Mt 5:33 ¶ Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Some years ago we took the kids on a family trip to Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium. Along with the normal attractions, there were employees that had various displays and activities in the aisles for the kids. There was one young lady that had a display of Shark Jaws. She asked for some of the kids to come to the front for some hands on activities. When about 8 kids made their way to the front, the young lady asked them if they would like to be members of the Shark Club. Of course the kids shouted, “Yes!”
The lady said, “Okay, raise your right hand and repeat after me.”
About that time, an orthodox Jewish man sprung into action! His two children were at the front with the other kids and were about to take this life changing oath, vowing their eternal allegiance to the Shark Club. He pulled their arms down and said, “Don’t swear, no, no!”
As harmless as that situation really is, there may be some value in teaching kids at an early age the importance of keeping commitments and contracts. So far, over the past 10 or so years, no one has tracked my children down to question them on their commitment to the Shark Club oath.
Daniel Webster said, “There is nothing as powerful as the truth and often nothing as rare!”
God is a God of truth –
Tit 1:1 ¶ Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
There is allowance for and examples of the Jews of the OT the Jews could swearing. If they did it correctly they were to swore by God. The people of Jesus day were aware of this. What had apparently happened over time was that they understood that if you swear by God you had better tell the truth, but if you wanted to be loose with the truth then you could always swear by something else. If you were going to tell something that was close to the truth, you could swear by heaven or the Temple. That’s stuff that is close to God, but not quite God Himself. If you were going to tell something that was not quite so close to the truth, you could swear by the earth or your own head. All of this stuff worked out to be what you might refer to as “truth loopholes.”
Think about it. Truth loopholes could come in handy. If you were down at the market selling a piece of pottery and you really couldn’t vouch for the integrity of the piece. You just swear by the last hair on your head that it is waterproof. “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest my armpits if this leaks!” But your are okay, because you didn’t swear by God!
Jesus tells us to do what God has wanted us to do from our hearts all the time — just tell the truth!
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
The Light of the world has shined in our heart, let the light of the truth shine out!
