LEVITICUS 65


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 27:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying,"  Leviticus 27:2 "Speak unto the children of
Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the
persons [shall be] for the LORD by thy estimation."

     This last chapter of Leviticus is about the seriousness of making
vows to God. These Israelites, many times made vows to God, when they
were asking from something from God. We see, in the verse above, that
a person could vow their own selves to God. This was a practice of the
Israelites.  They knew that they could be redeemed from God for a
certain figure that God had set for each person. We Christians have
been redeemed from sin and death by the precious blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Silver shekels were used as redemption money, because
silver means redemption.

     Leviticus 27:3 "And thy estimation shall be of the male from
twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall
be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary."
Leviticus 27:4 "And if it [be] a female, then thy estimation shall be
thirty shekels."  Leviticus 27:5 "And if [it be] from five years old
even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male
twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels."  Leviticus 27:6 "And
if [it be] from a month old even unto five years old, then thy
estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the
female thy estimation [shall be] three shekels of silver."  Leviticus
27:7 "And if [it be] from sixty years old and above; if [it be] a
male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female
ten shekels."

     We see from this, that the very old and the very young were
priced less than for a full grown person. This was because they were
not capable of working as hard as an adult. The price of a female of
equal age of a male was less, because they were not as physically
strong to work as the male.

     Leviticus 27:8 "But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he
shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value
him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him."

     A person who was unable to pay the set amount for redemption,
would be priced by the priest. They would have to pay the amount the
priest thought them capable to pay.  They were not exempt from paying,
because they were poor, but their price was figured on their ability
to pay.

     Leviticus 27:9 "And if [it be] a beast, whereof men bring an
offering unto the LORD, all that [any man] giveth of such unto the
LORD shall be holy."

     Something vowed to God, became holy because it had been dedicated
to Him. It did not matter whether it had been delivered to the temple
or not. It became God's, when it was vowed.

     Leviticus 27:10 "He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for
a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for
beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy."

     This is just saying that things vowed to God can not be taken
back, unless they are unclean. Instead of getting the first animal
back in trade, they would now both belong to God.

     Let us depart for a moment, here and use an example of Ananias
and Sapphira to show the seriousness of vowing things to God, and then
not doing what you vowed. There are a number of lessons to be learned
in this. They were not required to vow at all, they did it of their
own free will. They did not have to promise all the money from the
sale.  They could have given whatever portion they wanted to. The sin
involved is not keeping the vow to God, and even worse, lying about
the price of the land. Notice also, that each of them sinned. She
would not have been guilty of sin, if she had told the truth. She was
not guilty, because of her husband's sin, but because of her sin. Each
was punished individually for their own sin. The main lesson we are to
learn in this, is keep your vows to God, and never lie to God.  Look
for these lessons in the following Scriptures. Acts 5:1 "But a certain
man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,"  Acts
5:2 "And kept back [part] of the price, his wife also being privy [to
it], and brought a certain part, and laid [it] at the apostles' feet."
Acts 5:3 "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart
to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back [part] of the price of the
land?" Acts 5:4 "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived
this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."
Acts 5:5 "And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the
ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things."  Acts
5:6 "And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried [him] out, and
buried [him]."  Acts 5:7 "And it was about the space of three hours
after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in."  Acts 5:8
"And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so
much? And she said, Yea, for so much."  Acts 5:9 "Then Peter said unto
her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the
Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband [are] at
the door, and shall carry thee out."  Acts 5:10 "Then fell she down
straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men
came in, and found her dead, and, carrying [her] forth, buried [her]
by her husband."

     Leviticus 27:11 "And if [it be] any unclean beast, of which they
do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the
beast before the priest:"  Leviticus 27:12 "And the priest shall value
it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, [who art] the
priest, so shall it be."

     If by accident a man has brought an unclean animal to the priest
to pay his vow to God, the priest shall determine whether it is
unclean or not. If it is unclean it would belong to the priest.
     Leviticus 27:13 "But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall
add a fifth [part] thereof unto thy estimation."

     If the man desires to buy it back from the priest, he must add
20% to the estimated value for the priest's trouble.

     Leviticus 27:14  "And when a man shall sanctify his house [to be]
holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be
good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand."

     A person usually needed their house to live in, so they usually
redeemed the house. The price of redemption was set by the estimation
of its value by the priest.

     Leviticus 27:15 "And if he that sanctified it will redeem his
house, then he shall add the fifth [part] of the money of thy
estimation unto it, and it shall be his."

     Here, again, if the person who vowed the house wanted it back, he
must pay 20% over the estimated value for the trouble the priest went
to.

     In all of this, and in the next lesson, we must see that these
were not requirements from God to do. These were voluntary vows. Once
they were made they must be kept. This is like a minister called of
God.  The person called has the option to answer the call or not, but
once the call is answered, it would be a serious thing to go back on
the promise. A minister must count the cost, before he or she answers
the call.  Lot's wife learned the hard way not to look back to the old
life with longing. She was turned to a pillar of salt when she looked
back.  Two very important lessons to get from this lesson. 1. Do not
make hasty vows to God. 2. After the vow is made, you must keep it.






















                             Questions 65

1.  What is chapter 27 of Leviticus all about?
2.  Why were vows made to God?
3.  What was the price we Christians were redeemed from sin and death
    for?
4.  Why was the redemption money made of silver?
5.  What was the price of a male between the age of 20 and 60?
6.  What was the price of a female of the same age?
7.  Why were the very young and the very old less?
8.  What was one reason the redemption money could be less?
9.  Who set the redemption price in these special cases?
10. Beasts dedicated to God became _____.
11. Who were the 2 people in the Bible, who vowed a vow to God, and
    then lied about the price?
12. What happened to them?
13. Were they obligated to make this vow?
14. Could they have vowed part of the money without sinning?
15. Was the woman guilty, because her husband lied?
16. Who did Peter say they lied to?
17. Just exactly what was the sin they committed?
18. What happened, if you accidentally offered an unclean animal?
19. Was it possible to redeem it?
20. What would be the redemption price?
21. Who set the redemption price for the house that was vowed?
22. Why was 20% added to the price to buy it back?
23. What were the 2 main lessons we can learn from this lesson?