As a pastor, I have been amazed over the years how many people that claim to follow Yeshua and the Torah make promises that they don’t keep. In our ministry, I can’t tell you how many times people have made commitments to help us, then at the last minute flaked out leaving my wife and I to do their job. frankly, this has happened too many times to remember.

James exhorted us to let our yes be yes and our no be no (Jas 5:12). In other words, don’t give your word unless you plan to keep it. This is the mark of a true, mature saint.

Here’s what the Torah has to say about this subject.

Numbers 30:2 (3), Vows. A vow (Heb., neder) is literally “a pledge to do something.” It places upon oneself or others or upon objects of one’s choice a status equivalent to that of a commandment of the Torah (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 900).

One’s word is one’s bond. A neder is so strong that a person violating it can suffer the court-imposed penalty of lashes (Ibid.) The Set-Apart One of Israel is not a man that he should lie (Num 23:19). If we are to be set-apart or kadosh as YHVH is kadosh (1 Pet 1:16; 2:9; Heb 12:14), then we must be people of our word not only in large matters, but in the smallest of matters too. Are you too casual with your words? Do you make commitments in order to sound good to others, yet you have no real intention of fulfilling your obligations? Liars will have no part in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:8).

YHVH established order in the family structure. The man, as the head of the family, holds veto power over promises made by those under him in his family. This may be politically incorrect nowadays in a society characterized by egalitarianism, and feminism and children’s “rights,” but the Word of YHVH in the Torah is clear on this matter. This is given because the husband and father holds responsibility for promises made by those in his family (Num 30:15). To what degree are you swayed by the mores of society in this regard as opposed to the Word of Elohim? What rules do you play by in your marriage and family—society’s or YHVH’s?