Vows in the bible:
Ecclesiastes 5:
4. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.
5. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.
6. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?
7. Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
Deuteronomy 12:
4. You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.
5. But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
6. there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
Deuteronomy 23:
21. If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.
22. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.
23. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.
God tells to fulfill the Vows:
Psalms 50:
7.”Listen, my people, for I am making a pronouncement: Israel, I, God, your God, am testifying against you.
8. I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices; indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me.
9. I will no longer accept a sacrificial bull from your household; nor goats from your pens.
10. Indeed, every animal of the forest is mine, even the cattle on a thousand hills.
11. I know all the birds in the mountains; indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine.
12. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is mine along with everything in it.
13. Why should I eat the flesh of oxen or drink the blood of goats?
14. Offer to God a thanksgiving praise; pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of distress; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”
Vow in Mosaic Law:
The Nazirite Vow:
Numbers 6:
1. The Lord said to Moses,
2. “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite,
3. they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
4. As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5. “‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
6. “‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body.
7.Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head.
8. Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.
9. “‘If someone dies suddenly in the Nazirite’s presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication, they must shave their head on the seventh day—the day of their cleansing.
10. Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
11. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for the Nazirite because they sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day they are to consecrate their head again.
12. They must rededicate themselves to the Lord for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because they became defiled during their period of dedication.
13. “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the period of their dedication is over. They are to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.
14. There they are to present their offerings to the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering,
15. together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made with the finest flour and without yeast—thick loaves with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves brushed with olive oil.
16. “‘The priest is to present all these before the Lord and make the sin offering and the burnt offering.
17. He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, together with its grain offering and drink offering.
18. “‘Then at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that symbolizes their dedication. They are to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.
19. “‘After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair that symbolizes their dedication, the priest is to place in their hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket, both made without yeast.
20. The priest shall then wave these before the Lord as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
21. “‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows offerings to the Lord in accordance with their dedication, in addition to whatever else they can afford. They must fulfill the vows they have made, according to the law of the Nazirite.’”
Numbers 30:
1.Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the Lord commands:
2. When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
Vows of women:
3.“When a young woman still living in her father’s household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge
4. and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand.
5. But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.
6. “If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself
7. and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand.
8. But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.
9. “Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.
10. “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath
11. and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand.
12. But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her.
13. Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.
14. But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them.
15. If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.”
16. These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.
Redeeming a Vow:
Redeeming What Is the Lord’s:
Leviticus 27:
1.The Lord said to Moses,
2. “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value,
3. set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels a of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel;
4. for a female, set her value at thirty shekels ;
5. for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels;
6. for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver;
7. for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels h and of a female at ten shekels.
8. If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
9. “ ‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.
10. They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy.
11. If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest,
12. who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be.
13. If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.
14. “ ‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain.
15. If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.
16. “ ‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed.
17. If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.
18. But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced.
19. If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs.
20. If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed.
21. When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the Lord; it will become priestly property.
22.“ ‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land,
23. the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord.
24. In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was.
25. Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26. “ ‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox j or a sheep, it is the Lord’s.
27. If it is one of the unclean animals, it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.
28. “ ‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes k to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.
29. “ ‘No person devoted to destruction l may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.
Vow of Jeptha:
Judges 11:
1.Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute.
2. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.”
3. So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.
4. Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel,
5. the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
6. “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”
12. Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?”
13. The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”
14. Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king,
15. saying:“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.
16. But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh.
19. “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’
20. Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.
21. “Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country,
22. capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.
23. “Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over?
24. Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess.
25. Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them?
26. For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time?
27. I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
28. The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
30. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands,
31. whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
32. Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lordgave them into his hands.
33. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.
35. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”
36. “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.
37. But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”
38. “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry.
39. After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition
40. that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Samsons Vow:
The Birth of Samson:
Judges 13:
1.Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lorddelivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
2. A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth.
3. The angel of the Lordappeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.
4. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean.
5. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Samson’s vow broken and his fall:
Judges 16:
15.Then Delilah said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”
16. With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18. When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.
19. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
20. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
King Saul’s Vow:
1 Samuel 14:
24. Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
25. The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.
26. When they went into the woods, they saw the honey oozing out; yet no one put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
27. But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.
28. Then one of the soldiers told him, “Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food today!’ That is why the men are faint.”
29. Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey.
30. How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”
31. That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Mikmash to Aijalon, they were exhausted.
32. They pounced on the plunder and, taking sheep, cattle and calves, they butchered them on the ground and ate them, together with the blood.
33. Then someone said to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that has blood in it.”“You have broken faith,” he said. “Roll a large stone over here at once.”
34. Then he said, “Go out among the men and tell them, ‘Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood still in it.’”So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.
35. Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first time he had done this.
36. Saul said, “Let us go down and pursue the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.”“Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied.But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.”
37. So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day.
38. Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today.
39. As surely as the Lord who rescues Israel lives, even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” But not one of them said a word.
40. Saul then said to all the Israelites, “You stand over there; I and Jonathan my son will stand over here”“Do what seems best to you,” they replied.
41. Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, respond with the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.
43. Then Saul said to Jonathan,Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared.
42. Saul said, “Cast “Tell me what you have done.”So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!”
44. Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
45. But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
46. Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.
Jacob’s Vow:
Genesis 28:
10. Meanwhile, Jacob had left Beer-sheba and was on his way to Haran.
11. He reached a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun was setting. He found a stone there, used it for a pillow, and slept there for the night,
12. when he had a dream! He saw a raised highway that had been built with its ending point on earth and its beginning point in heaven. God’s angels were ascending and descending on it.
