The Third Commandment

Exodus 20.7; Deuteronomy 5.11
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…”

Read Numbers 30.1, 2 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. If a man vows to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

In Biblical parlance, a “fool” is someone who acts as though God does not exist, or, if He does, He can’t do anything about the way we choose to act. You can see why such a person would be called a “fool.” Solomon tells us that God has no pleasure in fools (Eccl. 5.4). We’re glad about that, too, because we don’t want to spend eternity with a bunch of people who are constantly denying the Lord, disavowing any obligation to Him, challenging His claims and authority, and acting like God doesn’t see or can’t do anything about their wicked ways. We know that God is only going to spend eternity with those in whom He takes great delight, and who delight in Him. There won’t be any fools in the new heavens and new earth. That being the case, we should do everything in our power to make sure that there is nothing of foolishness in our lives here and now. And we are fools, Solomon says, if we make vows to God and then fail to fulfill them. Fools: you heard it right.

Is your practice of fulfilling your vows more that of a faithful person or a fool? How do you try consciously to carry out the things you have vowed?

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