When Thou Vowest a Vow Unto God

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, “[4] When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. [5] Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”

These verses give a great truth. There are three different groups of people I find in these verses. Every one will find themselves in one of these groups.

First, there’s the group of those that make a promise to God and do not keep it. The verse states that it’d be better if one didn’t make the promise at all than to make it and not keep it. Making a promise and not keeping it makes one a liar. Proverbs 6:16-17, “[16] These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: [17] A proud look, a lying tongue…” God cannot stand liars. The Bible states that God hates lying, and I do not want anything to do with anything that God hates.

The second group of people I see is those that don’t make promises to God. Some will say that they don’t make them so they don’t have to worry about breaking them. This is true, but at the same time, it is a terrible excuse. We should strive to be so much better than that. This excuse has laziness written all over it.

The third group of people I see is those that make promises and keep them. The end of verse 4 above says, “Pay that which thou has vowed.” How wonderful it is to serve the Lord! He has done so much for us that He deserves our best. It would be a dishonor to God if we found ourselves to be in one of the first two groups of people. We ought to strive to be in the third group. Let us make a promise to God that we will serve Him, and let us strive each and every day to fulfill that promise.