Category: Leviticus

Like much of Leviticus, chapter 27 provides little in the way of actual instruction for New Testament believers. However, the overriding command of the book of Leviticus is to “Be Holy.” That command is still true. So, the question becomes, what is it about chapter 27 that relates to holiness, and how do we apply that today?

In simplest terms, chapter 27 teaches on the valuation of vows. We understand that the summation of the Law is to love the Lord and love others (Matt 22:37–40). So, most likely, chapter 27 rests on the first half of the Great Commandment, to Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength—in other words, everything you got. Vows are a symbolic way to give back to the Lord part of what He has given to you. It is a sacrificial acknowledgment that everything belongs to the Lord.

Vows are still a part of the Christian life, even though we usually don’t talk about it the same way. We often speak of it in terms of “offerings.” It is those things in our lives that we “offer” to the Lord. Many of us offer a portion of our income to the Church. Some of us have made an offering of our time—daily Bible study, or a mission trip—both are a dedicated offering. 

There is a lot of scripture that lays out the boundaries concerning vows. For instance, Proverbs 20:25 says clearly, “It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows.” Ecclesiastes 5 has similar warnings, “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.” 

I have often said that if you want to know the loves of a person’s heart, just look at their bank statement. Well, right now, loves are being tested through the Coronavirus. Probably the most anxiety-inducing thing about the world-wide pandemic is that everybody just got a dose of reality concerning the futility of our idols. 

Even many professing Christians, who boldly declare, “Everything belongs to the Lord!” are being tested in that vow. Does your health belong to the Lord? Does your food and toilet paper belong to the Lord? What about your kids and family? What about your job?  

Some of us, during this time, will be called to echo the words of Job, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.” If we love the things we may lose, more than we love the Lord, our affections are misplaced. I confess that I am as nervous writing that last sentence as you are reading it. 

Holiness means “set apart,” it means something that is consecrated as a vow. If we are to live holy, then we must live as though every aspect of our lives belong to the Lord. Then, we must depend on His character.  Is God still good, loving, and gracious if family members die or we lose our job, house, etc.? Either we trust in God’s character despite our circumstances or our view of God’s character will be shaped by our circumstances. By making vows we declare, God’s character is good—even in sacrificial offerings, God is good. 

Regardless of circumstances, let us redeem the time. When the idols of our friends and family fail, let them see our hope. Offer this season of suffering to the Lord.

By: Tyler Short — Connections Ministry Associate

No matter what you believe, most of us can agree that life is about choices. Whether it’s choices on how to spend your money, or what activity you do with your free time. Whether it’s the sports team you root for, or what fanbase you choose to root against. We make a ton of choices every day. If you’re a Christian, you’ve chosen to accept Jesus as your Savior. In this chapter God is giving his people two different choices: obey or disobey.

The first verses up to thirteen tell of the blessings that God will give his people if they obey what he has said. It would be easy for our minds to go straight to prosperity Gospel. That somehow if you follow this checklist you will become rich and never have any problems, but that isn’t the case. God isn’t promising personal wealth and health. If you look at these verses in context, you will see that God is talking to the overall prosperity of the nation of Israel. He makes this evident in verse twelve when he says, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” He is addressing the whole nation not individuals. If you need more proof, go back and look at the previous chapter and verse thirty-nine. That verse tells me that it isn’t individual wealth. But also, we should remember that God does promise to care for His people (Philippians 4:19).

For rebellion, a punishment is due. The punishments get worse and worse for continued disobedience. If you know the story of the Israelites, then you know that they continually turned away from God. God’s judgments is a topic that a lot of people don’t like to address, but it is important to understand. We need Jesus because the punishment for our sins is death and eternity in Hell, but God sent Jesus to take the punishment for us. He had victory over the grave and saved us from Hell. I love how at the end of this chapter God continues to show grace, “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God.”

By: Jacob Kerr — West Campus Pastoral Ministry Apprentice: Worship & Students

Our passage begins by discussing the Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee. For the Jews, the Sabbath year happened every 7 years and it allowed the land to rest. This is modeled after God when He created the world. In Genesis 1-2, God worked on 6 days and then on the 7th day rested from all His creation. God is instructing His people to model after what He has shown them. 

In the same way, the Year of Jubilee happened every 50 years and allowed for redemption to happen throughout the land of Israel. Also, verses 23-55, all deal with redemption when the Year of Jubilee comes. 

I think there are two key characteristics of God that are pointed out in this passage: rest and redemption. God has given us the example of rest and even from science, we understand that rest is important for our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Trust me, God knows what we need. This is why He is commanding the Israelites to rest themselves and give rest to the land. At the same time, we can truly understand rest when we receive redemption. As people who have been redeemed by God, we follow His instructions and understand that He has designed us uniquely. As humans, we are made in His image, and if God rested then we need to rest. When He has redeemed us, He is restoring us back to how He originally created us. 

For example, as believers, we understand that the things of this world are not the most important things. Instead, we can take time off work to spend time with our families and be active in serving in the church. Someone who has not been redeemed might not understand why someone might not want to earn the biggest paycheck or be the most famous. 

God has given us redemption through His Son and promises to give eternal rest to all who have a relationship with Him. So this week: How have you given yourself rest? If you haven’t done that, how can you give yourself rest within the next week? 

By: Brice Stockton — Student Ministry Apprentice

After reading about the annual festivals and sacrifices involved with the tabernacle in the last few chapters, God is reminding His people the daily responsibilities they still have concerning the tabernacle. This includes an ever-burning lamp light and the preparation for the weekly bread of the presence with represented the covenant God made with the 12 tribes of Israel.

The remainder of this chapter deals with some scripture that is often used when people say that there’s a big difference between the Old Testament God and the New Testament God. In verses 10-16 we see a person who is stoned to death for blaspheming God and verses 17-23 is the law of retribution with the eye for an eye. In fact, a politician once mentioned they liked the OT God better with passages like this one to justify taking actions against someone who wronged them. But as we all should know, God is not a different God from the Old Testament to the New Testament. He is one and the same and used this Scripture to reveal Himself and the Gospel more clearly in the New Testament. Verses 10-16 show that death is a consequence for sin and eye for an eye is still in effect for God in His judgment but that other eye is also accomplished when Jesus took our punishment upon Himself and showed that this is not our worldview in ordinary daily relationships (matt. 5:38)

By: Erik Koliser — West Campus Pastor