Read Numbers 30 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
30:1-16 {p} Law concerning vows
Numbers 30:1-16 {p} Chiastic Structure
The Chiastic Structure for the 1B pair, Num 30:3-4:
A Repeating phrase found throughout this chapter is “bind his (her) soul.”
According to the Hebrew Root Words, to bind is Strong’s H631, אסר asar, a primitive verb meaning, “to tie, bind, imprison.” The 3-letter root is aleph + sin + resh.
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
sin ס = the thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
The parable being told is of the oxen (aleph) which were turned (sin, in the sense that when one encounters thorns in the way, one turns aside to avoid them) to go in a direction not of their choosing by means of a yoke, which bound them to the driver’s will. Also yokes were used to chain men (resh) as prisoners to go in a direction not of their choosing.
When a man or woman vows a vow, they tie their soul, they bind their soul to the keeping of that vow. Vows should be few and far between, only after careful consideration. Wedding vows, ministry vows, courtroom vows, public office vows, and military vows are the few instances where a vow is appropriate, due to the seriousness of the circumstance. But this is why Jesus said,
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Mat 5:33-37
When we consider the gravity of oath-taking, then, we must remember that God obeys His own Law. He bound His own soul to the keeping of the vow He has vowed to us, that of salvation in His name for all who place their trust in Him.
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. Heb 6:13-18
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