mh_parser/vol_split/4 - Numbers/Chapter 30.xml

<div2 id="Num.xxxi" n="xxxi" next="Num.xxxii" prev="Num.xxx" progress="79.35%" title="Chapter XXX">
<h2 id="Num.xxxi-p0.1">N U M B E R S</h2>
<h3 id="Num.xxxi-p0.2">CHAP. XXX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Num.xxxi-p1">In this chapter we have a law concerning vows,
which had been mentioned in the close of the foregoing chapter. I.
Here is a general rule laid down that all vows must be carefully
performed, <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.1-Num.30.2" parsed="|Num|30|1|30|2" passage="Nu 30:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>. II.
Some particular exceptions to this rule. 1. That the vows of
daughters should not be binding unless allowed by the father,
<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.3-Num.30.5" parsed="|Num|30|3|30|5" passage="Nu 30:3-5">ver. 3-5</scripRef>. Nor, 2. The vows
of wives unless allowed by the husband, <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.6-Num.30.16" parsed="|Num|30|6|30|16" passage="Nu 30:6-16">ver. 6</scripRef>, &amp;c.</p>
<scripCom id="Num.xxxi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.30" parsed="|Num|30|0|0|0" passage="Nu 30" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Num.xxxi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.1-Num.30.2" parsed="|Num|30|1|30|2" passage="Nu 30:1-2" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Num.30.1-Num.30.2">
<h4 id="Num.xxxi-p1.6">Concerning Vows. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p1.7">b. c.</span> 1452.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Num.xxxi-p2">1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes
concerning the children of Israel, saying, This <i>is</i> the thing
which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p2.1">Lord</span> hath commanded.
  2 If a man vow a vow unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p2.2">Lord</span>, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a
bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all
that proceedeth out of his mouth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Num.xxxi-p3">This law was delivered to the heads of the
tribes that they might instruct those who were under their charge,
explain the law to them, give then necessary cautions, and call
them to account, if there were occasion, for the breach of their
vows. Perhaps the heads of the tribes had, upon some emergency of
this kind, consulted Moses, and desired by him to know the mind of
God, and here they are told it: <i>This is the thing which the Lord
has commanded</i> concerning vows, and it is a command still in
force.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Num.xxxi-p4">1. The case supposed is that a person vows
a vow unto the Lord, making God a party to the promise, and
designing his honour and glory in it. The matter of the vow is
supposed to be something lawful: no man can be by his own promise
bound to do that which he is already by the divine precept
prohibited from doing. Yet it is supposed to be something which, in
such and such measures and degrees, was not a necessary duty
antecedent to the vow. A person might vow to bring such and such
sacrifices at certain times, to give such and such a sum or such a
proportion in alms, to forbear such meats and drinks which the law
allowed, to fast and afflict the soul (which is specified <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.13" parsed="|Num|30|13|0|0" passage="Nu 30:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>) at other times besides
the day of atonement. And many similar vows might be made in an
extraordinary heat of holy zeal, in humiliation for some sin
committed or for the prevention of sin, in the pursuit of some
mercy desired or in gratitude for some mercy received. It is of
great use to make such vows as these, provided they be made in
sincerity with due caution. Vows (say the Jewish doctors) are
<i>the hedge of separation,</i> that is, a fence to religion. He
that vows is here said to <i>bind his soul with a bond.</i> It is a
vow to God, who is a spirit, and to him the soul, with all its
powers, must be bound. A promise to man is a bond upon the estate,
but a promise to God is a bond upon the soul. Our sacramental vows,
by which we are bound to no more than what was before our duty, and
which neither father nor husband can disannul, are bonds upon the
soul, and by them we must feel ourselves bound out from all sin and
bound up to the whole will of God. Our occasional vows concerning
that which before was <i>in our own power</i> (<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.5.4" parsed="|Acts|5|4|0|0" passage="Ac 5:4">Acts v. 4</scripRef>), when they are made, are bonds upon
the soul likewise. 2. The command given is that these vows be
conscientiously performed: <i>He shall not break his word,</i>
though afterwards he may change his mind, but he shall do according
to what he has said. <i>Margin, He shall not profane his word.</i>
Vowing is an ordinance of God; if we vow in hypocrisy we profane
that ordinance: it is plainly determined, <i>Better not vow than
vow and not pay,</i> <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.5" parsed="|Eccl|5|5|0|0" passage="Ec 5:5">Eccl. v.
