And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.
Leviticus 27 is the chapter concerning vows and tithes. It records the laws concerning redemption and explains how Israel carried out the law of tithing already known to Abraham and Jacob.
The priest was to set the value of what was dedicated to God, whether good or bad. His valuation determined its worth for the required purpose. If one who had dedicated land or a house wanted to keep it, the price was the priest's valuation plus one fifth paid to retain it. The added amount made the vow binding and reminded the person that what had been dedicated was sacred.
When a vow concerned a person in the household or anything else that could not lawfully be offered, the priest assessed its value whether good or bad, and that assessed value was given instead through redemption. Jephthah therefore could not offer his daughter as a burnt offering, but could dedicate her to the Lord as a perpetual virgin. The fact that she was not redeemed shows she was devoted to the Lord's service in perpetual virginity rather than offered as a burnt sacrifice.
The verse is connected with devotion to destruction, which could set apart a person, animal, city, or object to be destroyed. It belongs to the law of tithing, which requires a tenth of income, of what one makes and receives. Debts owed do not reduce the tithe, which is paid on what is made rather than what is cleared after debts. Wages for hired help and interest representing property not owned are deducted, because those recipients tithe what they receive.
The tithe belongs to God rather than to the person. The blessed nine-tenths go farther than the unblessed ten-tenths. God helps the true steward plan debts and obligations and economize in time and means so as to meet obligations better by paying tithe than by retaining it. Because the tithe belongs to the Lord, civil government has no right to claim it.
Leviticus 27 is the chapter concerning vows and tithes. It records the laws concerning redemption and explains how Israel carried out the law of tithing already known to Abraham and Jacob.
The priest was to set the value of what was dedicated to God, whether good or bad. His valuation determined its worth for the required purpose. If one who had dedicated land or a house wanted to keep it, the price was the priest's valuation plus one fifth paid to retain it. The added amount made the vow binding and reminded the person that what had been dedicated was sacred.
When a vow concerned a person in the household or anything else that could not lawfully be offered, the priest assessed its value whether good or bad, and that assessed value was given instead through redemption. Jephthah therefore could not offer his daughter as a burnt offering, but could dedicate her to the Lord as a perpetual virgin. The fact that she was not redeemed shows she was devoted to the Lord's service in perpetual virginity rather than offered as a burnt sacrifice.
The verse is connected with devotion to destruction, which could set apart a person, animal, city, or object to be destroyed. It belongs to the law of tithing, which requires a tenth of income, of what one makes and receives. Debts owed do not reduce the tithe, which is paid on what is made rather than what is cleared after debts. Wages for hired help and interest representing property not owned are deducted, because those recipients tithe what they receive.
The tithe belongs to God rather than to the person. The blessed nine-tenths go farther than the unblessed ten-tenths. God helps the true steward plan debts and obligations and economize in time and means so as to meet obligations better by paying tithe than by retaining it. Because the tithe belongs to the Lord, civil government has no right to claim it.