Reflections on Numbers 30

Numbers 30 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The LORD told Moses to say to Israel's tribal leaders:
   
2. When one of you men makes a promise to the LORD, you must keep your word.
   
3. Suppose a young woman who is still living with her parents makes a promise to the LORD.
   
4. If her father hears about it and says nothing, she must keep her promise.
   
5. But if he hears about it and objects, then she no longer has to keep her promise. The LORD will forgive her, because her father did not agree with the promise.
   
6. Suppose a woman makes a promise to the LORD and then gets married. If her husband later hears about the promise but says nothing, she must do what she said, whether she meant it or not.
   
7. (SEE 30:6)
   
8. But if her husband hears about the promise and objects, she no longer has to keep it, and the LORD will forgive her.
   
9. Widows and divorced women must keep every promise they make to the LORD.
   
10. Suppose a married woman makes a promise to the LORD.
    
11. If her husband hears about the promise and says nothing, she must do what she said.
    
12. But if he hears about the promise and does object, she no longer has to keep it. The LORD will forgive her, because her husband would not allow her to keep the promise.
    
13. Her husband has the final say about any promises she makes to the LORD.
    
14. If her husband hears about a promise and says nothing about it for a whole day, she must do what she said--since he did not object, the promise must be kept.
    
15. But if he waits until the next day to stop her from keeping her promise, he is the one who must be punished.
    
16. These are the laws that the LORD gave Moses about husbands and wives, and about young daughters who still live at home.
    
    

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    God continued to give instructions to the Israelites in preparation for their entry into their promised land. Most of the instructions had been given at Sinai and since 40 years had passed, as had the adult generation who heard them, they were given at this time as reminders. However, in some instances more detail was given on this occasion. Chapters 28-29 dealt with offerings while chapter 30 deals with vows to the Lord.
    
    These instructions concerning vows to the Lord conveyed the seriousness of a vow. They were not to be taken lightly or made capriciously. A man making a vow to the Lord could not break it. End of discussion. There were no conditions under which a vow might be broken. But since a woman was, in most situations, under the authority of a man, her vows were subject to the approval of the man under whose authority she lived. If she was single, still living in her father's house, her father must approve. If she was married, her husband must approve. But neither were they to take the vow capriciously. They were to give it immediate attention. Upon learning of the vow made by the daughter or wife, the man had 24 hours in which to disapprove. Otherwise the vow was binding. His explicit approval was not required. Only his disapproval, verbally stated, registered a difference regarding the woman's vow. As for a widow or divorcee who no longer lived under a man's roof, the vows she made were binding just as the man's.
    
    Along with the seriousness of a vow made to the Lord, these instructions made clear the position of the woman. The order that God set for man and woman following the fall of Adam and Eve had not changed since His instruction to Eve, "Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will dominate you." (Genesis 3:16) This dominate role of man has many times been taken to the extreme, and in many societies in history has been oppressive. But the intent of the relationship is seen more clearly in the inspired writings of the Apostle Paul when he wrote: "Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25) The model for the man's dominate role is Christ and the authority He has over the church. It comes with tremendous responsibility. A responsibility to give total commitment and love. Commitment and love such that the husband is willing to give his life for his wife. The role of the wife is to give respect to her husband.