When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
Maybe you’ve made a vow to yourself: “I’m never going to treat my children like I was treated.” Then one day, you catch yourself doing the very thing you vowed you would never do. That may be one of the most dangerous examples of making a vow. We all too easy blind ourselves to the very thing we swear we’ll never do. The “I swear I’ll never…” or “I vow I’ll always…” can set such a trap for us.
Then there is the matter of pride and self-righteousness. Note the “I” statement. If we do manage to keep our vows, we can too easily become self-righteous. I kept my vow. We become judgmental of others. And if we fail, we are devastated. All the while we depend on ourselves rather than God. Then we conclude (wrongly) that God’s grace is needed only when we fail.
There are, nevertheless, good vows. But we don’t make those vows to ourselves. Marriage vows are made to our spouse and before God. Ordination vows are made to the church and to God.
But what about these vows of the 40 men? They report their vow to the chief priests and council. But they report them in this manner: “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul.” Get those words, bound ourselves? They have tied up themselves. What’s more, they have vowed to do an evil thing. They have taken upon themselves an evil task. They were not sent by the authorities. They usurped the prerogative of life and death. It was not theirs to take.
This is a good lesson for us. Don’t bind yourself. Don’t make a private vow. And certainly do not usurp power that is not yours. There are times, to be sure, when we may feel compelled to take matters into our own hands. That didn’t work so well for the 40 vow-makers.
Living under God’s grace rather than relying on personal strength or resolve is the far better choice. Making a vow to ourselves can reflect a misplaced dependence on our own strength and abilities. Better we should trust in God’s guidance and provision.
God himself made a vow. It is called in the Bible, a covenant. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people…I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34). God kept his vow by sending Jesus to atone for our sins, and grant us the forgiveness we all need. For none of us has kept his vow perfectly. We can rejoice that God’s oath was kept and is for our eternal good.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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