Making Promises to The Lord

Leviticus 27:1–34
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

The Lord told Moses to say to Israel (vv. 1-2): If you ever want to free someone, you may do so by paying different amounts (vv. 3-7). If you have promised to give someone to me and can’t afford to pay the full amount you will be taken to a priest who will decide how much you can afford (vv. 8-10). Donkeys are unfit for sacrifice, so if you promise me a donkey, you must let the priest determine its value (vv. 11-13). If you promise a horse, a priest will set the price,  (vv. 14-15). If you promise your family’s land, its value will be determined by the bushels of seed needed to plant the land (vv. 16-18).

If you decide to buy back the land, you must pay an extra twenty percent, but you cannot buy it back once someone else has bought it (vv. 19-21). If you promiseme a field, its value will be decided by a priest, according to the years before the next Year of Celebration, (vv. 22-23). The land will go back to the family of its original owner (v. 24). Every price will be set by the official standards (v. 25).

The Lord said: All first-born animals of your flocks are already mine, and so you cannot promise any of them to me (v. 26). If you promise me a donkey, you may buy it back by adding twenty percent to its value. If you don’t buy it back, it can be sold to someone else (v. 27). Every person, animal, and piece of property that you dedicate is only for me (v. 28). Any humans who have been promised to me in this way must be put to death (v. 29). Ten percent of everything you harvest belongs to me, whether it grows in your fields or on your fruit trees (v. 30). If you want to buy back part of your harvest, you may do so by paying what it is worth plus an additional twenty percent (v. 31). When you count your flocks and herds, one out of ten of every newborn animal is holy and belongs to me, no matter how good or bad it is (vv. 32-33). On Mount Sinai the Lord gave Moses these laws (v. 34).

Application

There is a fine line between faith and foolishness but God promises to meet my every need.