Skip to main content

Curses

 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. (Acts 23:12-14)

             Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food. (I Samuel 14:29)

             It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. (Proverbs  20:25)

             Today’s passage is thanks to my sister’s pastor, who included it in a sermon but didn’t camp out on it as much as I want to. I doubt they meant to miss even one meal, but it’s pretty certain they didn’t intend to miss more than one. But can you imagine making a public and official vow to not eat until you accomplished something? Worse yet, can you imagine making a vow that nobody else was allowed to do something?

            There are some passages that talk about people making rash vows. Daughters’ and wives’ vows could be nullified by fathers and husbands. I’m sure I’ve read something dealing with rash vows made by a more general person, but I can’t find them now.

            In Deuteronomy, the people of Israel stood on two mountains, and they responded to promises of blessings if they obeyed the Law, and curses if they didn’t. And that’s the challenge, because if you made a vow and you didn’t follow through on the vow, you incurred a curse. Returning to the vow not to eat anything until something was accomplished, I have to shake my head because such a vow is so obviously unwise.

            And that is where we have to turn from the “foolish folks” in Bible times to our own lives. What sort of vows do we make? What sort of promises? What sort of decisions do we make that we know aren’t good ones, but we make them anyway? Why do we do these things to ourselves? And yet we do. And this is where we need open our eyes and look at what we’re doing. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more