5</scripRef>. <i>Be not deceived, God is not mocked.</i> His
promises to us are <i>yea and amen,</i> let not ours to him be
<i>yea and nay.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Num.xxxi-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.3-Num.30.16" parsed="|Num|30|3|30|16" passage="Nu 30:3-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Num.30.3-Num.30.16">
<p class="passage" id="Num.xxxi-p5">3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p5.1">Lord</span>, and bind herself by a bond,
<i>being</i> in her father's house in her youth;   4 And her
father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her
soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows
shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall
stand.   5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he
heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath
bound her soul, shall stand: and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p5.2">Lord</span> shall forgive her, because her father
disallowed her.   6 And if she had at all an husband, when she
vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her
soul;   7 And her husband heard <i>it,</i> and held his peace
at her in the day that he heard <i>it:</i> then her vows shall
stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
  8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard
<i>it;</i> then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that
which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of
none effect: and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p5.3">Lord</span> shall
forgive her.   9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is
divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand
against her.   10 And if she vowed in her husband's house, or
bound her soul by a bond with an oath;   11 And her husband
heard <i>it,</i> and held his peace at her, <i>and</i> disallowed
her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith
she bound her soul shall stand.   12 But if her husband hath
utterly made them void on the day he heard <i>them; then</i>
whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or
concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath
made them void; and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p5.4">Lord</span> shall
forgive her.   13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict
the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it
void.   14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her
from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her
bonds, which <i>are</i> upon her: he confirmeth them, because he
held his peace at her in the day that he heard <i>them.</i>  
15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard
<i>them;</i> then he shall bear her iniquity.   16 These
<i>are</i> the statutes, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Num.xxxi-p5.5">Lord</span> commanded Moses, between a man and his
wife, between the father and his daughter, <i>being yet</i> in her
youth in her father's house.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Num.xxxi-p6">It is here taken for granted that all such
persons as are <i>sui juris—at their own disposal,</i> and are
likewise of sound understanding and memory, are bound to perform
whatever they vow that is lawful and possible; but, if the person
vowing be under the dominion and at the disposal of another, the
case is different. Two cases much alike are here put and
determined:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Num.xxxi-p7">I. The case of a daughter in her father's
house: and some think, probably enough, that it extends to a son
likewise, while he is at home with his father, and under tutors and
governors. Whether the exception may thus be stretched I cannot
say. <i>Non est distinguendum, ubi lex non distinguit—We are not
allowed to make distinctions which the law does not.</i> The rule
is general, If a man vow, he must pay. But for a daughter it is
express: her vow is nugatory or in suspense till her father knows
it, and (it is supposed) knows it from her; for, when it comes to
his knowledge, it is in his power either to ratify or nullify it.
But in favour of the vow, 1. Even his silence shall suffice to
ratify it: If he <i>hold his peace, her vows shall stand,</i>
<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.4" parsed="|Num|30|4|0|0" passage="Nu 30:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. <i>Qui tacet,
consentire videtur—Silence gives consent.</i> Hereby he allows his
daughter the liberty she has assumed, and, as long as he says
nothing against her vow, she shall be bound by it. But, 2. His
protestation against it shall perfectly disannul it, because it is
possible that such vow may by prejudicial to the affairs of the
family, break the father's measures, perplex the provision made for
his table if the vow related to meats, or lessen the provision made
for his children if the vow would be more expensive than his estate
would bear; however, it was certain that it was an infringement of
his authority over his child, and therefore, if he disallow it, she
is discharged, and <i>the Lord shall forgive her,</i> that is, she
shall not be charged with the guilt of violating her vow; she
showed her good-will in making the vow, and, if her intentions
therein were sincere, she shall be accounted better than sacrifice.
