Solid Old Testament Precedent for Mary’s Eternal Virginity
Under the Old Covenant Law … as described in the book of Numbers, Chapter 30 … God made divine provision for both women and men to make sacred vows, and subject to the acceptance and ratification of those vows by the father or the husband … those vows would then remain in effect for life.
Church tradition always held that the Blessed Virgin Mary was known to have been dedicated to God from a young age, and that she took a sacred vow to remain a virgin FOR HER ENTIRE LIFETIME.
We also knew that such a vow was totally legitimate and binding, even if the virgin maiden was to be married someday.
According to the Law, upon marriage, it would be left up to the husband (in this case, St. Joseph) to either accept or reject the wife’s sacred vow. If it was accepted, it immediately became binding on both parties, and remained perpetually in effect.
The apostles also knew Mary, and they accepted her perpetual virginity as a fact, just as the Catholic Church has always taught.
In light of this very strong biblical precedent, in light of the constant teaching of the Church on this matter, from the earliest days, and in light of the lack of ANY definitive New Testament evidence to the contrary … it’s high time our Protestant brethren stopped claiming that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Ark of the New Covenant, the Mother of the Church, and the holiest woman who ever lived, could have EVER broken a sacred vow.
It’s simply not right!
Here’s the complete Old Testament text, from the Book of Numbers:
Num 30:1 The LORD told Moses to say to Israel’s tribal leaders:
Num 30:2 When one of you men makes a promise to the LORD, you must keep your word.
Num 30:3 Suppose a young woman who is still living with her parents makes a promise to the LORD.
Num 30:4 If her father hears about it and says nothing, she must keep her promise.
Num 30:5 But if he hears about it and objects, then she no longer has to keep her promise. The LORD will forgive her, because her father did not agree with the promise.
Num 30:6 Suppose a woman makes a promise to the LORD and then gets married. If her husband later hears about the promise but says nothing, she must do what she said, whether she meant it or not.
Num 30:7 (SEE 30:6)
Num 30:8 But if her husband hears about the promise and objects, she no longer has to keep it, and the LORD will forgive her.
Num 30:9 Widows and divorced women must keep every promise they make to the LORD.
Num 30:10 Suppose a married woman makes a promise to the LORD.
Num 30:11 If her husband hears about the promise and says nothing, she must do what she said.
Num 30:12 But if he hears about the promise and does object, she no longer has to keep it. The LORD will forgive her, because her husband would not allow her to keep the promise.
Num 30:13 Her husband has the final say about any promises she makes to the LORD.
Num 30:14 If her husband hears about a promise and says nothing about it for a whole day, she must do what she said–since he did not object, the promise must be kept.
Num 30:15 But if he waits until the next day to stop her from keeping her promise, he is the one who must be punished.
Num 30:16 These are the laws that the LORD gave Moses about husbands and wives, and about young daughters who still live at home.
For More Click Here
Submitted by Bob Stanley – with thanks to Dr. Brent M.
March 16, 2008
Categories: Bob Stanley, Marian . Tags: ark, law, mary, moses, numbers, perpetual, virginity, vow . Author: Doug Lawrence . Comments: 2 Comments