27:9,10God taught the Israelites that when they made a vow to him, they must not go back on their promise even if it turned out to cost more than expected. (This applied to animals; humans could be redeemed or purchased back.) God takes our promises seriously. If you vow to give 10 percent of your income and suddenty some unexpected bills come along, your faithful stewardship will be costly. God, however, expects you to fulfill your vow even if it is difficult to do so.
Life Application Study BibleLeviticusChapter 27
Leviticus 27
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 197, 198
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Redemption of Gifts Offered to the LorRD
12 The LORD said to Moses, 2“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate someone to the LORD by paying the value of that person, $here is the scale of values to be used. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty is valued at fifty shekels* of silver, as measured by the sanctuary shekel. 4A woman of that age is valued at thirty shekels* of silver. 5A boy between the ages of five and twenty is valued at twenty shekels of silver; a girl of that age is valued at ten shekels* of silver. &A boy between the ages of one month and five years is valued at five shekels of silver; a girl of that age is valued at three shekels* of silver. 7A man older than sixty is valued at fifteen shekels of silver;a woman of that age is valued at ten shekels* of silver. 8If you desire to make such a vow but cannot afford to pay the required amount, take the person to the priest. He will determine the amount for you to pay based on what you can afford. 9“Tf your vow involves giving an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the LORD, any gift to the LORD will be considered holy. 10You may not exchange or substitute it for another anima!—neither a good animal for a bad one nor a bad animal for a good one. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy. 11If your vow involves an unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the LORD—then you must bring the animal to the priest. 'He will assess its value, and his assessment will be final, whether high or low. 13If you want to buy back the animal, you must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. 14"If someone dedicates a house to the LORD, the priest will come to assess its value. The priest’s assessment will be final, whether high or low. ‘If the person who dedicated the house wants to buy it back, he must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. Then the house will again be his. 16‘If someone dedicates to the LORD a piece of his family property, its value will be assessed according to the amount of seed required to plant it—fifty shekels of silver for a field planted with five bushels of barley seed.* 17If the field is dedicated to the LORD in the Year of Jubilee, then the entire assessment will apply. But if the field is dedicated after the Year of Jubilee, the priest will assess the land’s value in proportion to the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee. Its assessed value is reduced each year. 19If the person who dedicated the field wants to buy it back, he must pay the value set by the priest, plus 20 percent. Then the field will again be legally his. 20But if he does not want to buy it back, and it is sold fo someone else, the field can no longer be bought back. 2 When the field is released in the Year of Jubilee, it will be holy, a field specially set apart* for the LORD. It will become the property of the priests. 22“Tf someone dedicates to the LORD a field he has purchased but which is not part of his family property, 23 the priest will assess its value based on the number of years left until the next Year of Jubilee. On that day he must give the assessed value of the land as a sacred donation to the LORD. 24In the Year of Jubilee the field must be returned to the person from whom he purchased it, the one who inherited it as family property. 25(All the payments must be measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel,* which equals twenty gerahs.) 26You may not dedicate a firstborn animal to the Lor, for the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats already belong to him. 27However, you may buy back the firstborn of a ceremonially unclean animal by paying the priest's assessment of its worth, plus 20 percent. If you do not buy it back, the priest will sell it at its assessed value. 28“However, anything specially set apart for the LORD—whether a person, an animal, or farnily property—must never be sold or bought back. Anything devoted in this way has been set apart as holy, and it belongs to the LORD. 29No person specially set apart for destruction may be bought back. Such a person must be put to death. 30One tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD and must be set apart to himas holy. 31If you want to buy back the LORD’s tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent. 32Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the LORD as holy. 3You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another. But if you do exchange one animal for another, then both the original animal and its substitute will be considered holy and cannot be bought back.” 34These are the commands that the Lor gave through Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
Textual footnotes
- silver; a girl... 4 ounces [114 grams].
- [34 grams}.
- here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them
- as an offering; also in 27:28, 29.
- 27:3 Or 20 ounces [570 grams].
- 27:4 Or 12 ounces {342 grams}.
- 27:5 Or A boy... 8 ounces [228 grams] of
- 27:6 Or A boy... 2 ounces [57 grams] of silver; a girl... 1.2 ounces
- 27:7 Or A man... 6 ounces [171 grams} of silver; a woman... 4 ounces [114 grams}, 27:16 Hebrew
- 27:21 The Hebrew term used
- 27:50 shekels [20 ounces, or 570 grams] of silver for a homer [182 liters] of barley seed.
