Keep the Kings commandments and honor your vows!

Ecclesiastes 8:2 “I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.”

This is wise counsel from king Solomon; “keep the kings commandments”, in other words, obey his laws. Whist this is certainly true in the natural (because if you abide by the laws of the land you will stay out of prison) it is doubly true in the spiritual. Many of us are familiar with the breakdown of Deuteronomy 28; the first half regards the blessing of keeping His commandments while the second half are the curses that ensue when one breaks them. When we obey His commands there is a blessing (Deut 28:1-15) but when we disobey there are curses (Deut 28:15-68). Mankind does not see things quite so cut and dry; they always want to find the loopholes and the mitigating circumstances. I believe that God does consider one’s circumstances, to a point; however, one must be very careful of carrying this too far and using it as an occasion to not comply with His Word because in the end we will indeed be measured by His commandments.

When making an oath [vow] before God one is accountable to those words do not take them lightly because the angels of God require it Ecc 5:4-6. “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.  (5)  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.  (6)  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” God does take note when one does not keep their vows. We live in a society where oaths and promises are practically meaningless and yet the Lord takes oaths and vows very seriously. One of the titles of the Lord, which describes His character, is "Faithful and True". In other words what He says He will do! Num 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?". God wants His people to be like this as well!