Whatever we devote to God must go to God.

“But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.”

Matthew 26.6-13

“Devoted things” might include spoil taken in battle or perhaps simply special offerings to the Lord for one reason or another. Devoting something to the Lord was not to be done frivolously or without full intention of carrying out the offering Once something was devoted, it could not be redeemed. It was the Lord’s.

The same applied to enemy prisoners. It seems harsh to us to devote enemies to destruction by the sword, but we must remember the danger of allowing the pagan peoples of that day to influence the people of Israel. In the wisdom of God, for that time and place, He determined that the safest course for His people is to eliminate all their enemies who fall into their hands. Israel failed to do this more often than not, and spiritual and moral compromise, even disaster, were frequently the result (cf. Deut. 2.12, 20-23; Jdgs. 1.6, 7; 1 Sam. 15.33).

Order a copy of The Law of God from our online store, and begin daily reading in the commandments, statutes, testimonies, precepts, and rules of God, which are the cornerstone of divine revelation. Sign up at our website to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, written by T. M. Moore.

God honors faithfulness with fulfilled promises.

God intends us to use our offerings for His purposes in our lives.

How we give is as important as what.

God can speak to us through the arts.