Dumb Vows

Aim: To make and keep God-honoring vows, not foolish ones.

Doctrine: Dumb vows can get religious people into a lot of trouble. They are often spoken during a crisis, and, if they get fulfilled at all, it is usually in sorrow.

Exegesis: The curious nature of dumb vows: they tend to be thoughtless and superfluous (vv. 29-33); they can endanger other people (vv. 34-37); they can cut off covenant grace (vv. 38-40).

Further application: How true believers are to avoid making dumb vows: by committing to only what God requires, we find our perfect integrity in Jesus alone.

Key verses: vv. 30-31 ''And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, 'If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.'''