Wednesday: An Oath
Read Nehemiah 5:12-13. Why does Nehemiah pronounce a curse against those who do not uphold their part of the agreement?
Even though the leaders agree to restore and give back what they have confiscated, Nehemiah is not satisfied with mere words. He needs solid proof; therefore, he makes them swear an oath before the priests. This action also gave the proceedings legal validity in case he had to reference the agreement later.
Curse
But why does he pronounce a curse? Nehemiah performs a symbolic act of gathering up his garments as if to hold something in them and then shaking them out as a sign of losing it. Thus, those who would go against this oath would lose everything. It was customary to utter curses in order to impress upon others the significance of a certain law or rule. The people were also less likely to go against the law when a curse was associated with the breaking of it. Nehemiah apparently felt that this was such an important issue that he needed to do something drastic in order to enhance the probability of its success.
What do the following texts in the Old Testament teach us about the sanctity of oaths for these people? (Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21-23; Eccl. 5:4-5; Lev. 19:12; Gen. 26:31).
In the end, speech is a powerful gift that God has given to humans; it exists as something radically different from what animals have. And there is power in our words, the power even of life and death. Hence we need to be very careful in what we say, in what we promise to do, and in what verbal commitments we make. It’s also important that our deeds match our words. How many people have been turned off to Christianity by those whose words sound Christian but whose actions are anything but?
| Think about just how much impact your words have on others. How can we learn to be very careful in what we say, when we say it, and how we say it? |
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Being committed to restoration is a hard thing, especially when it costs you. Sometimes we harbor the notion that once we have said that we are sorry for some wrongdoing we have finished the process. But saying that we are sorry and living “sorry” are two very different things. Zacchaeus knew that being sorry for his taxation exploitation was insufficient and that he was honor bound to restore what he had unlawfully taken.
And it is not just money. How often do we say something hurtful to someone, then say we are sorry, but do nothing to heal the wounds caused by our words. Genuine remorse seeks to restore. Sometimes living that sorry can be pretty tough.
The recent Royal Commission into Institutional Sexual Abuse in Australia has highlighted the issue of corporate sorrow and responsibility. The issue is that while the abuse was carried out by individuals, what did the institutions know about the abuse and how did they handle it. In many cases the institutions acted more to protect their name and image rather than seek to help the victims. And while it is easy to point to the wrongs of institutions, we could do well to remind ourselves that often we individually act in self-interest, rather than in genuine sorrow and restoration. Restoration is a key theme of salvation and should not be just a theory but something we as saved Christians live.
Why do human beings even need to make oaths and vows? It is because of sin. Scripture says that “all mankind are liars” (Ps. 116:11), not because people tell nothing except lies but because we are all prone to twist the truth and to look for wiggle room when it comes time to fulfill our promises.
W e swear oaths to assure others of our trustworthiness. In taking an oath or vow in God’s name, we are saying that our word is so truthful that we are willing to suffer the judgment of the Lord if we break it. Even if no man sees us break our word, God will, and He will hold us accountable.
Further Studies: Jeremiah 34: 8 - 22
Oaths are tangible signs by which we guarantee the authenticity of our promises.
Priests — As witnesses; that the oath being taken before the priests, who acted in God's name, the oath might make the more deep and durable impression upon their consciences.
God holds us accountable for the words that does come out of our mouth.
God is a promise keeper and He expects nothing less from us who claim to be Christians.
Don’t take any oaths by which you intend not to fulfill even if you swear by things other than God’s name because “God stands behind everything. The entire creation is God’s, and you cannot refer to a part of it without referring ultimately to him” (Hughes)
Thus, as a Christian, you must be a “man of your word.”
We can't run from ourselves. We can't be what we are not. But we must believe in the power of Christ! He is our chance for a better being. A mission everyone has is to try to be better. Easy to fail! Nevertheless, we must keep the faith and trust in Jesus. By accepting our own limitations and dependance of God anything can be possible. And although our actions not always meet our speech, people will see our motivation!
