Leviticus 27:1-34
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.
3 And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
4 And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.
5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.
7 And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.
10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.
11 And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:
12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.
13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
14 And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.
15 And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.
16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
17 If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.
18 But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.
19 And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.
20 And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.
21 But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.
22 And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;
23 Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD.
24 In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.
25 And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD'S.
27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.
28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.
29 None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.
30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
34 These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Leviticus 27:2. A singular vow. When a man shall vow a vow; or as others contend, when a man shall vow to give the price of his life or labour to the Lord. The family of Aaron being appointed priests, and the whole tribe of Levi their assistants; persons desirous of aiding in the worship of the tabernacle, were but little encouraged. Some devoted persons were however accepted; and women were not exempt, for they could prepare the linen. But the levites were too numerous for the sacred service; and therefore they were very much employed as private tutors, Deuteronomy 14:27; and they diffused their services to the more distant parts of the land. See Numbers 30.
Leviticus 27:28. No devoted thing. חרם cherem, which the LXX render anathema. These strong words place the consciences of men in a most serious situation, who violate their vows, and rob God and the church of devoted things. They steal the offering, and God adds the leprosy as a punishment.
REFLECTIONS.
Coming now to the close of this sacred and shadowy code, we find the Israelites who devoted themselves to God by the vows of a national covenant, might also, to a certain extent, dispose of their persons and gifts in the same way. Every man might devote himself, his beast, his house, or a lot out of his land; and if not accepted, the value of it was paid into the public treasury for the service of God. The priest might enjoy a field so devoted, till the jubilee, and in some cases for ever. Over this treasure, whether arising from the spoils of war or from private gifts, the kings had a limited controul. 2 Samuel 8:11. 1Ki 7:51; 1 Kings 15:18. David designed and Solomon applied the public treasure towards the building of the temple; and sometimes the kings of Judah have purchased a peace with their enemies out of the sacred treasury.
To modify extravagant vows, the priest was appointed to estimate the services of devoted persons, and the worth of devoted things. Where a poor man in the warmth of his affections had devoted himself imprudently, he could mitigate the price of his redemption. In our vows and purposes we should therefore be prudent, and consider whether we be able to do so and so; whether it be wanted, and whether the Lord will accept our services and our work. He requires a reasonable service; and all rash and indiscreet vows are but obtrusions on the divine regard. In the dark ages of the church, when the Roman Catholic religion was in all its splendour, the vowing trade was carried to great excess. The churches and monasteries were incredibly enriched. No man would appear at a martyr's shrine empty; and scarcely an opulent man died, but he left an ox-gang of land, that the monks might pray for his soul. In sickness, trouble, or danger at sea, vows of the most ridiculous kind were often made, and almost as often not paid; and being the effect of guilt and fear, they frequently exposed religion to very great contempt. Nevertheless if a christian choose to make a religious vow, he has the example of St. Paul, and the sanction of the new testament for so doing; and provided the purposes of his heart are discreet and well timed, both he and his services shall be pleasing to God. In short, I would have every christian live in close covenant with God. I would have him consider himself as a person devoted in baptism, and more closely still by self-dedication and covenant. And though he may find daily breaches in his vows and purposes, let him every day renew his efforts, and live nearer to the Lord: purposes so sacred shall strengthen his faith in the hour of temptation.
The Lord having prescribed his service, and appointed his ministers, next provided them a rich store of food in the tenths of cattle and corn: and although the laws of tithe are not repeated, or sanctioned in the new testament, our lands not coming by lot as in Israel: yet we are to revere the laws of our country, and see that neither God's ministers nor his house lack whatever may be for his glory, or the advancement of true piety. Those who roll in luxury and affluence, and do nothing for religion, will stand in an awful situation when they meet the Lord and giver of all.
But God having so well provided for his servants, let them learn to labour with all their might. Let their piety be as the heated iron, warming and sanctifying all around; and let their sermons be as the hammer which scatters the sparks on every side, that the most distant sphere of their labours may be kindled with the sacred fire.