ADULT STS LESSON 83

LAWS OF VOWS AND DEDICATION

MEMORY VERSE: “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 (Leviticus 27:30).

TEXT: Leviticus 27:1-34

This last chapter forms part of the conclusion of God’s commandments to Israel under the
Levitical priesthood. In our text, God gives directives concerning vows, voluntary services and
freewill offering. In addition, because of the frailty of mortals to renege on their vows, God
made the provision for the redemption of what had been so consecrated, at a certain rate.
Vows are religious promises made to the Lord, and for the most part with prayer, and paid
with thanksgiving (Numbers 21:2,3; Psalm 66:12-14). They are made to advance a plea to
God for a desired blessing. A person may vow or devote self, children, cattle and goods to the
Lord. But if after consecrating them and the person who made the vow refused to redeem
them, then those items vowed become the Lord’s property for ever. Tithes on the other hand
represent that proportion (usually the tenth part) of one’s property or income /profit devoted
to God. The Scripture requires children of God to tithe faithfully and consistently. However,
vows differ from tithes in the sense that the former are not mandatory. Once vows are made,
it becomes obligatory to perform them (Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21,22). Tithes are
quantitatively and qualitatively specific, and mandatory under the law (Deuteronomy 14:22).
From scriptural and historical perspectives, vows and tithes are designed for the support and
sustenance of officers in spiritual service (Genesis 28:20-22; Malachi 3:8-10- Matthew
23:23).

1. LAWS CONCERNING VOWS, THE SANCTITY OF PLEDGES AND THEIR REDEMPTION

Leviticus 27:1-13: Numbers 6:2-1 1; Judges 11:35; 1 Samuel 1:11: Ecclesiastes 5:2; Psalm
15:4; Jeremiah 35:1-6

The children of Israel were required to dedicate certain things such as the first fruits of their
harvests, firstborn animals, firstborn sons and a tithe of their increase to God for His service.
Many Israelites were often willing to go beyond these to dedicating themselves or members of
their families, additional animals or landed properties to God. As blood-bought souls,
believers in Christ are to dedicate themselves unreservedly to the Lord who purchased them
from slavery to sin and Satan. The relative values of persons are regulated according to an
estimate value of their future service or work. If a person is too poor to redeem his/her vow
according to the redemption chart, the priest determines some figures according to the poor
person’s ability. The redemption rate for middle-aged persons between twenty and sixty years
ranks high – fifty shekels for males and thirty for females. On the other hand, a man or a
woman above sixty years old attracts a redemption value of fifteen and ten shekels
respectively. A comparison of the two age ranges suggests that we need to serve the Lord in
our prime age rather than wait until old age before we enlist to labor for the Lord. From the
foregoing, some salient instructions emerge: Firstly, making vows teaches us that we should
not restrict ourselves to those mandatory duties. God is highly pleased when we voluntarily
take on ourselves non-mandatory expressions of faith, love and gratitude to give for His
cause. Secondly, it is highly instructive that under the vow regulations given by God, age,
gender or economic conditions are not allowed to preclude the liberty of devotion towards
God. Thirdly, the graduation teaches us to avoid the temptation of limiting ourselves, but
rise to make exceptional responses whenever our skills, talents, Wealth, faith or maturity
place us in a vantage position “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be
much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the
more” (Luke 12:48). While it is good to be zealous in good things, wisdom and discretion are
also needful to guard against making rash vows. From a general consideration of scriptural
prescriptions concerning vows, it comes out clearly that vows once made are not to be altered
(Ecclesiastes 5:4-6). Redemption and exchange are also necessarily allowed where the animal
vowed could not be used for sacrifice by reason of its uncleanness. Redemption is also allowed
in situations where the management of the subject of the vow would be cumbersome if not
commuted to cash as in the case of landed property. Even in those cases where it is necessary
to allow for redemption, there is an imposition of twenty percent surcharge on the value of
the animal or property redeemed. The foreclosure of and the renunciation of vows and the
imposition of surcharge are no doubt, meant to discourage thoughtless and frivolity in
making vows unto the Lord. The vital lesson in this is that God takes our words, pledges and
promises seriously. He expects us to be bound by our words. He frowns at situation where
at the least difficulty we abandon our promises on the altar of convenience. Commitment to
Our promises and vows to God and fellow men or women ought to be strong enough to compel
performance, though it may be more difficult by reason of unforeseen developments. The
scripture commends, “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not” (Psalm
15:4). This principle is applicable to marriage, business and employment vows, and should
spur heaven-bound saints to loyalty to our marriage and business partners, employers and
employees. Christian integrity is non- negotiable. The principle is also applicable to spiritual
and biological children of pious parents; they should honour God by adhering to the pious
teachings of their godly parents and pastors, especially when, as in the case of the
Rechabites, they have been called to be with the Lord (Jeremiah 35:1-6). The sanctity of vows,
promises and pledges, therefore before making them. We should avoid making promises and
pledges that would translate into sinful actions or which may become impossible or
embarrassing to fulfil. Carefulness, due considerations and the benefits of wise and godly
counsels should be brought to bear before we make promises and pledges. “When thou
vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that
which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou
shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say
thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy
voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6).

