31 DAYS TO A WISER YOU: Proverbs Chapter 20

Photo courtesy of discoodoni

Review

This is part of a series, studying the book of Proverbs during the month of July, 2011. For more details click here.

Theme

Have you ever been in a pickle, and in a rash moment, made a promise to God that if He would save you from ______, you would do _____ for Him?  I would love to be able to say I've never done so, or maybe only as a child who didn't know any better, but that would be a lie.  

At some point you and I have both attempted to enter into a pact with the Almighty Heavenly Father.  If you will, think about that for a moment.  What could we possibly offer Him that would make Him jump at the chance to help us?  What - you're gonna start attending church once a week?  You might blow off the dust off of your Bible and open it up more than once a month?  What could we offer the Creator of everything that begins to compare with what He already possesses?

There are several instances in the Bible of people asking a favor from God and making promises to Him if He fulfills their desire.  One such case was dear sweet Hannah, one of Elkanah's two wives.  Hannah was childless, and continuously taunted by her husbands other wife Peninnah, the mother to several children.  In 1 Samuel 1, we read of Hannah, while in the tabernacle, making a solemn vow to the LORD of Heaven's Armies. This vow was simple -  if You will give me a son, I will give Him back to You.  He does, she does, and Samuel became the last and most effective of all of Israel's judges.

However, in Judges 11, we read of the great warrior Jephthah.  After trying to negotiate with the king of Ammon to no avail, the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him, and it's time to battle.  In his haste, Jephthah vows to the LORD that if He grants him victory, the first thing to greet him after he returns home victoriously will be sacrificed to the LORD.  His armies are victorious in battle, and he rushed home.  Unfortunately, his one and only daughter is the first to greet him.  Verse 39 tells us that after weeping for two months in the mountains, she returned home, and died a virgin. 


What are you asking of God today, and are you willing to keep your end of the bargain?     

Key Verses For Me

Proverbs 20:25 Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost.

Quote

One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises that one makes.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot.  ~Abraham Lincoln

Related Scriptures

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin.  However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow.  But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.

Prayer

Father, may we not take for granted the promises we make to You, and the covenants You have with us.  

So what verse(s) stick out to you and why?