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Leviticus 27.1-8
1Now the LORDspoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your valuation, 3if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4If it isa female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels; 5and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your valuation for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels; 6and if from a month old up to five years old, then your valuation for a male shall be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver; 7and if from sixty years old and above, if it isa male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8But if he is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for him; according to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.’”
These laws seem strange, but let me not miss the close association between things spiritual and material. Whatever I devote to the Lord, I need to deliver to Him – including my time, my heart, my words, and my deeds. How can I prepare to make such sound and faithful offerings today? And carry them through?
Evening Mediation
Leviticus 27.9-15
9“‘If it isan animal that men may bring as an offering to the Lord, all that anyonegives to the LORDshall be holy. 10He shall not substitute it or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good; and if he at all exchanges animal for animal, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy. 11If it is an unclean animal which they do not offer as a sacrifice to the Lord, then he shall present the animal before the priest; 12and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be.13But if he wantsat all toredeem it, then he must add one-fifth to your valuation. 14And when a man dedicates his house to beholy to the Lord, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15If he who dedicated it wantsto redeem his house, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.’”
Leviticus 27.16-27
16“’If a man dedicates to the LORDpartof a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. A homer of barley seed shall be valuedat fifty shekels of silver. 17If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. 18But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money due according to the years that remain till the Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19And if he who dedicates the field ever wishes to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall belong to him. 20But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore; 21but the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the Lord, as a devoted field; it shall be the possession of the priest. 22And if a man dedicates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not the field of his possession, 23then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation, up to the Year of Jubilee, and he shall give your valuation on that day as a holy offeringto the Lord. 24In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to the one whoowned the land as a possession. 25And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel. 26But the firstborn of the animals, which should be the LORD’s firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whetherit is an ox or sheep, it isthe LORD’s. 27And if it isan unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.’”
I need to remember that I’m looking at statutes associated with the first commandment. The people of Israel made provision to devote themselves materially to the Lord, and God expected them to be assiduous in carrying out these commitments. How do I show the Lord my love and commitment to Him in temporal and material ways? How did I do so today?
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.