Lesson 6 | Searching Theology

Practice

Ready to see how this works in action and then give it a try?

Instructor Video: Why does God frustrate my efforts to serve him?


Your Turn

Now practice your own search. Look for an answer to the question Should we keep stupid vows we have made to God? Follow the directions you find in the Biblearc app when you click this button.

Questions

Let’s see what you discovered.

Instead of “promises” you should be searching the word . In order to find this word in all its forms, the proper search text is .

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We might expect one of the following five verbs to be present in a verse addressing our question:

> Starts with ‘k’:

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> Starts with ‘b’:

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> Starts with ‘c’:

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> Starts with ‘p’:

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> Starts with ‘f’:

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Don’t worry if you did not get all of these! I did not come up with them all on the first try, but refined my search as I noticed other key verbs in search results.

To search for verses with the word “vow” and at least one of these verbs in any form, the search text should be: . (Put the verbs in the same order they appear above.)

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Again, don’t sweat it if you are not able to get the same exact search. If you were close, it counts!

Should you restrict this search to a particular part of the Bible?

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For each of the following, indicate a search result verse reference that demonstrates the point, or write “NONE” if this point is not demonstrated in any search result. Use full Bible book names (e.g. Genesis 28:20).

We are expected to keep our vows to the Lord no matter how high the cost.

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If your vow is “stupid” due to being dangerous, it ought NOT be kept.

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Vows made outside the temple need NOT be kept.

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We should never make vows to God in the first place.

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Vow-keeping has a godly example in the New Testament.

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If your vow is “stupid” due to a non-head-of-house making the vow, it does NOT need to be kept.

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If your vow can only be kept with sinful action, doing so would NOT please the Lord.

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The Answer to the Question

We should all our vows made to God except for (1) foolish vows made by a , and (2) vows that can only be fulfilled through .

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Side Note

While we are focused on searching theology in this lesson, don’t forget the worth of cross-references! For example, a cross-reference from Numbers 30:2 (one of your search results) points us to Leviticus 27:1-8 where we discover that Jephthah in Judges 11 should have paid the valuation of his daughter in fulfilling his vow; he should not have killed her!

Discovery!