God's Promises

You’re probably familiar with the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson was the man God blessed with supernatural strength that could only be taken away if his hair was cut. What strikes me about that story is how Delilah deceived him twice in an effort to find the secret to his strength, and yet the third time, for some reason, Samson thought things would be different. But, true to form, she deceived him yet again. This time, however, he revealed the secret and his hair was cut. As a result, his eyes were put out and he was thrown into prison. Why after two times of Delilah trying to trick him would he think that things would be different the third time is a mystery. A lesser known story brings these same questions to mind. In Numbers, the prophet Balaam was told by Balak to curse the Israelites. Three times Balaam told Balak that he could only do what the Lord tells him, and three times he ended up blessing the Israelites instead of cursing them. Why did it take three times? I don’t know. But if Balak were familiar with Numbers chapter 23 verses 19-20, he should’ve gotten a clue. In it, Balaam says:

“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.”

I like how he says, “Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” You see, God will not go back on his promises. Unlike man who may say one thing, even with good intentions, and not do it, God will keep his promises. So, if God promises something in his word to us, or if he has seeded a promise that he has revealed to us in our hearts, we should know that it will happen. We can bank on it. Our faith should not waver because as Balaam says, “Does God promise and not fulfill?” He is not like men, he does not lie. Remember that the next time you’re holding on to a promise that God has given you. It will happen, so take heart.

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“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” For some reason, Balak thought the third time would be a charm. Twice he told Balaam to curse the Israelites, and twice Balaam blessed them instead. Knowing that God is not a son of man that he should change his mind, would’ve let Balak know that the third time would turn out just like the first two. God is God, and he keeps his promises.

Our Vows

I would guess that a lot of Christians aren’t fond of reading the Old Testament; especially chapters like Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But I think that as you become more comfortable with the Bible, you should really take a look at these books as well. Though things have changed, and many of the practices the Israelites had to perform are obsolete, through these books we’re able to understand more about our God. We learn about his character and how he thinks. One such example is from Numbers chapter 30, verse 2 which says:

“When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.”

In our culture, we are not ones who generally take our vows very seriously. We may promise God that if he gets us out of a jam then we’ll do something for him in return, but don’t follow through. We also flippantly promise things to people as if our words aren’t binding. Some people don’t even take their marriage vows seriously. But here in Numbers we learn that God takes our vows (or promises) very seriously. He says that if we make a vow to him, we must not break it. And if we believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, we should also believe that his character doesn’t change. God wants us to honor our words to others, but even more importantly, we are to honor our words to him. James reminds us that it is better if we don’t promise anything; that we should just say “yes” or “no” and let our words be our bond, even though they aren’t sealed with a promise. That is always the safest bet. 

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The Bible teaches us time and time again that what comes out of our mouth shouldn’t be taken lightly. It teaches us that our words can be used to build others up or to tear them down; to heal or to destroy. Numbers reminds us that, likewise, our vows (or promises) are important too. God expects us to honor our promises, especially those we make to him. And James reminds us that it is better if we don’t promise anything at all. Just let your “yes” or “no” stand for itself. Any way you look at it, we really need to consider what we say before we say it, because our words have the potential to get us into a lot of trouble. If we are able to consider what we say before we say it, we have a better chance of vetting what comes out of our mouth, thereby minimizing the chance of regretting what we’ve said, or promised.