Psalm 59-66: Me And My Big Mouth

Psalm 66:13-14  I will go into thy house with burnt offerings:  I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.

We are presented here with a strange concept for our thoughts today.  The psalmist announces that he will go into the house of God with burnt offerings.  He is declaring that he will worship the Lord.  He next declares that He will pay his vows unto the Lord.  As we read Acts chapter five yesterday in family devotion, we were reminded of the great emphasis that God puts upon our integrity.  Since we are ambassadors of God, we must represent God before the lost world.  One way we do that is by being honest in all our dealings.  This is especially important in our dealings with God.  Now we have here the sum of man's obligations.  The burnt offerings represent our obligation to obey all that God has commanded, and then the vows represent our obligation to follow through on all that we have promised.

Now here is the thought for us today.  What ever happened to all those promises that we made to God when we were in trouble?  You see the psalmist identifies the vows that he is speaking of as the vows "which my lips have uttered and my mouth hat spoken, when I was in trouble".  There is a funny thing about when we are in trouble.  We seem to remember what we should be doing that we are not doing or what we should not be doing that we are doing, and suddenly we feel impressed to let God know that we finally see things His way and are happy to comply-- IF  HE WILL GET US OUT OF TROUBLE.  It is strange that, unlike the psalmist, when the trouble is forgotten the vow is forgotten as well.

Let's do this.  Let's sit down and ask the Lord to remind us of those vows that we made while we were in trouble and determine that we will pay the vows to which we have obligated ourselves.  I wonder how much of a difference it would make in our lives and the work of God if we got that area of our lives right .  I am sure there would be quite a few more laborers for the Lord if we thought about those promises we have made and determined to fulfill them.  I am sure there would be more money available to carry out the work of God if we just remembered the promises that we made in the time of trouble and determined to fulfill them.  I know someone is going to say God knew I was lying when I made that promise to Him, so He can't possibly expect me to really keep my word.  Well, maybe if you went over to Acts chapter five and asked Ananias and Sapphira, they would tell you a different story.

Daily Devotion:  Proverbs 9

Judges 6-13: You Talk Too Much

Judges 11:30-31   And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,  31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

     Here we see a common occurrence.  Someone gets into a tight spot and they begin to make promises to God.  We have all been guilty of making vows without giving any real thought as to the ramifications of our words.  Jephthah did not follow the admonition of the Scriptures to be swift to hear and slow to speak.  (James 1:9)


Judges 11:34-35   And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.  35 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 the LORD, and I cannot go back.

     Now we encounter the results of a vow hastily uttered.  Jephthah's daughter is the first to come out of his house when he returns.  Now she must be offered as a burnt offering to fulfill his vow.  When we read this, everything in our hearts rebels against the very idea of human sacrifice, especially to the true and living God.  Far from an endorsement of human sacrifice, we find here an illustration of the danger of idle words. (Matthew 12:36)  Not only can idle words prove harmful to us but they can also prove harmful to others we love.

Judges 11:39   And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

     The conclusion of this matter is really tragic as the young daughter of the judge is offered as a burnt offering.  We do not anywhere in the text find God's approval of this action.  This does however stand as a stark reminder of the importance of our words.  Psalm 15:4 says, "In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not."  This does not mean we do not make vows unto God.  It simply means we are prayerful and careful and faithful to do it.

Daily Devotional: I Peter 4:1-11 Living for God