July 1, 2013
TODAY'S VOCABULARY WORDS: COMMITMENT, DEVOTION, AND HOLINESS
Leviticus 27
Lenny Hurst
Central Truth
The high levels of commitment, devotion, and holiness the Lord required during the time of Moses should influence the way we commit, devote, and give to the Lord today.
Key Verse | Leviticus 27:28
"Nevertheless, anything which a man sets apart to the LORD out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the fields of his own property, shall not be sold or redeemed. Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to the LORD."(Leviticus 27:28)
Leviticus 27
Laws About Vows
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons, 3 then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels 1 27:3 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. 5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 6 If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8 And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.
9 If the vow 2 27:9 Hebrew it is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the LORD, all of it that he gives to the LORD is holy. 10 He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11 And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the LORD, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13 But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation.
14 When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the LORD, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his.
16 If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer 3 27:16 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, 18 but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. 19 And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. 20 But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. 21 But the field, when it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the LORD, like a field that has been devoted. The priest shall be in possession of it. 22 If he dedicates to the LORD a field that he has bought, which is not a part of his possession, 23 then the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the LORD. 24 In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. 25 Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs 4 27:25 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram shall make a shekel.
26 But a firstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the LORD, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD's. 27 And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.
28 But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. 29 No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction 5 27:29 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction) from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
30 Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; it is holy to the LORD. 31 If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 32 And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the LORD. 33 One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
34 These are the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.
Dive Deeper | Leviticus 27
Think back to elementary school, when you had a new set of vocabulary words to learn each week. After reading Leviticus 27, I feel I need to give myself another vocabulary lesson on the words commitment, devotion, and holiness. I especially need to pay attention to what I commit and devote to the Lord in my pursuit of holiness.
In chapter 27 of Leviticus, Moses gives specific monetary values and specific instructions to the Israelites for what they are devoting or "vowing" to the Lord. These specific values and instructions are given to Moses directly from the Lord. The monetary values for individuals vary, depending upon age and gender. If a person is devoting an animal to the Lord, that animal then becomes holy and cannot be sold or taken back. If it is suspected that the animal is ceremonially unclean, then the animal must be presented to the priest, and the priest will judge its quality and determine an appropriate value.
Pretty serious stuff, huh?! So how can we take this and apply it to the way we commit and devote ourselves, our possessions, and our time to the Lord today? Things are different today. We don't go around placing monetary value on people and devoting them to the Lord, but we are called to devote our OWN lives to the Lord. I think it's easy in today's society for us to bend on our commitment levels and in our commitments to God. People today (myself included) change jobs and careers more frequently than they did 50 years ago. People are more non-committal in relationships and marriages today than they were 50 years ago. Committing to a church is also tough for many people today. I wonder how much more committed I would be if I viewed my commitments as holy commitments, that belong to the Lord, that I cannot take back from Him? I need to view my time, my devotion, my all as most holy to the Lord. Let's try it together and see how God transforms us!
Discussion Questions
1. In what areas of your life do you already give a high level of devotion and commitment?
2. What areas of your life need a more firm commitment than what you currently give?
3. In your commitments and devotion to God, where can you improve?
4. What are you calling your own that you should relinquish ownership of and devote to the Lord?