Leviticus

Leviticus 27: Vows and tithes to the LORD

Begin in prayer

Before you read Leviticus 27, the final chapter of the book, where God regulates vows, things dedicated or devoted to the LORD, and the tithe of the land and flock, bow your heads. Ask the Lord to help us see that we belong wholly to Him through Christ's blood.

It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows.

Proverbs 20:25

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that all we have belongs to You, and thank You that Jesus redeemed His people not with silver or gold, but with His own precious blood. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In Leviticus 27 the LORD gives Moses laws at Mount Sinai for voluntary vows and dedicated things. When someone vows the value of a person, the price is set in sanctuary shekels, or lowered for the poor. Vowed animals for the altar are holy and cannot be swapped. Dedicated houses, fields, and unclean animals are valued until the Jubilee, and redeeming them requires adding a fifth. Firstborn animals belong to the LORD, devoted things cannot be redeemed, and the tithe is holy to the LORD.

As you read Leviticus 27, look for the answers:

• If a man who makes a vow is poorer than the set valuation, how does the priest treat him? (verse 8)
• What happens if someone tries to change a vowed animal or tithe animal for another, and how much must be added to redeem a dedicated house, field, or tithe? (verses 10, 13, 15, 19, 31 and 33)
• Why can no one dedicate a firstborn animal by a vow, and what cannot be sold or ransomed at all? (verses 26, 28 and 29)

Reflect together

Key truth

Everything belongs to the LORD, and only Christ's blood can ransom sinners under God's judgment.

Leviticus 27 closes the book with laws on voluntary vows and the sanctuary's support. Verses 1 to 8 set silver valuations for a vow, while the priest kindly lowered the sum for the poor (verse 8). Those numbers were not human worth, for male and female are made equally in God's image (Genesis 1 verse 27). Vowed altar animals could not be swapped, and buying back a dedicated field required adding a fifth until Jubilee (verses 9 to 25). Firstborn animals could not be vowed because “It is Yahweh's” already (verse 26). What was devoted under God's ban of judgment could never be ransomed, for “he shall surely be put to death” (verses 28 and 29). Verses 30 to 33 declare the tithe “holy to Yahweh,” fulfilled as Christ calls believers to give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9 verse 7). And where no silver could ransom a sinner, Christ gave His blood for eternal redemption (1 Peter 1 verse 18).

How does Leviticus 27 show us that everything belongs to the LORD, and only Christ's blood can ransom sinners under God's judgment?

God takes vows seriously, yet shows mercy to the poor according to their ability.

For a voluntary vow, the law set fixed silver amounts in sanctuary shekels (verses 2 to 7). For a poor man, verse 8 says, “The priest shall assign a value according to his ability to pay.” If someone vowed a clean animal, he could not swap “a good for a bad” (verses 9 and 10). God accepts a cheerful gift according to what a person has, not what he does not have (2 Corinthians 8 verse 12).

Dedicated houses and fields are valued to the Jubilee, and redeeming adds a fifth.

If a man dedicated his house or field, the priest valued it by the years until the Jubilee (verses 14 to 18). To buy back a dedicated animal, house, or field, the owner had to “add the fifth part” (verses 13, 15 and 19). Firstborn animals could not be vowed at all, because “It is Yahweh's” already (verse 26).

No silver can ransom one devoted to judgment, and the tithe is the LORD's.

Whatever was devoted under God's judicial ban was most holy and could not be bought back (verse 28). No one devoted to judgment could be ransomed, for “he shall surely be put to death” (verse 29). Verses 30 to 33 close with Israel's ceremonial tithe, while Christ calls believers to cheerful giving today (2 Corinthians 9 verse 7).

Memorise

All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh.

Leviticus 27:30

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, am I bargaining with God, or trusting Jesus who bought sinners with His blood?

Leviticus 27 closes the book with vows, redemptions, and tithes at Mount Sinai. A house, a field, or a tithe could be bought back by paying silver and adding “the fifth part.” Yet verse 29 warns of a sentence no silver could undo, “No one devoted, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed.”

When we look at the whole law of Moses given on Mount Sinai, verse 29 shows why no sinner can buy his way out of judgment. Because we have broken God's holy commandments, we stand under the curse of the law and the sentence of death. All the silver, vows, and tithes in the world could never ransom our souls. That is why God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ. As 1 Peter 1 verses 18 and 19 teaches, we are redeemed not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. On the cross, Jesus took the death sentence and curse in His people's place, and on the third day He rose again. His one sacrifice is enough forever.

Stop trying to bargain with God by your own promises or gifts. Turn from your sin and trust in Jesus today. Everyone who trusts Him is forgiven, redeemed without money, and made the Lord's forever.

Parent's note

Tell your children that no money or promise can buy away our sin, for only Jesus' blood redeems sinners from death. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for the whole book of Leviticus and for sending Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, to redeem sinners by His death, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Hebrews 9:15

Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching our family through the whole book of Leviticus. We confess that we could never ransom our souls with silver or keep our vows without stain. Thank You that Jesus died for the redemption of our transgressions and mediates the new covenant for all who trust Him. Please forgive us through faith in Jesus, and take our whole lives as Yours. Amen.