Jacob's vow

 October 21, 2020 (Wednesday)

 

Making a vow is a very serious and dangerous thing. Generally, God does not bargain or barter with us. Jacob makes a vow. It’s one made by one who is not yet a believer, as we understand “believer.”

 

Jacob details his demands. He wants God to give him food, clothes (see Genesis 28:20), and safe return (Genesis 28:21). In return Jacob promises, “… then the Lord will be my God.” [Genesis 28:21b NIV] He also promises, “… and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” [Genesis 28:22b]

 

I wonder if this is support for a tithe. If we recognize God as the one who gives us everything, then a tithe will be our general practice. If we recognize God as God, then a tithe will be our general practice. The rest of the story does not tell us if Jacob kept this part of his vow, or how. Making a vow is a dangerous thing. Something Jesus discourages.

 

Jesus advises, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…” [Matthew 5:33 – 34a ESV] In verse 36, Jesus restates His prohibition against vows (oaths). Jesus punctuates this with, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” [Matthew 5:37 ESV]

 

If you are a diligent reader of the Bible you will notice it tends to be silent on the character flaws and failures of many characters. For instance, it does not condemn Jacob having more than one wife (he had two wives plus two slaves he used for breeding). We must be careful to understand the story verses the theology.

 

Paul stated these stories are an example for us (see 1 Corinthians 10:11). When we see them acting outside God’s design, complications to misery are the result. Jacob’s wives begin a race to give Jacob sons. This race was the motivation to give Jacob their servants for breeding. You probably haven’t thought of it that way, but the two servants never made “wife” status.

 

Those who develop a self-righteous attitude will bristle at the thought of God letting us “slide.” Yet, Scripture observes, “He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” [Psalm 103:10 NLT] Which means we need to check our attitudes about others. It means we need to skip judgment of others for loving them.

 

We need to be careful. Just because God does not strike us down because of our flaws and failures, does not mean He is looking the other way. Peter reminds us, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” [2 Peter 3:9 NLT]