2. LAWS CONCERNING REAL ESTATES DEDICATED TO THE SERVICE OF GOD BY A

SINGULAR VOW
Leviticus 27:14-25; Exodus 16:36; 1 Kings 15:15; Ezekiel 45:9-13; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

If a man, in his zeal to honor the Lord should sanctify his house to Him, the house must be
valued by the priest and the money realized from the sale converted to the use of the
sanctuary. But if the owner be inclined to redeem it, he must not have it as cheap as another,
but must add a fifth part to the price. To the very poor, God would abate the estimation; but
to him that was fickle, whose second thoughts inclined more to the world and his secular
interest than his first, their price would rise. There is a way of sanctifying our houses unto
the Lord, without either selling or buying them. The members of our household, who serve
the Lord by walking uprightly in words and deeds, doing everything as unto the Lord and
providing a church location for Worship, have dedicated their house to the Lord. Joshua said,
“…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15b). If a person should
sanctify some part of his land to giving it to holy use, then a difference must be made between
the part of the land that came to the donor by descent and that which came by purchase. If
it was the inheritance of his father, here called the field of his possession, which pertained to
the family from the first division of Canaan, he might not give it all; God would not admit
such a degree of zeal as it amounts to ruining the family. But he might dedicate only some
part of it. In that case, the land was to be valued by so many measures of barley. So much
land as would take a homer of barley, which contained ten ephahs (Ezekiel 45:11; Exodus
16:36), was valued at fifty shekels (a moderate price) if it were sanctified immediately from
the year of jubilee. But, if some years after the jubilee, there was to be a discount accordingly.
When the value was fixed, the donor might, if he pleases, redeem it for sixty shekels the
homer’s sowing, which was with the addition of a fifth part: the money then went to the
sanctuary and the land reverted to him. But if he would not redeem it, and the priest sold it
to another, then at the year of jubilee, beyond which the sale could not go, the land came to
the priests, and was theirs forever. Here, we learn that what is given to the Lord ought not to
be given with a power of revocation; what is devoted to the Lord must be His forever, by a
perpetual covenant. If the land was his own purchase, the value of it was to be given to the
priests for pious use. It was supposed that those who, by the blessing of God, had grown so
rich to become purchasers would think themselves obliged in gratitude to sanctify some part
of their purchase. At least to His service. We ought to give as God prospers us 1 Corinthians
16:2). Purchasers are in a special manner bound to be charitable.

3. DIVINE OWNERSHIP OF TITHES AND FIRSTLINGS

Leviticus 27:26-34; Exodus 13:1,2; Psalm 24:1; Haggai 2:8; Malachi 3:10-12

Verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine of our text call for careful examination as they refer to
personal properties such as persons, animals or things that are devoted to destruction
because they are placed beyond the reach of redemption. These are referred to as subjects of
vow and so are to be destroyed and not redeemed. Such objects (except human beings) are
to be put to death or in the case of inanimate objects, destroyed for the glory of God. No one
has power to take another’s life unless those under divine judgment or people judged and
condemned by the law (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 7:2; 20:17; Joshua 11:20; 1 Samuel
15:3,33; Romans 13:4). However, the firstborn of every clean animal is by the law dedicated
to the Lord (Exodus 13:1,2). As such, they could not be dedicated to the Lord in any act of
singular vow (Leviticus 27:26). The practical implication of this is that our vows must advance
our consecration to the Lord. “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” (Leviticus
27:30). The law gives divine authority to tithing. In the largely agrarian economy in Israel,
the tithe is an acknowledgment that the land which yields their harvests belongs to God and
that He actually gives the fruits and the increase on which they depend. They are commanded
to give a tenth of all produce and livestock, in addition to numerous offerings to the Lord.
Tithes could not be dedicated to the Lord as vows because they are already appropriated by
divine command. When, therefore, a pledge or vow is made in support of special projects
such as missions or church building, such a vow or pledge must not be allowed to
compromise our faithfulness to paying our tithes. Tithes under the Levitical priesthood
system are necessary for the support of the priesthood and the of religion under the Mosaic
dispensation. Today, tithes and offerings are used for gospel work and the maintenance of
its institutions and facilities. The Scripture does not command us to “Honour the LORD
with (our] substance, and with the first fruits of all [our] increase” but promises that
by so doing, “{our} barns shall be filled with plenty, and (our] presses shall burst out
with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9,10). On the other hand, withholding our tithes from the Lord
is described as the worst type of robbery – robbing God who has freely given us all things to
enjoy (Malachi 3:8). Every child of God must desist from such act. In summary, God is
interested in our attitude towards possessions. He wants those who profess real devotion to
Him to prove it by their detachment from material things and willingness to give sacrificially
for His work.
Questions for review:
1. Differentiate between vows and tithes.
2. What lesson does making vows and redeeming them teach us?
3. Mention instances in which vows are redeemable and cases where they are not.
4. Mention some commitments children of godly parents should make to keep the faith of
their parents.
5. What should believers do to avoid unnecessary difficulties arising from their vows and
promises?
6. How can we sanctify our dwelling places and other properties unto the Lord?
7. Why are believers commanded to faithfully pay their tithes?