Numbers 28:1—30:16 is a section dealing with statutes, which are additional laws. These statutes concern two matters: offerings (28:1—29:40) and vows (30:1-16).
The statutes concerning vows follow the statutes concerning the offerings, which are God's food. It is our duty, our responsibility, to present the offerings to God, whereas vows are voluntary. God wants us to do something more than carry out our duty and responsibility to fulfill His requirements. He would like us to do something additional—to make a vow to Him. An example of a particular vow is the vow of the Nazarite in Numbers 6.
In the church life today, we also have the two matters of fulfilling God's requirements and of making a vow to Him. If we simply fulfill God's requirements, we have not yet come up to the highest standard. We need to make a vow to God, volunteering ourselves in a definite and particular way.
According to church history, all those who were used by God to fulfill His New Testament ministry were volunteers. They not only fulfilled God's requirements but also volunteered to make a vow to Him. John Nelson Darby is an example of such a person. He fulfilled God's requirements, and he also made a vow, for the sake of the need in the church life, to remain unmarried.
The extent to which the Lord will use us depends on our vow. Of course, a vow is not limited to the matter of marriage. We may make a vow to the Lord regarding many different things. The higher our vow is, the more the Lord will use us.
I hope that many of the young people in the Lord's recovery will be touched and inspired to make a vow to God. The Lord's recovery needs young people who have made vows to God. A young person who volunteers to make a vow may say, "Lord, by Your mercy and grace I have fulfilled Your New Testament requirements. But I would like to do something additional. I would like to make a vow to live for You absolutely." We all need to make some kind of vow to the Lord.
A man vowing a vow to Jehovah or swearing an oath to bind himself by a pledge was not to break his word (Num. 30:1-2a). Rather, he was to do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth (v. 2b). This indicates that when we make a vow to God, we must keep it. If we break our word, we will suffer loss.