13. And there was the LORD, standing above it and telling Jacob, “I am the LORD God of your grandfather Abraham. I’m Isaac’s God, too. I’m giving you and your descendants the ground on which you’re sleeping.
14. Your descendants are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
15. Now pay attention! I’m here with you, and I’m going to be watching over you wherever you go. I’m going to bring you back to this land, because I won’t ever leave you until I’ve accomplished what I’ve promised about you.”
16. Then Jacob woke up during the night and told himself, “Surely, the LORD is in this place and I never knew it!”
17. In mounting terror, he cried out, “How scary this place is! This is nothing less than God’s house and the gateway to heaven!”
18. When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the stone that he had used for his pillow, set it up as a pillar, drenched it with oil,
19. and named the place Beth-el, although previously the city had been named Luz.
20. Then he made this solemn vow: “If God remains with me, watches over me throughout this journey that I’m taking, gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,
21. and returns me safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God,
22. this stone that I’ve erected in the form of a pillar will be God’s house, and I’ll give you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”
The Gibeonites Avenged:
2 Samuel 21:
1.During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
2.The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.)
3. David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”
4. The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.
5. They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel,
6. let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one.” So the king said, “I will give them to you.”
7. The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
8. But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, a whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
9. He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.
10. Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.
11. When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done,
12. he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.)
13. David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.
14. They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.
The Gibeonite Vow – Explained:
Joshua 9:
1. Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)—
2. they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3. However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4. they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
5. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy.
6. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7. The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”
8. “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
9. They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt,
10. and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’
12. This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is.
13. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
14. The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
16. Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.
17. So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim.
18. But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders,
19. but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now.
20. This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.”
21. They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
22. Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us?
23. You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24. They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.
25. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
26. So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them.
27. That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
Hannah’s Vow over Samuel:
1 Samuel 1:
1. A certain man lived in Ramathaim-zophim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim. He was Jeroham’s son Elkanah, the grandson of Elihu and grandson of Tohu, who was the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2. He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3. That man would go up from his town each year to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of the Heavenly Armies at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phineas served as priests of the LORD.
4. On the day when Elkanah offered sacrifices, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters,
5. but he would give twice as much to Hannah because he loved her.
6. Now the LORD had closed her womb. Her rival would provoke her severely so that she complained loudly because the LORD had closed her womb.
7. Elkanah would do this year after year, as often as Hannah went up to the house of the LORD. Likewise, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would cry and would not eat.
8. Elkanah her husband told her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why don’t you eat? Why are you upset? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9. Hannah got up after she had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the chair by the doorpost of the tent of the LORD.
10. Deeply distressed, she prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.
11. Hannah made a vow: “LORD of the Heavenly Armies, if you just look at the misery of your maid servant, remember me, and don’t forget your maid servant. If you give your maid servant a son, then I’ll give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and a razor is never to touch his head.”
12. As she continued to pray in the LORD’s presence, Eli was watching her mouth.
13. Hannah was praying inwardly. Her lips were quivering, and her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.
14. Eli told her, “How long will you stay drunk? Put away your wine!”
15. “No, sir!” Hannah replied. “I’m a deeply troubled woman. I’ve drunk neither wine nor beer. I’ve been pouring out my soul in the LORD’s presence.
16. Don’t consider your maid servant a worthless woman. Rather, all this time I’ve been speaking because I’m very anxious and distressed.”
17. “Go in peace,” Eli answered. “May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”
18. She said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went on her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
19. They got up early the next morning and worshipped in the LORD’s presence, and then they returned and came to their house at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.
20. By the time of the next year’s sacrifice, Hannah had become pregnant and had borne a son. She named him Samuel because she said, “I asked the LORD for him.”
21. Then Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the yearly sacrifice to the LORD and pay his vow.
22. Hannah did not go up because she had told her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the LORD’s presence and remain there forever.”
23. “Do what you want,” Elkanah told her. “Stay until you have weaned him, only may the LORD bring about what you’ve said.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24. Then, when she had weaned him, she brought him up with her to Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh, and the boy was young.
25. They slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.
26. Hannah said, “Sir, as surely as you are alive, I’m the woman who stood before you here praying to the LORD.
27. I prayed for this boy, and the LORD granted me the request I asked of him.
28. Now I’m dedicating him to the LORD, and as long as he lives, he will be dedicated to the LORD.” Then they worshipped the LORD there.
Jonah promises to fulfill his vow:
Jonah 2:
1. From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
2. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. 3. You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.
4. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.
5. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.
7. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.
8. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. 9. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10. And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Paul’s Vow:
Acts 18:
18. Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.
Act 21:
17. When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly.
18. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.
19. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
21. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.
22. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come,
23. so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.
24. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.
25. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
26. The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them
Psalms of celebration after fulfilment of vow:
Psalm 65:
1. Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2. You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.
3. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.
4. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of holy temple.
5. You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
6. who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength,
7. who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
8. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.
9. You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.
10. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.
12. The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.
13. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.
Psalm 66:
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1. Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2. Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
3. Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.”
5. Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!
6. He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot—come, let us rejoice in him.
7. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8. Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
9. he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
10. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.11. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
12. You let people ride over our heads;we went through fire and water,but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13. I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you—
14. vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15. I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams;I will offer bulls and goats.
16. Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
17. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
18. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19. but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
20. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
Psalm 116:
17. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
18. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
19. in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem.
