A Debt of Gratitude is Still a Debt

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.” (Le 27:2 AV)

What follows this verse is a payment schedule for those in a man’s household for whom he made a vow.  If a head of a household was to entreat the LORD for a favor for someone in his household, and the LORD answered that prayer, the vow was to be paid according to male or female, age, servant, or animal.  In other words, if a man’s child was deathly ill and he went to the tabernacle to pray for his sick child if in that prayer he vowed to honor God if God were to intervene for that sick child, a vow was to be paid according to the schedule that follows. 

What parent hasn’t been in this situation?  We have been many times over.  It began with our firstborn.  Born with the cord wrapped around his neck, if it wasn’t for an emergency caesarian section, he would not have survived.  From there it went to a near diagnosis of Spina Bifida.  Then there was the low white blood cell count that sent us to the children’s cancer ward.  All before he was six months old.  This is the same young man who went off to Venezuela with strep throat.  Then there was the middle child.  We almost lost him to altitude sickness and strep.  The youngest is known as Crash for a very good reason.  There was the stress of waiting out their courting age.  Would the LORD provide a godly wife and would they listen to the will of God when He provided?  As we age, my wife and I are facing more and more physical challenges.  Some of them potentially scary.  In all of this, we entreated the LORD on their behalf.  We have entreated the LORD on one another’s behalf.  There were recent hospital stays.  Significant tests to determine underlying symptoms.  In all this, there were prayers offered up.  The question is, what have we done in return of all this answered prayer?

In the Old Testament, if the LORD answered prayers of crisis, there were vows attached to this.  There was an expression of gratitude towards the LORD for what He had done.  There was an estimation as to the value of the provision of God.  In a very real sense, if the LORD restored to the household head his child, servant, or animal, this restoration had a monetary value.  A son could provide for his aging parents.  However, if he passed away, there would be no monetary benefit.  If a daughter escaped the grave, she could work in the household providing labor that had value.  The servant and animal, as well, would provide a fiscal benefit to the household.  This vow was a way in which the household head would acknowledge God’s provision for him in a way that meant something.  Although this may seem like an unemotional ‘reckoning’ of God’s provision, it does go to a point.  God provides for us in many ways.  We benefit from His grace.  The question is, how grateful are we and how do we express that gratitude for what He has done?  How much do we value the miracles or plan and predictable provision granted by a loving God?  Do we show some amount of gratitude by sacrificing in return?  Actions speak louder than words.