VICTORY
Songs celebrating victory in war were common among ancient people. Israel’s victory songs were marked by great praise to God, because Israelites acknowledged that God was the one who gave them victory (Exod 15:1-18; Judg 5:1-31; Ps 18:1-50; see also WAR). The New Testament uses the illustration of warfare in giving teaching about the Christian’s conflict with evil, a conflict in which God again is the one who brings victory (2 Cor 10:3-4; Eph 6:10-18; see also ARMOUR; WEAPONS). Satan is the enemy of God’s people, but Christians can be assured of victory over him because of Christ’s victory over him (Luke 4:1-13; 10:18; Rev 12:7-11; see SATAN; TEMPTATION).
Because of Satan’s power in the world, Christians have a conflict with the world and its evil ways, but again through faith in Christ they are guaranteed victory (Rom 8:35-37; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15; 5:19; see WORLD). Within themselves likewise Christians have a conflict. Their old human nature, the flesh, still tries to rule them, but Christ has conquered the flesh so that they may no longer be under its power. By faith Christ’s victory becomes theirs (Rom 8:1-4; see FLESH). The final victory will be the conquest of death at Christ’s return. All God’s people will be raised to new life in glorified spiritual bodies, and will be free for ever from the effects of sin. Having established complete authority over all things, Christ will then deliver his victorious kingdom to the Father (1 Cor 15:24-28,54; see RESURRECTION).
VINE
See GRAPES.
VIRGIN
One of the unique features concerning the birth of Jesus was his conception in the womb of his mother while she was still a virgin. Yet the Bible gives no detailed reasons for this. The Gospel writers clearly taught it, but, without attempting to explain its mysteries, they pointed to the goal God had in view. Through Jesus Christ, God became a human being for the purpose of saving human beings (Matt 1:21-23; Luke 2:11,29-32; cf. Heb 2:14-15).
Words translated ‘virgin’
In the Old Testament there are two Hebrew words translated ‘virgin’. In the New Testament only one Greek word is translated ‘virgin’, though that Greek word is used as the equivalent of either of the Hebrew words. Of the two Hebrew words, the more commonly used is the one that refers to a young woman who had never had sexual intercourse (Gen 24:16; Lev 21:14; Judg 21:12; 2 Sam 13:2,18; cf. 2 Cor 11:2). Israelites considered it important that a woman be a virgin at the time of her marriage, and their law set out penalties for the loss of virginity before marriage (Exod 22:16-17; Deut 22:13-19; see ADULTERY; FORNICATION). Prophets sometimes used the word poetically, particularly in relation to nations and cities. The word indicated a variety of qualities such as purity, honour, privilege and safety against attack (Isa 37:22; 47:1; Jer 14:17; 31:4; 46:11). The other Hebrew word is less specific and has been translated by such words as virgin, maiden, girl and young woman. It refers to any young woman of marriageable age. In some contexts the word may imply virginity, but in other contexts the question of virginity is irrelevant (Gen 24:43; Exod 2:8; Ps 68:25; Prov 30:19; Song of Songs 1:3; cf. Matt 25:1; Acts 21:9; 1 Cor 7:25-38).
Isaiah used this latter word when giving the Judean king Ahaz a sign of promise at the time of a combined Israelite-Syrian attack on Judah. He promised Ahaz that God would be with Judah. This divine protection would become so evident over the following months, that in thanks to God one of the Judean young women would name her new-born child Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us’. Not only would this be a sign to reassure the royal household, but before the child was three years old Israel and Syria would be powerless to trouble Judah further (Isa 7:10-16). When the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, Matthew saw this as a greater fulfilment of the words that Isaiah spoke to Ahaz. But the word translated ‘young woman’ in the promise to Ahaz was ambiguous. Isaiah used the word with its broader meaning of ‘young woman’, but Matthew used it with its narrower meaning of ‘virgin’. In the time of Ahaz, God promised to be with his people and protect them; but with the birth of Jesus, God came physically to live with human beings in their world (Matt 1:23; John 1:14).
Miraculous conception of Jesus
God is the source of all life. Usually he begins the process of human life in the womb of a woman through using a human father, but when he himself entered the stream of human life he began the process miraculously, by the work of his Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary (Matt 1:18,20; Luke 1:26-35; see MIRACLE). However, the development of the child in Mary’s womb and the birth of the child at the appointed time seem to have been normal. The child, though without a human father, was fully human (Luke 1:42; 2:6-7; Gal 4:4). The virgin conception of Jesus shows that Jesus was not some ordinary person to whom God added deity, but a unique person whose existence came about through God’s direct activity.
God did not make a human being into God; he became a human being. Jesus was not someone whom God adopted as his Son; he was actually God’s Son. He had existed eternally as the Son of God, and his coming into the world without the function of an earthly father was a clear demonstration of his divine origin (Luke 1:35; John 1:14; see SON OF GOD). Moreover, the direct activity of God in the conception of Jesus ensured that the child would be holy. There could be no chance that sin, which affects everything that people do, could affect him (Luke 1:35; 1 John 3:5). Jesus was the beginning of a new creation, separate from and unspoiled by sin. He was not under the curse of sin, but in the end he bore the sin of others, so that they through him might be part of God’s new creation (2 Cor 5:17,21; Col 3:9-10; Titus 3:4-7).
VISION
Many of the visions mentioned in the Bible seem to be little different from dreams (Gen 46:2; Job 33:15; Dan 7:1-2; Acts 16:9). The main difference seems to be that a dream occurred while a person was asleep, but a vision may have occurred while a person was either asleep or awake (1 Sam 3:3-15; Ps 89:19; Dan 2:19; 8:1-26; 9:20-23; Luke 1:22; Acts 9:10-17; 10:3,9-17). Also, dreams were a common experience among people in general, whereas visions were usually given by God to selected people for specific purposes (Gen 15:1; 2 Sam 7:17; Nahum 1:1; Dan 7:1; 8:1; Acts 11:4-18; 18:9).
