And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. – Mark 6:26 KJV
A promise is a statement! which someone else has a right to believe and depend on, that one will or will not do or give something. It is often said that a promise is a debt. This means a promise not fulfilled remains a debt in the life of the one who promises. There are numbers of people that have made promises without thinking which they later regret. In Mark 6: 26, the bible says, “And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her”.
This verse talks about Herod, the king who was asked to give the head of a man of God, John the Baptist, who he feared and knew to be just and holy as stated in Mark 6:20. However he had earlier promised to give anything to his step daughter up to half of his kingdom and he had no choice but to kill the man of God when the step daughter asked for it based on her mother’s advice.
So many of us make promises because of the circumstance we find ourselves before thinking about it. God expects us to honour our promises and so we should not make vows, pledges or promises we cannot fulfill. It is important that we do not rush to make pledges or promises because such promises tie the hands of those who make them until they are fulfilled.
Prayer: Guide me oh Lord that I do not make promises, pledges or vows that cannot be fulfilled.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero