Q: #616. How many times did God swear by Himself, and why did He do that?
A: First, let’s quickly look at “why” God did this. When we make a vow, or take an oath, we are doing so to let others know that we are serious about what we are saying, and that we are being truthful. When we tie God’s name to this vow/oath (“I swear to God”), the Bible says it is a very serious thing. In fact, we are warned not to do this (Mt 5:34-37)(James 5:12). The main reason is because if we fail to keep our vow/oath, which many, many people do (i.e. a marriage vow), it is a serious sin.
Years ago, I wrote a study entitled, “Can I break a vow/oath to God and be forgiven?” Of the hundreds of studies I have written, the most email responses I have gotten from a study (by far) are from people who have “sworn” a vow/oath to God, and have broken it, cannot keep it, or do not want to keep it. Many are terrified! (More on this here.) However, unlike us, God ALWAYS keeps His vows/oaths. The Bible shows us numerous oaths that God “swore” i.e. (Deut 7:7-8)(Deut 29:12-14)(Ps 89:3-4)(Jer 11:4-5)(Lk 1:73)(Acts 2:30), and He NEVER broke one (Ps 89:34)(Jer 33:19-22)(Num 23:19)!
When we make a vow, or take an oath, and “swear” upon the name of God, we are calling upon the highest power in the universe, and basically saying, “If I don’t do what I am saying, or if I am lying about what I am saying, may God punish me.” However, when God made a vow/oath in the Bible, because He could not “swear” upon a “higher power” than Himself (because there is none), He “swore upon Himself” to show that He was serious about what he was saying, and that it was truth (the same reason we make a vow, or take an oath). (See: Heb 6:13-20)
So, how may times does the Bible say that God “swore by Himself?” I found 11 times, all in the Old Testament. Here they are:
(Gen 22:16-17)(NKJV) “and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son (17) blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.”
(Ex 32:13)(NKJV) “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ “
(Ps 89:35) “Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David.”
(Isa 45:23) “I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
(Isa 62:8) “The LORD hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat (food) for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:”
(Jer 22:5) “But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by Myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.”
(Jer 44:26) “Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by My great name, saith the LORD, that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.”
(Jer 49:13) “For I have sworn by Myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.”
(Jer 51:14)(NKJV) “The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts, And they shall lift up a shout against you.””
(Amos 4:2)(NKJV) “The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days shall come upon you When He will take you away with fishhooks, And your posterity with fishhooks.”
(Amos 6:8)(NKJV) “The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.””