Leviticus 27:1-34 | Sunday October 26, 2025

Last week God made a set of promises to Israel. He promised amazing blessings for following His commandments and He promised terrible curses if they did not walk with Him. God desired to bless and have Israel enjoy fellowship with Him. The issue was would Israel let God bless them, by walking with Him. Many feel like chapter 26 would make a great conclusion to the book of Leviticus, because at first glance Chapter 27 feels out of place. In this chapter God gives instructions for how Israel is to make vows to Him. This is fitting because He just made vows to them in the last chapter. Often when times get hard, like Israel experiencing the curses from God, people tend to negotiate with God and try to make deals with Him. “God if you… then I will…” In many ways this sounds like the blessings and curses God promised. In this chapter God explains how serious these vows to Him need to be taken.

Leviticus 27:1-8 ESV

(1)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
(2)  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons,
(3)  then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
(4)  If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels.
(5)  If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
(6)  If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
(7)  And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the valuation for a male shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
(8)  And if someone is too poor to pay the valuation, then he shall be made to stand before the priest, and the priest shall value him; the priest shall value him according to what the vower can afford.

The vows described are called special, difficult, unusual, wonderful, or extraordinary. In these vows you are dedicating something in service to God, in these cases it is a person’s life. Whoever is involved in the vow is offering to give their life or a family member’s life to serving God at the tabernacle/ temple. This is the type of vow that Hannah makes concerning her future son Samuel.

1 Samuel 1:11 ESV

(11)  And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your servant and remember me and not forget Your servant, but will give to Your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

Hannah vows to God that if she is able to give birth then she will offer her son to the Lord and have him serve at the tabernacle. This was a very serious vow that she fulfilled. Practically, there was only so much room for people to serve at the tabernacle, especially with so many tasks being reserved for the Levites. So God is giving the money equivalent of this vow of service. Instead of physically staying at the tabernacle, you could pay this fee to fulfill the vow. Depending on your age, and gender the cost of the vow was different.

	1 Month Old- 5 yr old	5 yr old- 20 yr old	20 yr old- 60 yr old	60 yr old +
Male	5 shekels	20 shekels	50 shekels	15 shekels
Female	3 shekels	10 shekels	30 shekels	10 shekels

A shekel was about a month’s wages. These vows had a high cost associated to them. The fact that the evaluation changes based on age and gender is not a statement of inherent value but is practical. A 30 yr old male was able to lift more wood for the sacrifices and was more practical help then a 5 yr old, thus the higher cost. These vows were entirely optional, but when made had to be kept.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 ESV

(21)  “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
(22)  But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin.
(23)  You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.

Notice if you refrain from making a vow, that is not a sin. The Israelites were given a freedom to make a vow or not to. God wanted His people to mean what they promised. This was a vow to a holy God and needed to be entered into careful and after much consideration. Once the vow was made, God was going to make sure it was fulfilled. It was not just people that were vowed to service to God but also animals, houses, and land.

Leviticus 27:9-25 ESV

(9)  “If the vow is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the LORD, all of it that he gives to the LORD is holy. (10)  He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. (11)  And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the LORD, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, (12)  and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. (13)  But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation. (14)  “When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the LORD, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. (15)  And if the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his. (16)  “If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. (17)  If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, (18)  but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. (19)  And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. (20)  But if he does not wish to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore. (21)  But the field, when it is released in the jubilee, shall be a holy gift to the LORD, like a field that has been devoted. The priest shall be in possession of it. (22)  If he dedicates to the LORD a field that he has bought, which is not a part of his possession, (23)  then the priest shall calculate the amount of the valuation for it up to the year of jubilee, and the man shall give the valuation on that day as a holy gift to the LORD. (24)  In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession. (25)  Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.

If an animal was considered clean then it was used for sacrifice. If it was unclean, then the priest was to give a monetary evaluation for it. These evaluations also applied to a house, land, and leased land with specific details given about how to handle the jubilee. To redeem a house or land, a person needed to add 1/5th or 20% to the priest’s evaluation as a monetary gift to represent giving the house/ land to God. Giving something to God was costly and God warns not to make a substitute or change your mind once you heard the cost.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 ESV

(4)  When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.
(5)  It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
(6)  Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

God is very clear that He is going to hold Israel to their word. They cannot make a vow and then change their mind, and say it was a mistake. God is too holy for that. These were optional, there tongue was creating a problem that did not need to exist. We have such a tendency to make grand promises and at times have great intentions then when the reality hits everything changes. God did not want His people or us to act this way. Our words are to mean something.

James 5:12 ESV

(12)  But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

I find it amazing that words have become so meaningless that we have to keep adding things to our statements to show we really mean them. Legally this is why we need notaries and having people sworn under oath. Jesus wants our yes to mean it and or no to mean it. These vows are not required; God simply wants His people to be careful in what we are promising to Him. After all these details of what can be offered in service to God, then God explains what cannot be given to Him by a vow.

