In the world today it is not uncommon to hear someone say, “I swear to God,” when they are trying to emphasize that they are telling the truth about what they are speaking of. Some people have become so accustomed to using this phrase that they will use it even when speaking about trivial matters. In God’s eyes, however, swearing is a very serious matter. “I swear to God” are very solemn words that should not be spoken lightly.
In the Bible there are several words related to swearing: vow, oath, and covenant. A covenant was simply a vow or an oath between two parties. The Bible is also very specific in its instructions regarding oaths. “Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name” Deuteronomy 6: 13 (ASV).
God does not expect us to make vows. However, if we do make a vow, He expects us to keep it. “When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee” Deuteronomy 23: 21, 22 (ASV). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus must have been thinking of this text when He said, “Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all” Matthew 5: 33, 34 (ASV).
By the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth, the Pharisees had developed elaborate ways of making oaths and vows in order to create loopholes so that they did not have to be kept (Matthew 23: 16 – 22). Rather than swearing, Jesus said, “But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay” Matthew 5: 37 (ASV). If in every aspect of our lives we are honest and truthful, then we will not have to make a vow in order for people to know that we are being honest and truthful.
The best example of a frivolous vow in the Bible is the story of Jephthah in Judges 11. He went to battle with the Ammonites and made a vow to God. “If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering” Judges 11: 30, 31 (ASV). God gave Jephthah victory over the Ammonites. Jephthah then returned home to fulfill his vow to God. “And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house; and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him … And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back” Judges 11: 34, 35 (ASV).
What happens when God swears? What happens when He makes an oath or vow or a covenant? When God swears, He swears by His own name. “By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah” Genesis 22: 16 (ASV). “For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he sware by himself” Hebrews 6: 13 (ASV). When we realize that when God swears, He invokes His own name, then we start to see God’s oaths throughout the Old Testament and especially in the Books of Moses.
The Ten Commandments begin with an oath from God. “I am Jehovah thy God” Exodus 20: 2 (ASV). When Moses repeated the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel, he erased any doubts that this was an oath. “Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb” Deuteronomy 5: 2 (ASV). We should not be surprised that the Ten Commandments are an oath from God. They were the sole contents of the Ark of the Covenant.
We see God swearing when He gave instructions regarding clean and unclean meats in Leviticus 11. After giving Moses these instructions, God swears not once but twice. “For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth. For I am Jehovah that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” Leviticus 11: 44, 45 (ASV).
For Seventh Day Adventists the most important instance of God swearing is with regard to the Sabbath. “Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you” Exodus 31: 13 (ASV). In verse 16, He calls the Sabbath a “perpetual covenant.” We do not earn salvation by keeping the Sabbath. However, when we keep that Sabbath, we are acknowledging that we believe God when He swears to restore us to perfection.
Many Christians believe that some of God’s oaths and covenants have been nailed to the cross and are no longer required for Christians to observe. Many Christians consume pork or other unclean meats and worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath believing that these covenants sworn by God ended with the death of Jesus. Is this true? Does God ever break an oath or covenant that He has made? Fortunately, the Bible gives us very specific answers to these questions and does not leave us to wonder.
When Moses spoke to the Children of Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land He told that that God could be relied upon to keep His word. “Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” Deuteronomy 7: 9 (ASV). Psalms 89:34 states even more plainly, “My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (ASV). The Hebrew word in this verse for break, חָלַל (chalal, Strong’s H2490), also means profane, defile, pollute, or desecrate.[1] None of these words in any way can be used to describe God. Yet, this is what would happen if He broke His vows. It is not possible for God to break an oath or covenant that He has sworn.
Some might say that these verses are all found in the Old Testament and that all of this was nailed to the cross when Jesus died. The New Testament also weighs in on this issue of God and His oaths and covenants. “Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” Hebrews 6: 17, 18 (ASV). If God were to break His covenants and go back on anything that He has sworn, then it would make Him a liar.
Ellen G. White portrays God as being reliable when it comes to keeping His oaths and covenants. “God’s people are not left to depend on man’s wisdom. With prophetic guideposts God has marked out the way he wishes them to take. These great waymarks show us that the path of obedience is the only path we can follow with certainty. Men break their word, and prove themselves untrustworthy, but God changes not. His word will abide the same forever.”[2]
When we realize that it is impossible for God to break His covenants then we should also realize that the Sabbath could never have been replaced by Sunday. This understanding that God never goes back on what He has sworn gives us blessed assurance of the salvation that He has promised. Imagine what it would be like if God did break his oaths. We could not be sure of anything we read in the Bible. How could we know that God will not change His mind and destroy the earth with a flood again even though He made a covenant with Noah? How could we be certain that He will even return to save us?
God’s name, Jehovah, means I am what I was and what I will continue to be in the future. This tells us that our God does not change or go back on any vow or oath that He has sworn.
[1] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[2] Ellen G. White. Loyalty or Disloyalty?, The Review and Herald, February 6, 1900.
