03/12/2021 - THE ISSUE OF THE VOWS

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Which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. Psalm 66.14

The vow that a person makes to the Most High when she is in great distress equals the Lord’s promise to someone who seeks Him. When we hear from God that we must make a vow, we must examine what we are declaring and strive to carry it out. Just like we must act in this way, the Father wants us to believe that He will keep His promises. But it is not a “give and take”!

The Bible says: When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed — Better not to vow than to vow and not pay (Ecclesiastes 5.4,5). In a covenant, the two parties are equal; however, we must understand that the first is the most important, for it is the Almighty. When we are called into the family of God, we become members of the Body of Christ, the Church. Therefore, we can use His Name with the full assurance of victory (Romans 12.5; 1 Corinthians 12.27).

When God told Jacob to return to his land, in the Covenant made at Bethel, it was implied that the Most High would keep him from all evil, both on the way there and back (Genesis 31.13). He could believe that he would be delivered from any problem that might arise. Laban, his father-in-law, changed his wages ten times, but the Lord made Jacob prosper. Christians should act like this on a daily basis, claiming their rights. God is always faithful!

When he heard that his brother, who had sworn to kill him, was going to meet him with about 400 men, Jacob feared and sought God. He had the right to ask for the confirmation of the promise made to him, so the Angel of the Lord came to ensure. However, to serve as a lesson for us, Jacob had to wrestle with the Angel all night long (Genesis 32.22-29). Until the light doesn’t come to you, fight until the fulfillment of what is yours.

If he had been weak in prayer – and the fight symbolized the way the Lord’s warriors prayed – Jacob would never have been answered. From the work tool, from the ability to praise, the son of God must forge the swords, because there will be fighting of great combatants: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, ‘I am strong’(Joel 3.10). Isaac’s son would only be respected if he proved that God was with him.

The plowshares used to earn bread would have to be turned into swords. This teaches us that our prayers of thanks, praise and worship, to obtain problem-solving blessings, must be done as if we were at war, or we will not seize the Kingdom of Heaven: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11.12).

The psalmist understood the message by the vow made, when he was in distress, and declared that the promises spoken with his lips would be fulfilled. What he said would come to pass. This is how we should act in times of great distress. What has been asked of us and accepted must be fulfilled to the letter. After all, it pleases God!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares