Today I was driving in the car and a song came on the radio by Geoff Moore called "The Vow." In this song Geoff Moore makes the distinction between a promise and a vow. This really made me think about the difference between the two. Later in the day a good friend and I were talking about marriage and the vows that are made between husband and wife. This only added to my thoughts on the difference between a promise and a vow. I looked the meaning of both within the context of Old Testament Scripture to see if there was a difference there. What I discovered was this: a promise is a spoken word of expectation... in other words whatever is spoken is expected to come about. A vow is different in that it involves an act of the will (volition) along with the spoken word. There is a choice of the will to carry out what was spoken (or promised).
Basically the difference is that a vow is a step stronger than a promise. In terms of human relationship a promise would be like an engagement where the expectation is that marriage will take place. A vow is the fulfillment of that promise carried all the way out.
I guess one could split hairs over the meaning of the two words... the old saying goes "the proof is in the pudding." Now, I have no idea what that means, other than our word should stand for something! And what we say will be lived out by what we do. In Numbers 30:2 it states, "If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." Hmmm... better not make any hasty vows!
My reading took me to 2 Kings, chapter 5. In this chapter a man named Naaman is healed of leprosy. He is told by the prophet Elisha to wash seven times in the Jordan river and his leprosy would be healed (hey, look... a promise). Naaman went away in a rage becuase he thought the idea was dumb. He was persuaded by his servants to do what Elisha had instructed him to do. Once he was cleansed Naaman returned to Elisha and declared that there was no other God in all the world.

My reading today took me to the book of 1 Kings, chapter 19. I read of the prophet Elijah running for his life; and this after witnessing the power of God first hand while on Mount Carmel. I noticed something different today as I read and studied... Verse 3 begins with "Elijah was afraid..." (NIV). This can literally be translated "Elijah saw...". The verse finishes by with "... and ran for his life." Interesting isn't it... how Elijah could see what was coming; that his life would be threatened and how that drove him to a place he wasn't suppose to be. I know he was not in the right place because God asked him twice (in verses 9 & 13) "What are you doing here...?". God only asks 'what are you doing here' when you're not in the right place. For me, God doesn't even have to ask the question... I think he waits until I ask myself. And it comes out in many different forms, like: What are you doing? What have you done? What are you doing here? Are you nuts?!
I've noticed in myself that I can 'see' (that is imagine) all kinds of things coming my way and turns out I can worry about nothing pretty good. In fact it surprises me sometimes how much I can be preoccupied with nothing!
Perhaps one of the scariest things that God instructed Elijah to do was in verse 15, "The Lord said to him, 'Go back the way you came,...'". Wow! Could God actually expect Elijah to have to go back and face the very things he was running from? Does God ever call me to go face my fears head on, and place myself in positions that are very uncomfortable? Maybe I'll go back when I'm certain God is speaking to me... like he did with Elijah with a powerful wind, or earthquake, or tremendous fire! No... wait a minute. Scripture tells me that God was not in any of those. God was in the gentle whisper that was unmistakable to Elijah. In fact, when he heard the gentle whisper he covered his head (you know... when you don't want to see or be seen). I guess Elijah could see what was coming!