The First Commandment

No other gods

Leviticus 27.16-25

“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 of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, 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. 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. 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. 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. If he dedicates to the LORD a field that he has bought, which is not a part of his possession, 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. In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.”

2 Samuel 24.18-24

Leviticus 27.26, 27

“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. 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.”

These special valuation dedications could not be allowed to substitute for the regular offerings. What was owed to the Lord should be given first; special offerings, if desired, were to come after. Land could be offered to the Lord, and we see the guidelines for how that was to be done. But devoted land could not be redeemed – as we’ve seen of devoted things previously – and so, at the Jubilee, rather than return to the owner, it passed into the possession of the priests, to be used permanently to support the Lord’s workers.

It is appropriate that the statutes developing our understanding of the first commandment should end with this broad encouragement about giving. The more people give to the Lord, the more they confirm their love for Him, ensure His blessings on their labors, and are thus encouraged to give more still.

 This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.