Vows were frequently mentioned in the Bible. Some had lifelong vows, such as Samson’s Nazarite vow. Some made rash vows, such as Jephthah. It seems that Paul(possibly Aquila) had taken a vow(Acts 18:18). Paul also assisted four men who had a vow(Acts 21:23~26).

While some were under a vow before their birth, such as Samson and Samuel, most of those under the law took their vows voluntarily. However, once they made a vow, they were obligated to keep it. There were only special circumstances under which a vow could be broken.

Those under the law were commanded not to make false vows, but to fulfill their vows to the Lord(Matthew 5:33). But Jesus said that His disciples should be the kind of people who did not need to swear. They should live their lives so that others would believe what they said because they knew what kind of people they were.

We should make our promises few, but once we have made a promise, we are obligated to keep it. One quality of the citizen of Zion is that he “swears to his own hurt and does not change”(Psalm 15:4, NAS).