Monday, May 26 I do lift up my hand in an oath to Jehovah.—Gen. 14:22. Perfect creatures who love God and imitate him do not need to make an oath; they always tell the truth and have complete trust in one another. But things changed with the introduction of human sin and imperfection. Eventually, when lying and deception were common among men, it became necessary for them to swear to the truthfulness of important matters. Making oaths was a legal tool that the patriarch Abraham used to good advantage on at least three occasions. (Gen. 21:22-24; 24:2-4, 9) This occurred, for example, when he returned from defeating the king of Elam and his allies. (Gen. 14:17-20) When the king of Sodom wanted to reward Abraham for rescuing the king’s people from the invading armies, Abraham swore: “From a thread to a sandal lace, no, I shall take nothing from anything that is yours, in order that you may not say, ‘It was I who made Abram rich.’”—Gen. 14:21-23.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 17:56:22 +0000