In such cases people were not to boast about their visions, but give glory to God (2 Cor 12:1-10). (Concerning the interpretation of visions see DREAM.) Visions were often associated with prophets. Prophets were God’s messengers to the people, and God may have given them his messages through visions (Num 12:6; 2 Sam 7:17; Isa 1:1; Amos 3:7). To say there was ‘no vision in the land’ usually meant there were no prophets in the land; or, if there were prophets, they had no message from God. The people were going through a spiritual drought (1 Sam 3:1; Prov 29:18; Lam 2:9; Ezek 7:26; Amos 8:11-12; see PROPHET). False prophets usually claimed to have seen visions. In this way they hoped to gain acceptance among the people, and consequently receive a good income (Jer 14:14; 23:16-17; Micah 3:5-7). After the destruction of Jerusalem and the taking of the Jewish people into captivity in Babylon, visions had a more prominent place in the prophetic ministry (Ezek 1:4,15; 8:1-4; 37:1-6; Dan 7:1-4; 8:1). This developed further after the people returned to Jerusalem (Zech 1:8,18; 2:1), and continued to develop right through into New Testament times (Rev 1:12; 4:1).
These visions were largely concerned with the persecution that God’s people suffered because of the ungodly nations who ruled them. The message of the visions was that all nations and all events were under the control of God. When his predetermined time had come, he would intervene in the affairs of the world, overthrow evil, set up his kingdom and bring in the era of the new heavens and the new earth (Dan 9:24-27; Zech 5:5-11; 6:1-8; Rev 18:1-24; 20:1-15; 21:1-8; 22:1-5). (For details see APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE.)
VOW
A vow was a promise that a person made to God to do something (or not to do something), usually in return for God’s favour (Num 21:1-3; 1 Sam 1:11; Ps 56:12-13; 132:1-5). In some cases, however, a vow was not concerned with some specific blessing from God, but was purely an act of devotion by which a person offered to God worship and service (Num 6:1-8; Ps 61:8; 65:1; 76:11; cf. Acts 18:18; see also NAZIRITE).
Israelite regulations
All vows were voluntary, but once made they had be kept. A vow was as binding as an oath, and a broken vow brought God’s judgment (Num 30:2; Deut 23:21-23; Eccles 5:4-6; see OATH). Therefore, a person was not to make a vow in haste, but was to consider carefully what it involved (Prov 20:25; cf. Judg 10:30-40; see JEPHTHAH). To protect people from the consequences of rash vows, Israelite law placed a special responsibility upon the head of the household. If he heard his wife or daughter make a rash vow, he could cancel it, provided he acted immediately he heard the vow. If he at first allowed the vow then later changed his mind and forced the person to break it, God held him responsible for the broken vow (Num 30:1-16). Normally, once a vow had been fulfilled, the person was released from it by a ceremony that involved offering a sacrifice of dedication (Deut 12:6,26; Ps 50:14; 66:13). The Levitical law set out details concerning the sorts of things people could vow to God and the way they could offer them. If the offering they vowed was a person, they could not offer the person as a sacrifice, but had to buy back (redeem) the person by a payment of money to the sanctuary. The priests estimated the amount of money according to the usefulness of the person offered (Lev 27:1-8). Animals, houses and land that were vowed to God usually became the property of the sanctuary. The priests were free to decide whether to use the vowed articles or sell them. If people vowed an article then later wanted to keep it for personal use, they could buy it back from the sanctuary at a price estimated by the priests. However, they had to add a fine of one fifth of its value, since they were keeping for themselves something they had vowed to God (Lev 27:9-27). If the priests caught people being dishonest, such as trying to offer an inferior animal instead of the one they had vowed, they lost both (Lev 27:10). No one could vow to God anything that belonged to God already, such as the firstborn of animals (Lev 27:26,28-29).
Misuse of the system
The Israelite regulations for vows should have made people aware of the need for complete honesty, sincerity and devotion to God. Yet some people soon found ways of using the system deceitfully and for their own benefit. They used the making of vows to hide treachery (2 Sam 15:7-10), immorality (Prov 7:14) and selfishness (Mal 1:14). A well known example of the misuse of vows concerned the Jews of Jesus’ time. People would vow their possessions (or money) to the temple in such a way that, when they died, the goods became the property of the temple. The goods were ‘corban’, meaning ‘given to God’. Having promised the things to God, the owners said they were no longer free to give them to anyone else, not even to needy parents. But they themselves continued to enjoy the use of those things as long as they lived. As usual, Jesus condemned such people, for they cunningly used the details of legal regulations to excuse them from more important responsibilities (Mark 7:9-13).
Israelite regulations
for vows should have made people aware of the need for complete honesty, sincerity and devotion to God. Yet some people soon found ways of using the system deceitfully and for their own benefit. They used the making of vows to hide treachery (2 Sam 15:7-10), immorality (Prov 7:14) and selfishness (Mal 1:14). A well known example of the misuse of vows concerned the Jews of Jesus’ time. People would vow their possessions (or money) to the temple in such a way that, when they died, the goods became the property of the temple. The goods were ‘corban’, meaning ‘given to God’. Having promised the things to God, the owners said they were no longer free to give them to anyone else, not even to needy parents. But they themselves continued to enjoy the use of those things as long as they lived. As usual, Jesus condemned such people, for they cunningly used the details of legal regulations to excuse them from more important responsibilities (Mark 7:9-13).