God wanted people to be able to count on His word, and on what His people said, as well.
Numbers 30 is about vows. God always keeps His word and He expects you to do the same. Nobody likes it when others can’t be counted on. So it’s usually better to just do what needs to be done than to make promises. Solomon, the wise man, wrote, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools.…Better not to vow than to vow and not pay” (Eccl 5:4-5). But the Lord Jesus, the truly Wise Man, went farther: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all…But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Mt 5:33-37). God knew people would make vows—it’s a tactic to convince others to take us seriously, especially if we haven’t always kept our word in the past. So He laid out a series of checks and balances on the topic of vows. First, plain and simple, “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Num 30:2). But with a woman making a vow, it gets more complicated. Why? Not because the woman is not to be taken seriously, but because God wanted a family (in the case of a father and his daughter, vv 3-5, or a married couple, vv 6-8) to speak with one voice. So the lessons here include: 1. Don’t make rash promises. 2. If you do make a promise, keep it. 3. A child should respect one’s parents and take their viewpoint seriously before committing to a course of action. 4. When making promises, husbands and wives should always try to speak as one. 5. Be known as someone who keeps your word. Just like God!