This article previously appeared on the Fulcrum 7 website on February 5, 2021: https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2021/2/5/when-god-swears
Posted: October 20, 2023 · Leave a Comment
When God Swears
In the world today it is not uncommon to hear someone say, “I swear to God,” when they are trying to emphasize that they are telling the truth about what they are speaking of. Some people have become so accustomed to using this phrase that they will use it even when speaking about trivial matters. In God’s eyes, however, swearing is a very serious matter. “I swear to God” are very solemn words that should not be spoken lightly.
In the Bible there are several words related to swearing: vow, oath, and covenant. A covenant was simply a vow or an oath between two parties. The Bible is also very specific in its instructions regarding oaths. “Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name” Deuteronomy 6: 13 (ASV).
God does not expect us to make vows. However, if we do make a vow, He expects us to keep it. “When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee” Deuteronomy 23: 21, 22 (ASV). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus must have been thinking of this text when He said, “Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all” Matthew 5: 33, 34 (ASV).
By the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth, the Pharisees had developed elaborate ways of making oaths and vows in order to create loopholes so that they did not have to be kept (Matthew 23: 16 – 22). Rather than swearing, Jesus said, “But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay” Matthew 5: 37 (ASV). If in every aspect of our lives we are honest and truthful, then we will not have to make a vow in order for people to know that we are being honest and truthful.
The best example of a frivolous vow in the Bible is the story of Jephthah in Judges 11. He went to battle with the Ammonites and made a vow to God. “If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Jehovah’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering” Judges 11: 30, 31 (ASV). God gave Jephthah victory over the Ammonites. Jephthah then returned home to fulfill his vow to God. “And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house; and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him … And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back” Judges 11: 34, 35 (ASV).
What happens when God swears? What happens when He makes an oath or vow or a covenant? When God swears, He swears by His own name. “By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah” Genesis 22: 16 (ASV). “For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he sware by himself” Hebrews 6: 13 (ASV). When we realize that when God swears, He invokes His own name, then we start to see God’s oaths throughout the Old Testament and especially in the Books of Moses.
The Ten Commandments begin with an oath from God. “I am Jehovah thy God” Exodus 20: 2 (ASV). When Moses repeated the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel, he erased any doubts that this was an oath. “Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb” Deuteronomy 5: 2 (ASV). We should not be surprised that the Ten Commandments are an oath from God. They were the sole contents of the Ark of the Covenant.
We see God swearing when He gave instructions regarding clean and unclean meats in Leviticus 11. After giving Moses these instructions, God swears not once but twice. “For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth. For I am Jehovah that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” Leviticus 11: 44, 45 (ASV).
For Seventh Day Adventists the most important instance of God swearing is with regard to the Sabbath. “Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you” Exodus 31: 13 (ASV). In verse 16, He calls the Sabbath a “perpetual covenant.” We do not earn salvation by keeping the Sabbath. However, when we keep that Sabbath, we are acknowledging that we believe God when He swears to restore us to perfection.
Many Christians believe that some of God’s oaths and covenants have been nailed to the cross and are no longer required for Christians to observe. Many Christians consume pork or other unclean meats and worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath believing that these covenants sworn by God ended with the death of Jesus. Is this true? Does God ever break an oath or covenant that He has made? Fortunately, the Bible gives us very specific answers to these questions and does not leave us to wonder.
When Moses spoke to the Children of Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land He told that that God could be relied upon to keep His word. “Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” Deuteronomy 7: 9 (ASV). Psalms 89:34 states even more plainly, “My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (ASV). The Hebrew word in this verse for break, חָלַל (chalal, Strong’s H2490), also means profane, defile, pollute, or desecrate.[1] None of these words in any way can be used to describe God. Yet, this is what would happen if He broke His vows. It is not possible for God to break an oath or covenant that He has sworn.
Some might say that these verses are all found in the Old Testament and that all of this was nailed to the cross when Jesus died. The New Testament also weighs in on this issue of God and His oaths and covenants. “Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” Hebrews 6: 17, 18 (ASV). If God were to break His covenants and go back on anything that He has sworn, then it would make Him a liar.
Ellen G. White portrays God as being reliable when it comes to keeping His oaths and covenants. “God’s people are not left to depend on man’s wisdom. With prophetic guideposts God has marked out the way he wishes them to take. These great waymarks show us that the path of obedience is the only path we can follow with certainty. Men break their word, and prove themselves untrustworthy, but God changes not. His word will abide the same forever.”[2]
When we realize that it is impossible for God to break His covenants then we should also realize that the Sabbath could never have been replaced by Sunday. This understanding that God never goes back on what He has sworn gives us blessed assurance of the salvation that He has promised. Imagine what it would be like if God did break his oaths. We could not be sure of anything we read in the Bible. How could we know that God will not change His mind and destroy the earth with a flood again even though He made a covenant with Noah? How could we be certain that He will even return to save us?
God’s name, Jehovah, means I am what I was and what I will continue to be in the future. This tells us that our God does not change or go back on any vow or oath that He has sworn.
[1] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
[2] Ellen G. White. Loyalty or Disloyalty?, The Review and Herald, February 6, 1900.
This article previously appeared on the Fulcrum 7 website on February 5, 2021: https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2021/2/5/when-god-swears
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