2 Sam. 21-22
God takes a vow very seriously. The Gibeonites were the people who deceived Joshua and the Israelites when they were finally moving into the Promised Land, to take it over from the nations despised by God. The Israelites made a vow to protect the Gibeonites, which was not in accordance with what God had told them to do. But since they made the vow, God expected them to keep it. Saul did not, and attempted to destroy the Gibeonites, “in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah” (2 Sam 21:2b). That’s a tricky thing, because Saul may have thought he was doing what God wanted by clearing the land of the ‘heathen’ nations. But God takes a vow very seriously, as evidenced by the famine he later brought on the land because of Saul’s “bloodguilt”.
I think this is why, in Matthew 5:37, Jesus says, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” It seems we humans too easily get ourselves into trouble by making vows (consider Jephtha’s vow, back in Judges 11, which resulted in the loss of his daughter). So do not swear! And certainly don’t take the name of the LORD your God in vain by swearing on His name and not keeping that vow. We never know what difficulty might arise in trying to keep a vow. Far better to simply not take a vow in the first place.
Ps. 18
This must have been an important Psalm, because it is repeated twice in its entirety (with minor differences). David extolls the salvation of the LORD. As he says in the last verse, “Great salvation He brings to His king, and shows steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever.” Yes, indeed – great salvation God brings to all of His chosen, through David’s offspring forever!
John 6: 22-40
Is it just me, or are these people dense? Seriously. They have chased Jesus down after being miraculously fed by Him, and when He calls them out on their intentions, saying that they should not work for food that perishes but for food that endures to eternal life which they achieve by believing in Him, they ask, “’Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?” (John 6:30). Really?!? He just fed well over 5000 of them with 5 loaves and 2 fish, with abundant leftovers, and they ask Him for a sign so they can believe???
And then they bring up the manna….were they still expecting Jesus to feed them again? Well, He fed them, alright. He very plainly and directly told them that the manna was merely a representation of Him; that He is the true bread from heaven that gives life to all who partake of Him. What more of a sign did they need?