In case I forgot to mention it, the book of LEVITicus is named for the Levites- the descendants of Jacob’s 3rd son, Levi- which we pronounce in English as LEE-vye, but in Hebrew it’s lay-vee or leh-vee (like the wall of earth that keeps the river from flooding).
That’s why we don’t call this book Lee-VYE-tih-cus, but rather Leh-VIH-tih-cus.
(You’d “cus” too if everybody mispronounced your name.) 😏
Levi was the ancestor of Moses & Aaron. Aaron was chosen to be the first High Priest and the priesthood will remain in his family.
The Latin suffix icus means “belonging to, derived from, or pertaining/connected to.” Leviticus is the instruction manual for the priests. It belongs to Levi.
Now you know.
Like I really wanted to know all that, Lacy. Gees. Latin on a Monday morning? What kind of coffee are you drinking?
Hey, I did warn you in the introductory post. I looked up icus online. I’m hardly a Latin scholar. And I’m drinking a homemade, definitely-not-crafted-by-an-actual-barista, faux vanilla latte made with freshly ground Seven Weeks Ethiopian coffee brewed by French Press (if you must know). ☕️
I’ve decided that barista-ing is WAY harder than it looks and requires actual tools and training, but hey, my coffee is palatable and it has caffeine. Lots of caffeine- judging by the urge to write the whole week’s worth of posts then clean the bathroom, do some laundry, and mow the lawn… WEEEEE! (and I’ve been up writing other things – maybe one day it’ll be a book – since about 4:30 this morning. Like I said… weeeeee! ☕️
(I am going to crash SO hard later.) 🙃
(Ahem) 🤓😌
Leviticus 27.
On the surface, we might get the impression that God ranks human beings according to what He thinks they’re worth – or some such nonsense. That’s not what this chapter is about. This is all about giving things to God.
You know how at the end of an ad you might hear the narrator say, “Terms and conditions may apply”? Well, this chapter is the fine print – the “terms and conditions” – for devoting (with a vow!) things to Yahweh.
The best advice I can give to unpack this chapter is to honestly just go read Matthew Henry’s Commentary on it, which you can do by clicking HERE. But I’ll try to summarize.
“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons…”
Leviticus 27:2 ESV
- This is voluntary and rare. In Hebrew, the word for “special” is usually translated “marvelous,” “wonderful,” and even “miracles.” People aren’t doing this very often.
- No Israelites were harmed in the making of these vows. The only ones actually killed are enemies (v29). When the death penalty is carried out, it is framed as committing a person to Yahweh rather than some kind of personal revenge. It is deliberate execution:
- “No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.”
Leviticus 27:29 ESV - If they are designated by Yahweh for destruction (which we will see in Joshua), that’s it. The sentence has been handed down. The Anakim and the Amorites, etc, are on Death Row. There is no amount of bail (ransom) to get them out.
- “No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.”
- Let’s say some guy waxes rhapsodic about serving Yahweh and decides to devote himself and his young son to Yahweh’s service. This would look suspiciously like manual labor for the priests in the Tabernacle – hauling water, collecting wool, scrubbing pots. They’re basically working for free as an offering of themselves to Yahweh. But there’s a whole tribe of Levi to help with this work. Maybe they tell him, “Bro, appreciate your zeal, but we’ve really got all the help we can use. You can, however, make a donation based on your valuation.” So the valuation (ransom) for him is higher than that of his young son because as a man in his prime, he can accomplish more work. That’s what the money thing is all about. The boy Samuel is an example of a child being devoted to Yahweh.
- Sacrificial animals might be offered, but not one of the already designated firstborn of the flock or herd which belonged to Yahweh anyway. That would be like paying your taxes then trying to write it off as a “donation” to the government.
- You could also devote “unclean” animals to Yahweh. To devote something the Yahweh was to hand it over for His purpose. You’d do that primarily by giving it to the priests. You can’t sacrifice a cat, but I bet the priests would appreciate a kitty to keep the mice out of their tents and away from the grain offerings. Maybe your best mouser had a litter so you devote the cutest kitten to Yahweh. Awww. 🐱
- There are limits on devoting real estate to Yahweh.
- A. The land is really already His.
- B. You’re not allowed to give so much that you end up impoverishing your family.
- I cannot explain the “ransom” (or anything else for that matter) better than Matthew Henry:
- Perhaps some devout serious people among them might be so affected with what Moses had delivered to them in the foregoing chapter as in a pang of zeal to consecrate themselves, or their children, or estates to him: this, because honestly meant, God would accept; but, because men are apt to repent of such vows, he leaves room for the redemption of what had been so consecrated, at a certain rate.
TITHES
We’re so accustomed to thinking of tithes in terms of writing checks, sticking cash in an envelope, or even doing direct-debit that most Christians have little familiarity with OT tithing laws.
- Tithes were always food because the priesthood owned no farmland on which to raise their own food.
- The tithe of produce you could buy back (and eat) by paying for its value plus 20%. 🌽🥬🍋🫒🍇
- The tithe of the animals was not necessarily sacrificed. If there was a “bad” one in the bunch (not up to snuff to be offered as a sacrifice) the priests would nonetheless keep it for personal use. You could add a supplementary “good” critter to make up for the bad one, but you didn’t get the bad one back. The priests kept both. 🐂🐂
- There are a few more tithing laws we will get to later but these are the basics.
So now you can say you’ve read the “fine print” of Leviticus – which is the book where most people bail out on an attempt to read the Bible through.
Aren’t ya glad you didn’t quit?! 🏆🥇🎉
Poor Aaron got off to a rough start. But we’ve seen some amazing pictures of Jesus in the Tabernacle furniture and the cleansing of the leper. I hope we all have a better grasp of “sacred space” and its purpose now.
This book will be important moving forward. The Tabernacle, with all its priests and sacrifices, is going to be around for about 4 CENTURIES. 😲
Sometimes it will be the center of the nation. Sometimes all but forgotten.
In the next book we’ll see it packed up and moved about as Israel travels on its way back to the land of their forefathers.
As the name suggests, the book of Numbers is going to involve a lot of counting. But don’t wimp out. There are some incredible events that will happen along the way. See you there. No need to bring a calculator. 🧮
To The Reader 