“It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him shall you serve and
by his name shall you swear. You shall not go after other gods,
the gods of the peoples who are around you” (Deut. 6:13–14).-
Deuteronomy 6:13–15 Yesterday we examined the cultural setting
of Jesus’ teaching on oaths found in Matthew 5:33–37 in order to
understand whether or not Jesus abolished the practice of oath-
taking altogether. We saw that many in His day made oaths in the
name of things other than God in order to escape punishment in
case such laws were broken. In fact, sophisticated oral laws had
developed that allowed oaths to be broken if they were not made
in the name of God almighty. Such traditions violated God’s law
in two ways. In the first place, God does command His people to
keep all lawful oaths (Num. 30:1–2). Therefore, to make vows
according to a formula that allows for an “escape clause”
demonstrates that the person making a vow has no intent to keep
God’s will. Thus, Jesus does not forbid all oaths; rather, He
forbids us t