Life Application Notes 4 notes
27:14-25Real estate could be given as a voluntary offering in much the same way that today people give property through a will or donate the proceeds from the sale of property to a church or Christian organizations.
27:25Each shekel was about 0.4 ounces [11 grams] in weight.
41:47The designations clean and unclean were used to define the kind of animals the Israelites could and could not eat. There were several reasons for this restricted diet: (1) To ensure the health of the nation. The forbidden foods were usually scavenging animals that fed on dead animals; thus disease could be transmitted through them. (2) To visibly distinguish Israel from other outside the camp. Since priests were responsible for the health of the camp, it was their duty to expel and readmit lepers. If someone's leprosy appeared to go away, only the priest could decide if that person was truly cured. Leprosy is often used in the Bible as an illustration of sin because sin is contagious and destructive and teads to separation.
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Study feature · page 198
mands we can learn much about God's nature and character. At first glance, Leviticus seems irrelevant to our high-tech world But digging a little deeper, we realize that the book still speaks to us today—God has not changed, and his principles are for all times. As people and society change, we need constantly to search for ways to apply the principles of God’s law to our present circumstances. God was the same in Leviticus as he is today and will be forever (Hebrews 13:8).
27:28, 29 Things set apart (devoted) applies to personal property or persons placed under God’s ban, such as captured plunder from idol worshipers or idols themselves. These were to be destroyed and could not be redeemed. 27:33 Many of the principles regarding sacrifices and tithes were intended to encourage inward attitudes as well as outward actions. If a person gives grudgingly, he shows that he has a stingy heart. God wants us to be cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7), who give with gratitude to him. 27:34 The book of Leviticus is filled with the commands God gave his people at the foot of Mount Sinai. From these com-
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IN NUMBERS
MYKEY PLACES
leader from each tribe was sent to spy out the new land. After 40 days they returned, and all but Joshua and Caleb were too afraid to enter. Because of their lack of faith, the Israelites were made to wander in the wilderness for 40 years (12:16— 19:22). 3 Kadesh With the years of wandering Nearing an end, the Israelites set their sights once again on the Promised Land. Kadesh was the oasis where they spent most of their desert years. Miriam died here. And it was here that Moses angrily struck the rock, which kept him from entering the Promised Land (20). 4 Arad When the king there heard that Israel was on the move, he attacked, but he was soundly defeated. Moses then led the people southward and eastward around the Dead Sea (21:1-3). 5 Edom The Israelites wanted to travel through Edom, but the king of Edom refused them passage (20:14-22). So they traveled around Edom and became very discouraged. The people complained, and God sent poisonous snakes to punish them. Only by looking at a bronze snake on a pole could those bitten be healed (21:4-9). 6 Ammon Next, King Sihon of the Amorites refused Israel passage. When he attacked, Israel defeated his army and conquered the territory as far as the border of Ammon (21:21-32). 7 Bashan Moses sent spies to Bashan. .: 3 King Og attacked, but he was also iC: ‘ defeated (21:33-35). Mediterranean Sea Modem names and boundaries are shown in gray. 8 Plains of Moab ©The peaple camped ay: on the plains of Moab, east of the 1 Mount Sinai Numbers begins at Mount Sinai in the wilderness Jordan River across from Jericho. They were on the verge of Sinai with Moses taking a census of the men eligible for battle. of entering the Promised Land (22:1). As the battle preparations began, the people also prepared for 9 Moab King Balak of Moab, terrified of the Israelites, called upon the spiritual warfare they would face. The Promised Land was Balaam, a famous sorcerer, to curse Israel from the mountains full of wicked people who would try to entice the Israelites to sin. above where the Israelites camped. But the LORD caused Balaam God, "therefore, taught Moses and the (sraelites how to live right to bless them instead (22:2—24:25). : (11~12:15). 10 Gilead ~The tribes of Reuben and Gad decided to settle in the ess of Paran After a full year at Mount Sinai, the Israel- fertile country of Gilead east of the Jordan River because it was ites. broke camp and began their march toward the Promised a good land for their sheep. But first they promised to help the id by moving into the wilderness of Paran. From there, one other tribes conquer the land west of the Jordan River (32).
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