Unlike today where people don’t take vows seriously, God has always been serious when it comes to making any vow, especially any vow which was made to Him.
Here we find God describing a vow which was made outside of the law, a vow in relation to making an offering to the Lord, 1 Samuel 1:11 / Judges 11:30-31. These vows were not forced on people they were to be taken voluntarily Deuteronomy 23:21-23. Because the vow was made to God, this made the vow binding.
Notice how God speaks of the value of the offering, the value was gauged by the age and sex of the offering and the value was gauged in reference to the Year of Jubilee, Leviticus 25:8-22. Once again, we see God caring for the poor in society, if a person was poor then the priest would give the valuation of the offering.
We see that if someone vowed to give an animal for an offering, they couldn’t change their mind and offer money instead, an animal must be given. Making a vow offering of an animal meant that the animal had become holy.
If the animal that was given in a vow was unclean, then the priest could value it and sell it. If the owner wanted to redeem the animal, then they could, for the price of the valuation, plus one fifth the value of the animal. The same rule applied to houses that were offered to the Lord.
The Nazarite vow can be found in Numbers 6:1-21, this basically meant they had to dedicate themselves to the Lord. That person had to abstain from all products of the grapevine, no razor was to pass over their head. They weren’t allowed to go near a dead person, but if someone suddenly died in their presence, they were to shave their head on the day they became unclean on the seventh day.
On the eighth day, they were to offer two turtle doves or two young pigeons as a sin offering and a burnt offering at the doorway of the tabernacle. They were to offer a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering, they could then dedicate themselves to the Lord once more as a Nazarite.
What they had to do at the completion of their vow was for a burnt offering they were to sacrifice at the door of the tabernacle one-year-old male lamb. For a sin offering, they were to offer a one-year-old ewe lamb, for a peace offering they were to sacrifice one ram.
They were to also offer a basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil along with a meal and drink offering. Then they were then was to shave their hair off and burn it in the fire of the peace offering. The priest was to take their portion and the person who had the vow couldn’t drink wine.
The vow of the women can be found in Numbers 30:1-16. If a man-made a vow unto the Lord, he was obligated to fulfil it. However, if a daughter makes a vow and her father hears it and says nothing concerning it, then the vow stands and is to be fulfilled. If she makes a vow and her father hears it and he forbids it, then she is not under obligation to fulfil it.
If a married woman makes a vow and her husband hears it and says nothing concerning it, then the vow stands and is to be fulfilled. If she makes a vow and her husband hears it and forbids it, then she is not under obligation to fulfil it.
If a widow or divorced woman makes a vow, their vows would be binding upon them to fulfil. If they make a vow in their husband’s house and their husband hears it and says nothing concerning it, then the vow stands and is to be fulfilled. If they make a vow in her husband’s house and their husband hears it and forbids it, then they are not under obligation to fulfil it.
As we have just read a person could redeem a vow, for a person, fifty shekels of silver for a 20 to 60-year-old male, Leviticus 27:3. Thirty shekels of silver for a 20 to 60-year-old female, Leviticus 27:4. Twenty shekels of silver for a 5 to 20-year-old male, Leviticus 27:5. Ten shekels of silver for a 5-20-year-old male, Leviticus 27:5.
Five shekels for a one month to 5-year male, Leviticus 27:6. Three shekels for a one month to 5 year5-year female, Leviticus 27:6. Fifteen shekels for a male over 60 years old, Leviticus 27:7. Ten shekels for a female over 60 years old, if the person is poor then the priest can make an estimate that would be within the person’s ability to pay, Leviticus 27:8.
The land was very precious to Israel and so, anyone who owned a piece of land could offer it to the Lord, this all depended upon whether a person inherited the land or bought the land in the first place. The value of the land was based on how much seed was necessary to sow the land.
Remember the value of the land was given before the Year of Jubilee, and any land which was inherited could be bought back for the value of the land, plus one-fifth of the value. If the land was not bought back, then it became the permanent property of the priests.
If anyone dedicated any property that they had bought, then after the valuation, this land could go back to the original owner in the Jubilee, but only if the valuation was paid to the priests for the land. Leviticus 25:23-34.
The firstborn of the animals weren’t permitted to be given to the Lord, because they already belonged to God, Exodus 13:2 / Exodus 34:19. However, if the firstborn animal was unclean, this could be valued and redeemed for the valuation price plus one-fifth of the value. If it wasn’t brought back then it had to be sold, the reason for this is because the priests weren’t permitted to own any unclean animals.
Notice if anything was devoted to God, it wasn’t to be sold, this is because it was totally given to God and couldn’t be redeemed. In this case whatever it was which was devoted to God was to be totally destroyed, the reason was to prevent anyone from using it for themselves.
A tithe of the land, the herd, or the flock could be redeemed if the valuation, plus one fifth, was paid. The reference to ‘every tenth passing under the shepherd’s rod’ simply means that this is what the shepherds did, he gave a tithe whenever an animal was received by him.
Notice also, that the shepherd couldn’t be selective when choosing the animal, he couldn’t just pick out the good ones whilst ignoring the bad ones.
Something important we need to note about giving, it was a sacrifice and it was personal. If I lived in a posh house and offered that house to the Lord, I shouldn’t expect to live in it any longer or enjoy the benefits of owning that house anymore.
In the same manner, the Israelites couldn’t give the Lord a field and expect to continue to use it for their own gain.
Leviticus teaches God’s people how they are to approach Him and live pleasing in His sight. Its central command is to ‘be holy’, Leviticus 19:2. We cannot approach God in any way we like, we must approach Him on His terms and under His conditions.
This has been the message of Leviticus, God is going to dwell with Israel, He will be their God and they will be His people. This covenant relationship continues even today, it is a relationship which is found in the church. We have entered into the promise, which was initially given to Israel, 2 Corinthians 6:16.
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."