Leviticus 27:16-34 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 27:16-34, and it’s full of lessons for us. Let’s go!
Leviticus 27:16 (NIV)
16 “‘If a man dedicates to the LORD part of his family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it–fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed.
On verse 16: Notice that the land is be valued based on “the amount of seed required for it”, that is, how much harvest that land is able to produce. Why didn’t God base the value of the land on the things real estate agents look at, like desirability of location, quality of the surrounding neighborhood, safety of the area or what schools or public transit are nearby? It’s because the land ultimately belonged to God anyway (see Leviticus 25:23) and the Israelites were to see themselves as tenants on that land.
There’s a lesson in this: it is true that we are all of great worth to God, such that God gave His only Son Jesus Christ just for the chance to be in relationship with you. But just as God focuses here on how much a particular piece of land is able to produce, so God focuses on our development potential. God sees us not just for what we are now, but what we can become. His vision for us is that we would bear maximum fruit for God’s glory.
Leviticus 27:17-21 (NIV)
17 If he dedicates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.
18 But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced.
19 If the man who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, he must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become his.
20 If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed.
21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it will become the property of the priests.
On verses 17-21: In Leviticus 25, we learned that in the Year of Jubilee, Israelite families got their originally inherited lands back. So if an Israelite sold a piece of land that belonged to his family from the beginning, that piece of land would return to him in the Year of Jubilee (see Leviticus 25:23-28). There was an exception to this rule though: if an Israelite dedicated that “family land” (v16) to God, saying, “God this land belonged to my family but now it belongs to You”, and if before the Year of Jubilee that Israelite did not redeem the dedicated land by paying to the priests an amount equal to 120% of the land’s value (v19), that dedicated land permanently became “God’s property”, the property of the priests.
It reminds me that when we receive Jesus into our lives as Saviour and King, we’re effectively dedicating our lives to Him. But after that moment of dedication, God still entrusts us with those lives, such that if we really wanted to, we have the freedom to (foolishly) take those lives back and use them for our own selfish purposes, albeit paying a higher price to get our life back. But when our “year of jubilee” comes, i.e. when we die and the opportunity to go to heaven is now before us, if we didn’t take our lives back, we belong to God forever. What can we learn from this? After giving your life to Jesus that first time, instead of taking your life back for yourself, keep surrendering your life to Jesus until that day of jubilee when you get to see Jesus face to face when you get to be God’s forever.
Leviticus 27:22-29 (NIV)
22 “‘If a man dedicates to the LORD a field he has bought, which is not part of his family land,
23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man must pay its value on that day as something holy to the LORD.
24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom he bought it, the one whose land it was.
25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the LORD; whether an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.
27 If it is one of the unclean animals, he may buy it back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If he does not redeem it, it is to be sold at its set value.
28 “‘But nothing that a man owns and devotes to the LORD–whether man or animal or family land–may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
29 “‘No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; he must be put to death.
On verse 22-29: While certain things that a person dedicated to God could be bought back (as described in verses 22-27), things that a person devoted to God could not be ransomed or bought back (v28-29). What’s the difference between dedicating (qadash in Hebrew) and devoting (haram in Hebrew) something to God? It seems that in ancient Israelite culture, “devoting” something took on a higher level of seriousness than “dedicating” something. When you devoted something, most likely it came with a vow that you could not revoke later on. For example, in Judges 11:30-31 when Jephthah vowed that if God gave him victory, he would sacrifice the first thing that met him at the door of his house (Judges 11:30-31), this was most likely him devotingsomething to God. You could buy back something you dedicated to God but you couldn’t buy back something you devoted to God.
What can we learn from this? God takes our vows seriously. Just as God is faithful to His Word, we must be people who keep our word and who make good on our promises.
Leviticus 27:30-33 (NIV)
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it.
32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock–every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod–will be holy to the LORD.
33 He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.'”
On verses 30-33: Here God commands the Israelites to tithe, that is, give to God the first 10% of what they harvest. A tithe literally means “one tenth”. As followers of Jesus today, we are to tithe as well. Why? Here are four reasons why it is essential for Christians to tithe:
1. Because God commands us to tithe. Leviticus 27:30 says that the first 10% of what we earn belongs to God. When we tithe, we’re not tipping God or giving him a bonus for good performance. Tithing is giving God what already belongs to Him. In fact, Malachi 3:8 tells us that when we fail to tithe, we are robbing God.
Malachi 3:8 (NIV)
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings.”
The New Testament affirms the call for followers of Jesus today to tithe too (for example, see Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). Tithing is not an option. It’s a command. When I refuse to tithe, I’m disobeying God’s word.
2. Because tithing shows that God has first place in my life. If a person says, “I put God first”, but they’re not willing to tithe the first part of their income to God as He commanded, are they really putting God first? The answer is no.
Deuteronomy 14:23 (TLB) says “…The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.” Tithing helps us put our priorities in order and reminds us of who we belong to and what’s most important in life.
3. Because tithing gives God a chance to prove He exists and wants to bless you!
Malachi 3:10 is the only place in Scripture where God encourages us to test Him. It says,
Malachi 3:10 (NIV)
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
In other words, God promises that when we are faithful in tithing, He will provide us with everything we need and more than we contain.
Tithing is an exercise in faith. Our faith grows when we tithe, and with greater faith, God is able to bless us even more.
4. Because we need to take good care of the church God has given us.
As we have been learning repeatedly in Leviticus, God wants to make sure that those who work in the church are well taken care of by the people they serve. Tithing is not only a spiritual exercise; it also serves a practical purpose: to equip the church with a regular supply of resources to accomplish its mission and to provide materially for those who dedicate their working lives to serving the church. As Malachi 3:10 (NIV) says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”
So here’s the question: are you tithing? As followers of Jesus, let’s be faithful in our tithes and offerings, so that we can live out God’s command, experience His blessing on our lives, and take good care of the church He has given to us.
Leviticus 27:30-33 (NIV)
34 These are the commands the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
On verse 34: This completes our look at Leviticus. These commands which God gave Moses for the Israelites in Leviticus are also pictures by which we can appreciate more of God’s heart and what Jesus would later do for us.
Heavenly Father, You are the source of every good thing I have in life. Since it all belongs to You, may I not hesitate to give You what is Yours, knowing that You are faithful to provide for all my needs. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
