A Vow Before the Lord

May God do so to me, and more also, if   2 Samuel 3:35

In This Way (missing) – “Lord, I promise.”  Have you heard these word come from your lips?  Did you really understand the seriousness of these words?  Or were they much the same as the dozens of other promises we make, fully intending to keep them when they are uttered, but suffering no consequences at all when they are ignored or forgotten?

David understood what a sacred oath meant.  In this idiomatic Hebrew expression (koh ya’ aseh li elohiym wekoh yosiph), David says that if he breaks his vow he should suffer the same consequences as Abner whom he has just buried – or worse.  David stands before God and proclaims, “If I break my word, Lord, let me fall victim to the same terrible consequences.”  Now this is serious.  Is that the kind of attitude you bring to your promises before God?

In the NASB and NIV translations, a small word is eliminated.  You can see that small word twice in the full expression.  It is koh (the second time it is combined with we, the conjunctive “and”).  Literally, the expression reads, “Thus may do to me God and thus more if”.  This particle koh is so important.  It directs the entire oath to its referent – the action that has just occurred that David invites upon himself should he fail to keep his promise.  We need this small word.  We need to know that a promise is not just a lot of air.  A promise has a referent in real action.  For David, that real action is the death of Abner.  When it comes to your promise, you need a koh referent.  Without the koh, a promise has no teeth.  And without teeth, it’s pretty much worthless.

Are you ready to stand with David and make a koh oath?  “Lord, may this real, terrible thing happen to me if I break my word.  I invite Your punishment if I fail to keep my oath.  This is serious, Lord, and I want you to take it seriously too.”

God honors serious people. 

Enough said.