God required Israelites to honor and redeem their pledges before him. They must not overlook any pledge or consider it irrelevant but redeem every pledge in a timely manner. God stated he would consider any Israelites' failed promise as an offense, and he would enforce them into redeeming it. God said to his children,
"When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord, your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth" (Deuteronomy 23:21-23).
Lesson:
Our heavenly Father is a God of promise, and he does not fail on promises. He will fulfill whatever he has promised his children to the last letter as proof of his faithfulness. The same God of promise also expects his children to share the same principle and practice it. He wants his children to honor their words and keep whatever promises they make in his presence. Jehovah wants us to make it a practice to redeem our vows before him; he will hold whoever fails accountable. Unfortunately, many believers are rash with their words; they are quick to make promises, but only to soon forget them.
Some people will promise to offer God their time, money, or materials whenever they need his help, but only to dishonor their words afterward. Some might even say "O God if you can help me through this difficult time, I will dedicate the rest of my life to you and serve you," however they forget their words and walk away with their answered prayers.
Meanwhile, God will not forget any promise a man/woman chooses to forget! He will require redemption of every promise, and he may delay anyone's future blessing as a consequence of a failed promise. Therefore, believers must consider it an important matter to be sensitive in the presence of their God. Everyone ought to honor his/her words and not be loose in the speech by making irrational promises to him. Also, we must duly redeem our pledges in a timely fashion so that they can be acceptable. However, believers must understand that our call to honor the principle of redeeming vows to God does not indicate his sense of lack. Jehovah is not poor, and he doesn't need our gifts to survive; he only needs our prove of faithfulness so that he can be motivated to shower more blessings into our lives. Once we can prove we are persons of our words, the Creator will release his remarkable blessings for our benefits and to the glorification of his name.
Prayer:
Dear God, please help me to honor my words and keep my promises before you. Do not let me make empty promises to your dissatisfaction. Forgive me for my past unredeemed pledges; please let whatever opportunity I have lost due to my past failures be returned. Give me a second chance to have a new start of honorably redeeming pledges so that you can be happy to bless me. From now on, give me the strength to satisfy you with pleasant offerings, and let them gladden your heart to motivate you into blessing me more and so that I can keep enjoying your benefits throughout the days of my life. For in the name of Jesus Christ, I make my requests. Amen.
