Sharing our authority

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

Overall, I'm struck by how much this reading showed the important of relationships, including the chapter on vows which intrigued me the most.

I looked over a few comments about this to get a feel for why women had a different status from men concerning vows. I found one commentator suggesting that it prevents women from forming binding contracts and so is the reason women have been held back in society for centuries.

There is clearly an inequality issue, but it’s not true that women could not trade (e.g. Proverbs 31 on the wife of noble character who "sees that her trading is profitable.") We've also just read that women could take significant vows, such as the Nazirite holiness vow, and this chapter confirms that men and women are responsible for their promises to God. The only exceptions are children when parents intervene (some Jewish commentaries say this applied to boys as well as girls) and wives when husbands annul a vow as soon as they hear of it (otherwise, and by default, it stands).

But why have this check on vows at all? I think the key to understanding is that "these are the regulations... concerning relationships". Children and parents, husbands and wives were expected to work within relationship and enjoy a degree of protection in some cases.

Was this fair? Arguably not – it could be abused. But was this the final destination and definitive picture of life for God’s people for eternity? No more than the rest of the law. If its purpose was to promote faithfulness to God and among people, it certainly had a role, showing men and women that life under authority (ultimately from God) applies to all. That was progress from “everyone does what they want.” But the journey did not end there.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God establishes his Kingdom to promote good relationships between us as well as with him. Has faithful expression of life under God’s authority progressed since Moses’ time? I would say so! We don’t expect to follow this law strictly any more than we expect the constant smell of burnt lamb. Jesus shows where the Kingdom is taking us. Faithfulness to him means blessing enemies, not taking an eye for an eye, for example. Jesus gave women the testimony that he had risen even though the law did not recognise women’s testimony.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

Am I expecting to make all my own decisions or do so in relationship? I believe the purpose of this law is to point people towards relationship rather than male dominance, so I will consider if there is anything significant that I haven’t shared or checked with my wife!

Who am I going to share this with?

My wife Helen.