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I. Identifying False-swearing, Perjury, and Oaths
I. Identifying False-swearing, Perjury, and Oaths
False-swearing and Oaths:
“Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:”
Forswearing is committing perjury.
Forswearing is making oneself a liar under oath.
Perjury is the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath : false swearing. To omit what has been promised is to go back against or not do what has been promised.
You shall not make false vows, you shall not commit perjury.
“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
Binding oaths vs Non-binding oaths:
Binding oaths were oaths that were taken in the name of God. (Give examples)
Non-binding oaths were oaths that were made to important things but really wasn’t binding. (Give examples)
II. The Old Testament Position on False-swearing.
II. The Old Testament Position on False-swearing.
What happened to those who were false witnesses or to those who lied against someone else?
“If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time. The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
So if the person who is trying to do harm to the other person is found out that the story that they produced is fabricated, then the intent of the accuser would be reciprocated to the accuser. In other-words if accuser sought to sow destruction or misfortune upon a person who was truly not guilty of the crime....that accuser got the punishment.
Thought:
The heart of the matter with false witnessing is that the person who was being a false-witness had malicious intent to do harm or injury to another.
“Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.
Haman:
Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
You must honor your vows!
A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 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. So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 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. 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. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 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, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
The moral of this story is that when you make a vow, especially to God you have to come through on it.
Deeper thought:
Why should we not break our oaths? Because God never breaks his oath, God is faithful and if we are to be the children of God then we too must be faithful because God is faithful. God doesn’t lie, God doesn’t retract statements, God follows through and so should we. Does this apply to marriage?
LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
Then....
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.
III. Jesus’ Position on Swearing
III. Jesus’ Position on Swearing
But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.
“Swear not at all”
So in several different translations we have different words that mean the same thing. The NLT says “Make no vows”, the NASB says “Make no oaths”, The AMP says “Don’t bind yourself by an oath at all”.
Does this mean that we are not to do any vows or oaths? What about marriage vows.....I mean the LORD did say don’t make any vows. What about making an oath....does this mean that if we go to court we are not suppose to swear or do the oath about telling the truth? Let’s consider a couple of additional scriptures:
But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
“Lest ye fall into condemnation (sin).” When you don’t do what you promise you fall into sin.
And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously. But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs. What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
“Here’s what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow. Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws.
“As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
In order to know the answer we have to look at the context and sentence structure. First of, Jesus says “Swear not at all” then there is a semi-colon there meaning that there is more to that sentence fragment…there is a continuation. Swear by neither heaven; for it is God’s throne, Nor by the earth for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King, neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
To understand this a little further lets consider the book of Hebrews 6:16
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding.
Now think of this.....in regards to marriage vows, it is good to vow to God and take an oath in marriage.....why? Because marriage is honorable in God’s sight and if there is anyone that can help you and hold you to it......it is God!
The Jews reverenced God’s name, so instead of calling on God’s name they started calling on other stuff....but the LORD is telling them that God is connected to those things too. Don’t call on God just to make yourself look good or important, don’t call on God if you’re not serious about keeping a vow because when you call on God to keep a vow or you call on God to do an oath......YOU’VE GOT TO HONOR YOUR OATH!
Main Thought:
Again, The Lord is getting to the root of the problem. The root of the problem is that you do not need to swear at all, just a simple yes or no should suffice. Historically there are many scriptures throughout the Bible in which men swore by God.
So is Jesus saying that we are not to ever take oaths? What about when we go to court and we take an oath to tell the truth?
Let’s consider the context of what Jesus is saying. In another portion of scripture Jesus addresses the issue of oaths and vows in the 23th chapter of Matthew.
“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
The religious leaders of the time, especially the Pharisees often times made vows to impress others or to make themselves look good but wouldn’t follow through on their promise. This is why they would dance around and swear on the altar but not the sacrifice, they would swear on the temple but not the gold of the temple.