We find ourselves in Genesis chapter 24 with our word for today. שָׁבַע swear, make a statement, give a pledge, cause someone to promise solemnly, cause someone to take an oath. It is used 185 times in the Old Testament. Here are some examples of how it is used when people make promises, oaths, agreements, or covenants with others. Genesis 50:5-6 My father made me שָׁבַע swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you שָׁבַע swear to do.” Exodus 13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites שָׁבַע swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” Nehemiah 5:12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.” Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials שָׁבַע take an oath to do what they had promised. Doing what you say you will do is a huge deal to God. This is why he warns against making a false vow or promise. Leviticus 19:12 You shall not שָׁבַע swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
God desires for us to be people who keep our promises. Here is His clear instruction on this. Numbers 30:2 If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or שָׁבַע swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. This sounds a lot like what Jesus said. Matthew 5:33-37 Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Jesus says all of this because the religious leaders, the Pharisees, where using God to lie and trick people into believing them when they had no intention of doing what they said and keeping their word. Jesus is saying that our character based on our past actions should be all people need to trust us because we do what we say we will do. The reason people swear by God is because he is the only one with perfect character as we are reminded in Hebrews 6:16-18 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath…it is impossible for God to lie. So back to our chapter Genesis 24:1-4 Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household…I want you to שָׁבַע swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” Now here is what is interesting Abraham’s reason for why his servant needs to swear an oath and promise to do this is because God himself swore an oath to Abraham. Genesis 24:7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and שָׁבַע promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. Abraham knew that God would do what he said he would do and this is why he had confidence to send out his servant to carry out God’s promise making him swear an oath.
