January 7, 2025

Passage Read: Numbers 28-31
Meditation Verse: 30:2

Thought

Any vow a man makes is binding on him. There is no distinction between those young men still living at home and those who have married and moved into their own home. Young and old, married and single, every man is responsible for his vow, to fulfill it. A young woman still at home can have her vows nullified by her father and a married woman can have her vows nullified by her husband. She can be protected by her father or husband against rash vows, but a man has no such protection. He is expected to be careful with everything he says and promises, from early on in life.

Application

We say men are slower to mature than women, but Scripture seems to have a different view, or else have different expectations on men than women. It likely has more to do with how we raise our sons than any innate, physical growth. In Scripture, men are required to be responsible for themselves and their family, to know what is best for them and do it. Young men are to learn from older men, and they should be teachable to those who are older, but they bear full responsibility for their family as soon as they have one. They need to be trained with that expectation, not allowed to be careless and foolish, but fully responsible for their own words and deeds. This is not a physiological issue, but a training issue. We need to raise our sons to be responsible for their words and actions as early as possible.