Tag Bible

Swearing Should Be Hurtful (Sometimes)

Todd R 3 Comments

What does a Godly person act like?  In Psalm 15, David asks this same question:

“O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
            Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”

Then David lists a set of qualities that God requires for one to be righteous, and it includes how we swear.  At the end of verse 4, David writes that a Godly person is someone “who swears to his own hurt and does not change.”

Some of the qualities in the list are easy to understand, but what does it mean when someone “swears to his own hurt”?  David is not writing about swear or curse words.  He’s writing about vows or promises made, but not just any vows.

There are vows that are hurtful, but are not qualities of a Godly person, such as when Saul vowed in 1 Samuel 14:24 – “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.”  This vow resulted in a death sentence for Saul’s son Jonathan, which was overruled by the people.  Another example is Jephthah, who vowed in Judges 11:30-31 – “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”  This resulted in a death sentence for his own daughter, who was the first to come out of the house when he returned in peace.  Saul and Jephthah swore to their own hurt, but this type of swearing is not a quality of a Godly person.

There are also vows that help us get ahead in this world.  An honest reputation is good for a career or in getting along with people and feeling successful.  But it’s easier to keep your word when there is a tangible benefit in this world.  Honesty in these situations is not necessarily bad, but it just doesn’t rise to the level of righteousness.  These vows are not what David is writing about either.

What David means by someone “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” is a person who is honest because it’s what God is and what God wants from us, no matter what it costs them.  Even if honesty brings no benefit to the honest person, they remain honest anyway.

Maybe you’ve promised a spouse or friend that you will help with a project this weekend, but then you get a call from another friend who has tickets to a big game.  Maybe you’ve promised to play with your children or help with their homework, but then remember you have a work project that requires after-hours time to get done.  Maybe vowing to be honest at work means you have to reveal something that could hurt your businesses’ reputation?  A person who “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” is not affected by changes in circumstances, whether they might miss out on something, or whether there is a personal cost.

Is this difficult?  Yes.  It’s so difficult that James wrote: “my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”[1]  To James, keeping vows was so hard that it was something to be avoided.  So…

“O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
            Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”

Who?  Jesus, the only one who ever kept all of their vows and promises, and offers His righteousness to us, both as a means for our salvation, but also as a model for us to follow.  He alone has fully done what is necessary for anyone to dwell in God’s presence.

Amen.

[1] James 5:12

Daily Readings for July 28 – August 3

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Fellow travelers:

Here is the list of readings for this week: 2 chapters to read per day as the main reading plan, and extra chapters for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2025.  Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings are about 9 chapters per week.

This week we’ll finish John (and Isaiah), and also 1 and 2 Thessalonians!

Follow along (or not) any way you choose!

Monday, July 28: John 15-16
Tuesday, July 29: John 17-18
Wednesday, July 30: John 19-20
Thursday, July 31: John 21, 1 Thessalonians 1
Friday, August 1: 1 Thessalonians 2-3
Saturday, August 2: 1 Thessalonians 4-5
Sunday, August 3: 2 Thessalonians 1-3

Additional readings if you want to read the whole Bible this year:
Isaiah 60 – 66; Jeremiah 1-2

Barbs in Our Eyes

Todd R 1 Comment

As Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land of Canaan after wandering in the wilderness, God gave them many instructions through Moses about how they were to live when they got there.  One of the instructions was to eliminate all of Canaan’s inhabitants.  Part of the warning not to ignore this comes in Numbers 33:55, which says:

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.”

What this is communicating is the urgency of getting rid of anything that could influence us to sin, and this applies as much to us as to ancient Israel.  In Israel’s case, the nations they were to remove from Canaan were under God’s judgement for centuries of worship of false gods, which included practices like ritual prostitution and child sacrifice.  God knew that His people would be tempted by these foreign gods and practices unless all trace of them was eliminated.

For us, God also wants to protect us from false gods and harmful practices and habits, and the phrase “barbs in your eyes” is a picture of the urgency for us to get rid of anything that would tempt us.  Think about it: If I had a thorn in my eye, I would drop everything and not be able to do anything else until I got it out.  Until the thorn was gone, it would be my one and only priority.  In modern times, God doesn’t tell His people to attack other nations in judgement, but He does want His people to attack sin with the same zeal.

So when I read “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell” it leads me to ask the question:

Do we remove sources of sin from our lives as urgently as we would a barb in our eye?

The Danger of “However”

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When the Israelites were delivered from Egypt by God under Moses’ leadership, they were told that they were on their way to the Promised Land, and land “flowing with milk and honey.”  In a short while, they got to the borders of Canaan, their destination, and Moses sent spies to search out the land and bring back a report.

When they returned, they said the land was in fact very good and bountiful, but then they added: “However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.” (Numbers 13:28, emphasis mine). Even though God had promised this land to Israel, and therefore Moses sent them to spy, not to decide whether to enter the land, the spies’ report discouraged the people who “said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’”  Because of this disobedience springing from a lack of faith, God sentenced Israel to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness until the entire generation died, except Joshua and Caleb, who were the only 2 faithful spies among the 12.  Only then could they enter the Promised Land.

Note that the story hinges on the word “however.”  As I’ve written, while inserting the words “but God” into any situation can make it better, saying “however” to God often does the opposite.  Even if we don’t actually use the word, the idea of “however” occurs when we decide our circumstances are more than God can handle or justify ignoring God.

God may have given us something to do, but we might say (or think):
“However, I wanted to spend my Sunday relaxing.”
“However, my coworker never goes out of their way for me.”
“However, I was saving that money for my next vacation.”
“However, I like doing it this way.”
“However, my neighbor isn’t a good person.  I don’t have to love them.”

Photo by Matthew Alexander on Unsplash

I do this all the time, and I suspect so does everyone else.  Instead of saying something like, “but God has a better idea of how I should spend my Sunday,” I go on doing whatever works for me.  Also, if we say “however” enough, it can become a barrier between us and God because He knows we aren’t listening anyway.  We can become insensitive to God’s calling for us and unable to hear Him, but it’s never too late to turn back to Him and again hear His voice.  Israel’s big “however” left them in the wilderness for 40 years but eventually they made it to the Promised Land.  Our “howevers” can hinder us for a while, but ultimately God’s will for us prevails.

Where God’s instruction isn’t clear, an analysis of “pros and cons” is usually wise (see Luke 14:28), but when we know what God wants us to do, that is the only “pro” that matters and the “cons” are irrelevant.  No “however” is good enough.

There’s always some area of my life where I’m saying “however” to God and I’m blessed by His patience.  But God doesn’t ask us to do anything without knowing it’s best for us and will glorify Him.

Pray that we can all hear His voice, listen and trust Him so we can find the way out of our wilderness!

Daily Readings for July 21 – 27

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Here is the list of readings for this week: 2 chapters to read per day as the main reading plan, and extra chapters for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2025.  Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings are about 9 chapters per week.

This week, we return to the gospels for the last time this year, and for the rest of the year will be roughly alternating between Old and New Testament books.

Follow along (or not) any way you choose!

Monday, July 21: John 1-2
Tuesday, July 22: John 3-4
Wednesday, July 23: John 5-6
Thursday, July 24: John 7-8
Friday, July 25: John 9-10
Saturday, July 26: John 11-12
Sunday, July 27: John 13-14

Additional readings if you want to read the whole Bible this year:
Isaiah 51 – 59