This shows how great a deference children owe to their parents, and
how much they ought to honour them and be obedient to them. It is
for the interest of the public that the paternal authority be
supported; for, when children are countenanced in their
disobedience to their parents (as they were by the tradition of the
elders, <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.15.5-Matt.15.6" parsed="|Matt|15|5|15|6" passage="Mt 15:5,6">Matt. xv. 5, 6</scripRef>),
they soon become in other things <i>children of Belial.</i> If this
law be not to be extended to children's marrying without their
parents' consent so far as to put it in parents' power to annul the
marriage and dissolve the obligation (as some have thought it
does), yet certainly it proves the sinfulness of it, and obliges
the children that have thus done foolishly to repent and humble
themselves before God and their parents.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Num.xxxi-p8">II. The case of a wife is much the same. As
for a woman that is a widow or divorced, she has neither father nor
husband to control her, so that, whatever vows she binds her soul
with, they shall <i>stand against her</i> (<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.9" parsed="|Num|30|9|0|0" passage="Nu 30:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), it is at her peril if she run
back; but a wife, who has nothing that she can strictly call her
own, but with her husband's allowance, cannot, without that, make
any such vow. 1. The law is plain in case of a wife that continues
so long after the vow. If her husband allow her vow, though only by
silence, it must stand, <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.6-Num.30.7" parsed="|Num|30|6|30|7" passage="Nu 30:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6,
7</scripRef>. If he disallow it, since her obligation to that which
she had vowed arose purely from her own act, and not from any prior
command of God, her obligation to her husband shall take place of
it, for to him she ought to be in subjection <i>as unto the
Lord;</i> and now it is so far from being her duty to fulfil her
vow that it would be her sin to disobey her husband, whose consent
perhaps she ought to have asked before she made the vow; therefore
she needs <i>forgiveness,</i> <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.8" parsed="|Num|30|8|0|0" passage="Nu 30:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. 2. The law is the same in case of a wife that soon
after becomes a widow, or is put away. Though, if she return to her
father's house, she does not therefore so come again under his
authority as that he has power to disannul her vows (<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.9" parsed="|Num|30|9|0|0" passage="Nu 30:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), yet if the vow was made
while she was in the house of her husband, and her husband
disallowed it, it was made void and of no effect for ever, and she
does not return under the law of her vow when she is loosed from
the law of her husband. This seems to be the distinct meaning of
<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.10-Num.30.14" parsed="|Num|30|10|30|14" passage="Nu 30:10-14"><i>v.</i> 10-14</scripRef>, which
otherwise would be but a repetition of <scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.6-Num.30.8" parsed="|Num|30|6|30|8" passage="Nu 30:6-8"><i>v.</i> 6-8</scripRef>. But it is added (<scripRef id="Num.xxxi-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Num.30.15" parsed="|Num|30|15|0|0" passage="Nu 30:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>) that, if the husband
make void the vows of his wife, he shall <i>bear her iniquity;</i>
that is, if the thing she had vowed was really good, for the honour
of God and the prosperity of her own soul, and the husband
disallowed it out of covetousness, or humour, or to show his
authority, though she be discharged from the obligation of her vow,
yet he will have a great deal to answer for. Now here it is very
observable how carefully the divine law consults the good order of
families, and preserves the power of superior relations, and the
duty and reverence of inferiors. It is fit that every man should
<i>bear rule in his own house,</i> and have his wife and children
in subjection with all gravity; and rather than this great rule
should be broken, or any encouragement given to inferior relations
to break those bonds asunder, God himself would quit his right, and
release the obligations even of a solemn vow; so much does religion
strengthen the ties of all relations, and secure the welfare of all
societiesd, that in it the <i>families of the earth are
blessed.</i></p>
</div></div2>