I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 30-31.

    I really struggled with what to make of this passage on taking an oath. Here it says that if a man takes an oath, he is stuck with it, but if a woman does so, she can get either her father or her husband to nullify it for her (as long as they were not aware of it before she wants out). That is an oversimplification and turns the way we would normally read this passage on its head, but it has some truth to it. The people for whom this passage was originally written would have read this as a woman not having the right to commit herself to an oath against her father’s, or her husband’s, wishes. They would have been correct.
    Nevertheless, the reading of it I started the previous paragraph with teaches us an important lesson. None of us, man or woman, should commit themselves to a binding course of action without first having someone else (father/mother, husband/wife, trusted friend) go over with us our reasons for, and the consequences of, that decision. This passage gave women an out, at the expense of them having the authority to make decisions for themselves. That is another lesson for us. We can only gain protection from the consequences of our actions by yielding up some of our freedom. Usually, the amount of freedom we give up is greater than the protection we receive.