God a tenth” (Genesis 28:20-22).
In fact, this is more of a transaction than a vow. If I put my condition on God first, and if that happens, I will do three things to God. First, the Lord will be my God, and second, I will build the house of God, the altar to serve God, on this stone that I have set up as a pillar here in Bethel. The third is that I will definitely give a tenth of all the income God has given me, that is, a tithe to God.
It was God who met him, who was running away and had nowhere to live, sleeping on a stone pillow in a secluded place. It was God who met him in fear and loneliness. Then, of course, I have to serve God as my God and use the place where I met God as an altar to worship God.
But Jacob said that if he did this on his own terms, I would do the same. It's a really Jacob-like idea and a ridiculous deal, but anyway, I told God I would do it, so a vow is a vow.
But does Jacob later return to the land of Canaan to keep this vow or not? I kept it, but kept it slow. When they came to the land of Canaan, they did not go directly to Bethel, but to Shechem. I was drawn to the fertile land and rich environment of Shechem, one of the largest Canaanite towns at the time, and lived there for a while. Even though God protected him as he had promised and allowed him to return to the land of Canaan in peace, he did not keep his vow right away.
What is the result? When Dinah, the only daughter, is raped, Jacob's sons avenge blood on the people of Shechem. And only then go to Bethel. This is a case in which you are offended while paying your vows too late.
There are people who have made their vows carelessly and have been disappointed. Who is it? This is Sasa Jephthah. If God wins the war against the Ammonites, he swears that he will offer the first person to welcome him as a burnt offering. But who came first to welcome? is her daughter. He made a vow and sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering.
In the case of Jephthah, we can question it. No matter how many oaths and vows he made, he wonders how he can offer his daughter as a burnt offering. This has to be seen through the etymological meaning of the oath, the understanding of the oath in the ancient Near East at that time, and the understanding of the biblical oath.
First, the Hebrew word for an oath, an oath, is