[Leviticus 27] Regarding Vows and Tithing: Have you ever vowed a vow to the Lord? Did you keep it? What then? Did you keep a vow and not receive what you asked for? Is it wrong to vow? Does God’s word provide a way out from under an ill-advised vow? In studying Leviticus 27, we will consider all these questions and what the Old Testament view is on vowing vows before the Lord. What about tithing? Some believe in tithing while others maintain it doesn’t apply today. Get ready to kick over some sacred cows in this final chapter of the book of Leviticus, a book that Jesus quoted from frequently and is more relevant to our lives than one might think.
[Lev 27:1-34 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. 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. 4 And if it [be] a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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: 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. 13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth [part] thereof unto thy estimation. 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. 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. 16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD [some part] of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed [shall be valued] at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand. 18 But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation. 19 And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth [part] of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him. 20 And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. 21 But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s. 22 And if [a man] sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which [is] not of the fields of his possession; 23 Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, [even] unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, [as] a holy thing unto the LORD. 24 In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, [even] to him to whom the possession of the land [did belong]. 25 And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. 26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether [it be] ox, or sheep: it [is] the LORD’S. 27 And if [it be] of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem [it] according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth [part] of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. 28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, [both] of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing [is] most holy unto the LORD. 29 None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; [but] shall surely be put to death. 30 And all the tithe of the land, [whether] of the seed of the land, [or] of the fruit of the tree, [is] the LORD’S: [it is] holy unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will at all redeem [ought] of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth [part] thereof. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, [even] of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. 34 These [are] the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
The chapter begins with instructions regarding vows to God. Many people make vows to God, promises made in the midst of trials, and difficulty hoping to break through to the Father with their prayers. Most of these vows go unanswered and unkept. There is a 1978 comedy film about a man who finds out he has a terrible disease and is given only a few months to live. He goes to the beach and disrobes, swimming out into the tide, planning to drown himself rather than die a slow, painful death. Exhausted, he slips under the waves, but before succumbing, he decides to live. He battles his way to the surface and begins the near-impossible return to the shore. As he swims, he cries out to God. He promises at first to give his life to some worthy cause and devote himself completely to humanitarian service. As he gets closer to the shore, he changes his vow, promising to give all his money to the poor. Then as he gets closer, he begins adjusting the percentages. “90% Lord – just help me make it!” The closer he gets to safety, the percentages he promises drop: “60% Lord! 30%! 20% Lord! 10%! 5%! Finally, he drags himself onto the beach and looks back at the surf before walking away, promising to show up in church on Easter once in a while unless the weather keeps him from the golf course. A humorous commentary on the promises we make and break to God!
In v.2, the vow is called a “singular vow” or in the Hebrew an “appla neder”. The term defined means “an extraordinary vow” or a “vow beyond one’s ability to keep.” Hence the mention of redemption money. It wasn’t acceptable to make a vow and walk away, pretending nothing happened. Redemption money had to be paid in order not to blaspheme. In Matthew, Jesus speaks of how the scribes and Pharisees profaned this practice in his day.
[Mat 23:16-21 KJV] 16 Woe unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
In those days, business was conducted by vow, oath, and swearing. The ancient peoples would vow BY something, and what they vowed over-determined just how reliable their word was. If someone vowed by the city of Jerusalem, they would PROBABLY do what they said. If they swore by the temple – it meant they had every intention of doing so, “Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise”! as they say in the Ozarks. However, if they swore by the altar, you knew that every effort would be made to bring the promise about. Finally, if they swore by the gold on the altar, that meant they would forfeit their life before breaking the vow. Jesus spoke of this further in Matthew 5:
[Mat 5:33-37 KJV] 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Vowing a vow is not something that should be encouraged. Jesus is saying, let every word out of your mouth be on the level of a vow. The implication of a vow impugns the reliability of what comes out of your mouth the rest of the time.
The remainder of this chapter deals with the dedication of your resources, land, personal property, and money to the Lord. It speaks of the tithe and other things given as the DEVOTED THING. The Hebrew word for devoted is “accursed” or “devoted to destruction.” There were voluntary offerings that were given, and then some giving was compulsory such as the tithe. The voluntary offerings were at the giver’s disposal until they were given – then they became holy and devoted – or “devoted to destruction,” meaning once given, you relinquish all control, expectation, or demand over what you have committed.
This is an important lesson. Many people give their substance and then later lodge complaints that the money wasn’t properly spent. Sometimes things are given, and later on, the giver wants the thing returned, and bad feelings result. God is dealing in this passage with this whole issue by saying that once something is given, it is a “devoted thing”, and the giver is to consider it “accursed” as far as his ownership and control of that which was committed. The idea is you would no more lay claim to it than you would a live rattlesnake! It is devoted! You gave it – now release it to the Lord and let Him judge what happens with it.
I knew a man some years ago that became angry because I disagreed with him in the criticism of other ministers. His face was red and veins popping as he complained that he had given into our ministry many times and expected us to agree with his opinion. My reply was, “Larry, did you give it to God or give it to us? If you gave it to a man with expectations, then you gave for the wrong reason – my ministry is not for sale”.
I have also criticized what ministries have done with the monies given to them. Years ago, watching the extravagance of the PTL ministry and the sexual scandal surrounding them, I made several deep-seated judgments. The Lord asked me one day, “how much money did you give PTL”? With a pious retort, I proudly responded, “I didn’t give them a dime”! The Lord immediately replied – then shut your mouth – they are my servants when you criticize them, you are cursing the gifts that others have given them in My name…” That conversation early in my Christian walk saved me from much bitterness and judgmentalism.
What about the tithe? There are many questions about this today. Are we required to tithe in the New Covenant? The question itself implies an attitude of bargaining with God as the character in the film we mentioned at the beginning of this study. Those who staunchly defend the tithe often betray firm lines they draw between what belongs to God in their life and what they think belongs to them. Do you want your relationship with God to be defined by a 10% solution? Those who relieve themselves of the tithe claim that they are free to give as they are led by the Holy Spirit but remember the words of Jesus:
[Mat 5:20 KJV] 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
To those of you who believe in tithing, I suggest that this 10% commitment is an anemic response to the God who gave His only begotten son. To those who don’t believe in tithing, I say check up on yourself. Look at what you have given in the last year. Is it more than 10%? If your giving doesn’t exceed 10%, then you have taken your liberty and allowed the scribes and Pharisees to have a better testimony than you do in this area. What is the answer then? Jesus was approached on this question, and this was His answer:
[Luk 18:18, 22 KJV] 18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? … 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Everything you have belongs to God. You are only a steward. Your life is not your own. You are bought with a price. That includes all that belongs to you – your earning power, finances, bank accounts, personal property, time, and decisions. If your life doesn’t radically reflect this, then as Jesus told the young ruler – you will not inherit God’s irreducible resources. This means you will suffer lack unnecessarily. Make it your determination to lose the religious attitudes about giving and vowing and swearing oaths to God. These all arise out of carnality and unrepentant sin consciousness. Give Him your ALL today and move into a place of entitlement and blessing in the Kingdom.