Leviticus 27:26-33 ESV

(26)  “But a firstborn of animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the LORD, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD's.
(27)  And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at the valuation, and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at the valuation.
(28)  “But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD.
(29)  No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
(30)  “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; it is holy to the LORD.
(31)  If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.
(32)  And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the LORD.
(33)  One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”

According to Exodus 13:12 all firstborn animals belong to God. Just as God asks for the firstfruits of the harvest, the firstborns are dedicated to Him. Since they are already dedicated to God then they cannot be regiven to God in a vow.

Likewise, the tithe already belonged to God, so to dedicate it to God 20% had to be added to it. We need to be careful in how we apply the vow to our lives as believers. It is so tempting to think that we should start dedicating parts of our life to God, until we understand that it already belongs to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NET

(14)  For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died.
(15)  And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised.
(16)  So then from now on we acknowledge no one from an outward human point of view. Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, now we do not know Him in that way any longer.
(17)  So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come!

As a believer we have died with Christ and have been given new life in Him. What is there to dedicate to God in our life that does not belong to Him already? Our challenge is to grow and learn how to live in this new life He created. To not live for ourselves anymore, but for Him. The new has come, that is not said in a future tense, but the perfect (a completed action with continuing results). We have a new life in Christ, but do we choose to walk in it? When we have a decision to make about our career, or buying a car, or our family life do we involve Jesus and live in our new life? Do we seek His wisdom and aim to glorify God in our new life or do we just live from a normal human point of view?

Romans 12:1-2 ESV

(1)  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
(2)  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul appeals to the believers in Rome. This word means to call to one’s side, and encourage. Our lives belong to God anyway why wouldn’t we offer them as a living sacrifice? This is only possible when we use God’s truth to have a transformed mind. We are called not to think like the world but to think in our new life. Part of walking in this new life is understanding that sin cannot be offered to God as worship.

Leviticus 27:29 ESV

(29)  No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.

When Israel entered into the promised land their were gold and silver idols scattered throughout the land. These were to be devoted to destruction. The people of the land were to be judged as well. Israel was not to try and use these people or items to worship God or try to dedicate them to Him. The simple first step to know God’s will is to look at His word. If God calls it sin then it is not His will and cannot be dedicated to Him. God just spent an entire book explaining what acceptable worship looks like, Israel should not make up their own version.

Matthew 15:3-6 ESV

(3)  He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
(4)  For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
(5)  But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”
(6)  he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

If we are honest we have not come far from the Pharisees. We love our man made traditions and controlling people. We love to decide what is more important and twist things to our own benefit. God not only revealed His will through the Word then He gave us the Spirit to understand it. We can learn what the new life in Christ looks like though His Word. God wants us to experience the blessing of walking in His commandments.

1 John 5:3 ESV

(3)  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

God desires for us to experience the life and freedom that come from His commandments. In them He shows His love and we can experience His goodness. Leviticus finished with a reminder of where these commandments came from.

Leviticus 27:34 ESV

(34)  These are the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.

God has gone into detail to explain to His people how to live in His presence. Leviticus is not a book describing how to become God’s people, but now how they should live since they are God’s people. He has described what worship through the sacrifices should look like. Each one has pointed us to Christ.

The whole burnt offering showed Jesus’ perfect obedience in His life. The grain offering pointed to how Jesus enables us to worship God with the fruit from our lives. The sin offering came first in worship and it is through the offering of blood that we can be accepted. All this animal blood pointed to the perfect offering of the blood of Jesus. In the peace offering we saw the fellowship meal that God invites His people to enjoy with Him. Lastly, the trespass offering dealt with debts our sin demand and how Jesus paid them all. God also described the qualifications of the priest and their garments and how each piece pointed to Jesus our perfect High Priest.

God showed the people what how to live separate and whole in His presence. He defined what clean and unclean was and how to be restored to the community. He gave them a calendar with built in reminders to draw the people to a deeper walk with Him. The fall feasts, the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits, and Feast of weeks served as a road map for Jesus first coming; His death and resurrection. The spring Feasts, The feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths point to His second coming. God also set up the Sabbath day, year and ultimately the year of Jubilee to show His people the rest and fellowship He desired for His people to enjoy with Him. Throughout this study hopefully Jesus words in Matthew 5 make more sense.

Matthew 5:17-18 ESV

(17)  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
(18)  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Jesus came to perfectly fulfill the law that always was meant to point to Him. Through Jesus we are not under the law but under the higher calling of grace. My hope is that God’s timeless character has shown through, He has not changed. As God revealed His holiness in Leviticus to the Israelites we are called as New Testament believers to reflect that same holiness.

1 Peter 1:13-16 ESV

(13)  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(14)  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
(15)  but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
(16)  since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I Am holy.”