If you follow the news on Diddy Combs and his complete disregard towards people, you might start to wonder about human worth, for without a Creator, human value turns into a commodity to be used by the highest bidder. The book of Leviticus has a different take. From the beginning of the Book, we see themes of forgiveness, dedication, becoming clean, and priesthood. So, why does chapter 27 give a monetary value to people and property? Does YHWH own people?
The prophet Jeremiah, reminds both Judah and Israel about their first love and how that life was filled with blessing and peace. Though when these called out nations rejected YHWH, they experienced the very things that come from idol worship: pain, chaos, and death. Are these consequences of a vindictive God or from gods of destruction? To find the answer to this, you may want to ask those people who follow the ways of Diddy.
Yet, even when Israel and Judah reject the Living God, YHWH stands by His vow to provide a solution. To restore a stiff-necked people, is the deepest kind of love we can possibly know. Love overcomes, love never fails, love is patient. Yeshua is this full expression of love.
31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord. (Jer. 31)
Valuation in Leviticus 27 points to Messiah in the same way that the entire law does. The topic of valuation itself points to the corruption of our hearts: that we do not value one another and the Lord as we ought to. The fact of Leviticus, following the spectacular rescue of Israel from bondage, speaks loudly of the problem which is not with YHWH’s commands but with the very need to have them in the first place. (Surprising Truths Leviticus 27 Teaches about Vow, Valuation, and the Gospel, C. Lucey)
Belief in Yeshua Messiah and of the Father is a vow. “I believe” sets you apart to receive the Spirit. Yeshua takes that belief and begins to write His Spirit, His Truth, His commands on your heart. This is a vow I can stand on. Are you ready to love Him and others for his mighty works?
The psalmist declared, “Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared” (Psalm 76:11).
Yeshua taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:37).
Yeshua warns, “. . . on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt. 12:36-37
Being honest in our response to YHWH and in our dealings with others is the expectation of a kingdom citizen! Therefore, Believe!
When we look at the valuations set in Leviticus 27, they are rather large. The average wage of a worker in biblical times was between a ½ and one shekel per month. It is little wonder that few could afford the valuations of 20-50 shekels set out in the text. The picture once again expresses a high human worth.
The book of Leviticus closes with laws on vows and tithes. On first reading, it seems a bit strange for Leviticus to end on vows and tithes. But the theme of vowing is in fact closely related to the principal concerns of the entire scroll. Those who dedicate themselves to YHWH become His bond-servants, holy to the Lord.
Thus, these last chapters remind us of the great themes that have engaged our attention in the rest of the book. Holiness is more than a matter of ritual. Its attainment requires the total consecration of a man’s life to God’s service. It involves giving yourself, your family, and all your possessions to God. Thereby, you come into His House–the Aleph/Tav covering—the Strength of the Covenant vow made by YHWH Himself.
Be blessed this Sabbath,
Rollyn