Today’s passage: Numbers 30
Helpful thoughts:
- Today’s chapter speaks about vows that the people of Israel might make (“If God does ____, then I will _____”).
- If a man made a vow, it was automatically sure and would be required of him.
- If a woman who was still in her father’s household or who had a husband made a vow, that male who was the leader in the home would be a protection for her.
- There is a way in which the culture may look at this chapter and think that the women were disadvantaged in this law. However, what the women had was a layer of protection.
- If the men made a foolish vow (or a “thoughtless utterance”), which men are certainly capable of doing, they had to live with it. If a woman did the same, her father or husband could release her from a vow she couldn’t hope to keep. This could have been a huge blessing.
Questions to consider:
- What would have been the purpose of a vow under the Old Covenant? What are some ways people still make vows today? Do people usually take them as seriously now as God does in this and other Old Testament passages?
- What are the benefits of having a loving father or loving husband give leadership to the household? Why (Or in what ways) is it a blessing for a daughter or wife to live in biblical submission?
- What must be true of the men and their walk with the Lord to equip them to lovingly lead their wives/families in a way that accumulates trust and rest in their leadership?