How can we learn to be very careful in what we say, when we say it, and how we say it? By remembering that in the gift of His Son for our redemption, God has shown how high a value He places upon every human soul, and He gives to no man liberty to speak contemptuously of another. We shall see faults and weaknesses in those about us, but God claims every soul as His property—His by creation, and doubly His as purchased by the precious blood of Christ. All were created in His image, and even the most degraded are to be treated with respect and tenderness. God will hold us accountable for even a word spoken in contempt of one soul for whom Christ laid down His life.
It is astounding that missionaries from Christian countries, are those that perpetrated the most heinous crimes against African people and have systematically diminished them to a sub-human condition. When talks about reparations arise, I am yet to hear a word from a Caucasian Christian to the affirmative, much less action to that effect.
I am so tired of this systematic hypocrisy and if there is any reason why we don't see God's Power in the church, its perhaps because he wouldn't stick around such foolishness.
But keep using His name in vain and you might have quite a surprise coming . A lot of Ananias' and Sapphira's may just start to experience God's judgement! Repent and do the right thing that God may show mercy! Agree with your adversary quickly while you are in the way.....
Your comment is a reminder of our dark past and some of the issues in reparation. I cannot speak for what happened in Africa, but am familiar with the issues of colonization in Australia and the Pacific.
Many of the crimes were carried out, not in the name of Christianity but with greed and avarice being the chief motivators. In the Pacific region, the whalers, sealers, timber cutters, beche-der-mer fishermen, the blackbirders, the traders and so on carried on their work without any moral boundaries. Such efforts could hardly be considered Christian and in fact, one of the driving forces for Christian missionary efforts in the Pacific in the 1800s was to counteract their influence.
I recognize that crimes were committed and some of those by Christians but not all of them were done in the name of Christianity, but collectively our forbearers in this area of the world have much to answer for.
Reparation is a complex and ongoing issue. I have family members heavily involved in Indigenous education here in Australia and could write a book about their interaction with Indigenous Australians, education systems and the resulting clash of cultures and government policy. Their work has been self-sacrificing, often without seeing much in the way of tangible results. It is not simply a case of saying sorry for the past and paying some money to fix the problems but is going to take generations of work like those of my family members to make a difference. The issue is complex and involves not only addressing the problems of our early interaction with these people but creating an opportunity for them to express their culture in a modern world.
There have been wrongs done in the past, by Christians and others, but in all fairness, there are those who are addressing those issues, not seeking to create headlines, but simply making a difference where they are.
I just want to ask something that confuses me. My niece is about to take his oath as an engineer but it was scheduled during Saturday,is it right for him to take his oath or not? Thanks!
Hi Judy, It is not unusual for professional bodies to require their members to agree to an ethical code. The most well known one is of course the Hippocratic Oath for the medical practice. This has fallen out of favour these days but has been replaced by various "Codes of Medical Practice", depending on their speciality. Obviously, if you want to practice in one of these professions, you must agree to their code of practice, and I do not see a spiritual problem with that. I was a member of the Australian Computing Society (ACS) for a number of years and had to agree to abide by their code of ethics. It was not done ceremonially however and I think that I just has to sign the document and send it in to the ACS.
Taking part in a professional ceremony should not be a problem but if it occurs on Sabbath then I suggest that I would think about doing it an alternative way. I am not totally against the idea of doing it on Sabbath personally, because there is an element of appreciating the importance that Christians place on ethics, but it is something that I would think about very carefully before doing it. I would have to be satisfied that it would bring honour to God's name.
Interesting. There have been efforts to take tests, and other similar duties on Sabbath. SDA's have gone to the supreme court over Sabbath observance. Some Adventist attorneys have succeeded in winning those cases and the SDA's have been allowed, as I remember, to win what is known as the Sunday law. The complaint was over the requirement for SDA's to work on Sabbath. Possibly more complicated, than one might imagine.