Parenting by the Book
STUDY 247
Text: Proverbs 20
19 March 2006
Dear Parents,
MAKING VOWS TO GOD
We are warned about making rash vows before God. It is indeed ” a snare”.
It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.Proverbs 20:25
1. Devoting something to God
Whatever is devoted to God is considered “holy”.
2. A snare
If a man devotes something that he regrets, he has been “ensnared” by his own words. He cannot retract his vows.
VOWS ARE NEVER TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY
It is good for us to revisit the classic teaching on the subject of vows.
“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God;
And draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools,
For they do not know that they do evil.
Do not be rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven and you on earth;
Therefore let your words be few…
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 5:1-2, 4-5
LESSONS WE MUST TEACH OUR CHILDREN
1. Vows are made before God and not men!
2. Vows are binding!
3. Vows must never be made lightly.
4. Vows must be paid, no matter the cost.
5. Not paying a vow is nothing short of sin.
Prayerfully,
Pastor Charlie