Keeping Oaths to God?

[tuliplane]

In the Old Testament, such as Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, it says:
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed—
Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?

There are other verses in the Old Testament which say similar, such as Deuteronomy 23:21-23. Also, in Judges, Jephthah vowed to God to sacrifice whatever came out of his door to meet him, and it happened to be his daughter... David, on the other hand, vowed to God to destroy Nabal and all his household. Nabal's wife Abigail pleaded with David not to, basically telling him it would be wrong to destroy them. David changed his mind and did not keep the vow.

When there was that law of keeping vows to God, did God want even sinful vows kept?

Now in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 5:33-37, it says:

Again, ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform thy oaths unto the Lord.
But I say unto you, Swear not at all, neither by heaven for it is the throne of God:
Nor yet by earth, for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King,
Neither shalt thou swear by thine head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be Yea, yea or Nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh from evil.

Was Jesus just saying not to make oaths at all, or was He also saying we don't have to keep foolish oaths we made, such as the one Jephthah made? Was He saying we should just mean yes when we say yes and mean no when we say no, and not have to say any more than that, or does He still want us to keep vows we made to God? He said not to make oaths at all, but didn't say anything about when oaths are made or oaths that have already been made.

I really want to learn and know more about this subject. So, please give input!

 

[dcalling]

When there was that law of keeping vows to God, did God want even sinful vows kept?

I don't have answers to your other question, but this one I can answer because I thought of this (and things similar) many times.

Jesus told us that the biggest law is to Love God and Love your neighbors as yourself. So whatever actions you are taken (whether keep or break a vow), as long as it is according to that law and not your personal gain, is the right action.

So in that regard God does not want sinful vows, because God is love.