Matthew 5:31-37 Don’t Swear By Your Hair!
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: February 1, 2019, Matthew 5:31-37
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
(Understanding the Text) Jesus is saying that we should not cause other people to sin. In those days, if a divorced woman did not have a family to go back to and support her, she needed to get another husband if she could for economic support, especially if she had children. If the first husband had not gotten remarried, then she was committing adultery by remarrying too soon. She and her first husband had a physical and mental bond through sex. By having sex with the next man, she was breaking that bond. Have I been looking at adultery all wrong? Is it not that it’s “bad,” or that there is a “get out of jail free card” if the other person gets remarried first? Does it have more to do with the harmful effects on my own mind when the first connection is broken and the new one formed? Does it harm us mentally to form a connection through sex to a spouse over a period of time, and then form a new different connection with a new spouse? What about widows who remarry? If sin is about breaking relationship, then maybe there is more to it than simply “divorce is wrong.” Maybe it has to do with our mental health?
Keep your promises and don’t promise what you can’t deliver. I live by that motto and feel horrible when I fail. This passage is speaking about a step beyond keeping promises. It is talking about swearing by God that your words are true. In this situation, I think we are taking the Lord’s name in vain. Jesus is saying that if you swear by something outside of yourself, that you are swearing by God because we have no control over anything external while God has the ability to control any of these external conditions. The underlying question is why do we feel the need to swear by something or someone outside of ourselves? Either we feel that others do not trust us or we feel that we are untrustworthy. The point here is to be trustworthy and not worry about what others believe.
Why is swearing by something sin? Because it is presumption of God. We are claiming to speak for God when we are only speaking our own words. We are acting as if we have the power to tell God what to do instead of respecting Him and His power and position. We are disrespecting Him.
(Revelation of God) These words of admonition reveal a God who will never break relationship with His people. Humans might have divided loyalties, but God is always faithful to His creations. It reveals a God who cares about human relationships and cares for those who have no power and are forced into impossible situations by others’ actions. This passage reveals a God who believes in keeping His word and feels that trustworthiness is important. God is trustworthy and faithful in relationships with others, and He expects His people to have the same character.
(Application) My application to myself is that I am still looking at sin and the ten commandments wrong. I’m still looking at sin as doing something “bad” instead of as breaking relationships.
(Prayer) (Note: I typed a lot more in this devotional, but it mysteriously vanished through some glitch in technology. I was frustrated and typed this prayer to God.) God, why do you allow Satan to take away the words I type? I don’t want to type them again because they hurt, but they are gone now. Help me with my relationships. Help me to trust You.