When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— better not to vow than to vow and not pay. (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5)

When We Make A Vow

A little boy was at his first wedding. After the service, another child asked him, “How many men can a woman marry?” “Sixteen,” the little boy said. “How do you know?” his friend asked. “The preacher said it – four better, four worse, four richer, and four poorer.”

The wedding day is one of the most remembered and cherished days in a person’s lifetime. Photo albums fill endless pages with the preparations, the event, and the aftermath of the moment a man and woman make a covenant with one another and God to be inseparable for life. Weddings are planned months and years in advance. A man will spend thousands of dollars to marry his daughter off and read in the news the next day that he gave her away. The young man and woman begin their lives together with a great deal of naiveté, which is God’s plan for a successful union.

When the couple marry, they exchange vows as part of the ceremony. The vows are written by the couple or taken from a common book of wedding ceremonies, and on some occasions, the man and woman will recite from the heart words of endearment. A man will recite a series of words to his beloved, and in exchange, the woman will recite words of commitment to her groom. When the ceremony is completed, the official will pronounce the couple husband and wife and declare them united in the marriage bond. In most cases, the words spoken that day are buried in a wedding treasure box and seldom (if any) are looked at again.

Second only to the covenant made when one confesses Christ as Lord, the marriage covenant is one of the most important things two people can say to one another. Like the little boy who misunderstood what the preacher was saying, many take little regard to the seriousness of the words spoken on a wedding day. These words establish a covenant between a man, a woman, and God. This is a three-part agreement bound in Heaven by the Creator, who formed the family and established the holy character of a godly marriage. God does not take the words spoken lightly, nor should the individuals.

Marriages fail because someone cannot live up to the covenant made with God. Those gathered to enjoy the special day are witnesses to the covenant. God is present to establish the marriage as lawful. Many marriages are not lawful in the eyes of God because the broken covenants of marriages past have marred the promises made. A successful marriage is not characterized by the absence of problems but by the willingness of the parties to establish the words of the covenant made before God as binding.

Words are important. Understanding what is said is vital. Everyone will be judged by what he says. When we make promises to God, we must live up to those promises. Never take for granted the covenant of marriage because the Lord will not.