And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Leviticus closes not with a warning but with a fresh word from the Lord about vows — about giving yourself, or what you own, to God. Who sets the price on a person? And what about the one who cannot pay it?
The final chapter follows naturally from the laws about the land that come before it.
Chapters 25 and 26 give the Lord's rules about the land and its return to its rightful owner, keeping God's claim as Lord of the soil. Now this chapter tells us of the permission granted to Israel, who were like tenants at will, to set apart to the Lord by a vow people, animals, houses, or lands — in a word, whatever property they had. They owed everything to the Lord's goodness and mercy, and at times they tasted that goodness in a special way. So it would be no wonder if some marked favour shown to them moved them to vow something they owned to God.
A vow began as a free choice. After that, the one who made it had no say.
No one had to undertake these vows, but once undertaken they had to be kept. Keeping them was then a plain matter of righteousness, and the One to whom they were made judged whether they were kept. A man might regret his promise and go easy on himself about carrying it out. So the value of his vow was not left to the one who made it. God Himself, or the priest as His mouthpiece, settled everything.
Moses priced each person by a fixed scale. That scale measured capacity — what a person could bring.
In the matter of atonement all stood on one common level. So it must always be. High and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, old and young, all have one common right to come in. All stand alike on the ground of the infinite preciousness of the blood of Christ. There may be a vast difference in capacity — but the right is the same. There may be a vast difference in experience — but the right is the same. There may be a vast difference in knowledge, gift and fruitfulness — but the right is the same. The sapling and the tree, the baby and the father, yesterday's convert and the mature believer are all on the same ground.
The sums set for different ages are worth weighing.
The estimate is made by age. For a male the value was five shekels of silver from one month to five years old, twenty shekels from five to twenty, fifty shekels from twenty to sixty, and fifteen from sixty upwards. The highest value falls on the years from twenty to sixty, when a person's faculties and energies are most fully in play. But this is striking: the years between five and twenty are worth more than the years from sixty upwards. This is significant. The earlier the better.
Verse 8 makes room for the person who cannot reach the figure.
If it is a question of man meeting the claims of righteousness, then he must meet them. But if a man feels himself quite unable to meet those claims, he has only to fall back on grace, which will take him up just as he is. Moses stands for the claims of divine righteousness. The priest speaks for what divine grace provides. The poor man who could not stand before Moses fell back into the arms of the priest.
Some writers read the whole chapter as Israel's own story.
This was law. Israel had vowed to do everything the Lord commanded. God held them to it, but they did not keep this vow. Every individual had therefore incurred a debt they have never paid, and cannot pay. Their condition for that reason is hopeless. Only God's grace can meet it — grace that came in the person of the Son of God, but which Israel then refused.
Another writer follows the same chapter to the day Christ Himself was priced.
There may be vows of persons or animals (not of the firstborn, already the Lord's), of house or land; but if everything fails or is lost through man, God's rights remain. All was gone before God when Christ was worth no more in Jewish eyes than the price of a slave. Yet He will retrieve everything for them, having glorified the Lord in all.
What about a Christian binding himself by a promise?
The vow has wholly passed away — but it passed away to make room for Christ's strength to rest on us, so that we can glory in our very weaknesses for that reason. God's oath is sworn to us, that His abundant grace shall be our sufficiency.
- Voluntary — no one had to vow. But once you spoke the promise, God fixed the price, not you.
- Valued — the scale measured capacity, which rises and falls with age and strength. Early devotion counts highest.
- Level — capacity differs from person to person; the right to come to God does not. All stand on one ground.
- Poor — the man who could not reach Moses' figure went to the priest, who priced him by what he could give. Righteousness hands him over to grace.
- Retrieved — Israel vowed and failed, and Christ was priced like a slave. Yet God's rights hold, and He will recover everything.
Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When any one devoteth [anything] by a vow, the persons shall be for Jehovah according to thy valuation.
Leviticus closes with a permission, not a command: an Israelite could give the Lord a person, an animal, a house or a field by a special vow. Verse 2 covers the first of these — God, not the worshipper, fixes what a vowed person is worth.
Nothing in the law forced anyone to make this vow.
The Lord wanted seriousness in His people when they made a vow. In this case there was no demand on His part, as there was with the firstborn of man and beast. A whole tribe, the sons of Levi, was already set apart for the religious service of the Lord. But He accepted the desire of any individual to be devoted to Himself. He gave Moses directions to value them on a fixed scale, which varied by age and sex.
A vowed man or woman did not go to serve at the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship. Money settled the vow instead, and two unchanging facts fixed the sum.
A man might vow a person to the Lord... In that case he had to make a money payment... The Lord goes on to declare what that valuation was to be, and from it there was no appeal. The valuation rested on two things that could never change — the age and the sex of the person vowed to God... Only Levites could serve in person in the Lord's work at the Tabernacle. So we can understand why God required a payment instead of the personal service of someone from one of the twelve tribes.
Once spoken, the vow was no longer a matter of choice.
These were voluntary in the undertaking, but not in the fulfilment once undertaken. Fulfilling them was then a matter of simple righteousness. Their fulfilment was subject to the judgment of the One to whom they were made. A man might regret his promise and let himself off lightly as to performing it. So the man who vowed did not set the value himself. God Himself, or the priest as His spokesman, settled it all.
The scale in the next verses changes with age and sex. One commentator sets it beside the atonement money of Exodus, where rich and poor paid the same, and separates what a person can offer from the standing all share before God.
A person might devote himself, or his animal, his house, or his field, to the Lord. It was clearly a question of capacity or worth. So there was a fixed scale of valuation according to age. Moses represented God's claims. He had to judge each case by the standard of the sanctuary... About the atonement money, Exodus 30:15 says, "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than half a shekel." In the matter of atonement all stood on one common level... There may be a vast difference as to capacity — as to title there is none.
Verse 8 provides for the man who cannot pay. Notice which official he goes to.
If it is a question of man undertaking to meet the claims of righteousness, then he must meet them. But suppose a man feels completely unable to meet those claims. Then he has only to fall back on grace, which will take him up just as he is. Moses represents the claims of divine righteousness. The priest is the exponent of the provisions of divine grace. The poor man who could not stand before Moses fell back into the arms of the priest.
One writer reads the chapter against Israel's own promise at Sinai.
Israel had vowed to do all that the Lord commanded (Exodus 19:8; Exodus 24:2, 7). God held them to it, but they did not keep this vow. Every individual had therefore run up a debt they have never paid and cannot pay. For that reason their condition is hopeless. Only God's grace can meet it — grace that came in the person of the Son of God, but which Israel then refused.
Israel's failure shapes how we speak today.
Man's unfaithfulness has been proven — proven by Israel under law. So the Lord Jesus warned people not to vow at all (Matthew 5:33-37). In other words, we are not to trust ourselves. Our trust must be only in the Lord, whose word can never fail.
- Voluntary — God demanded no such vow; He simply accepted the desire of anyone who wanted to be His.
- Valued — God's fixed scale of age and sex priced the vowed person, and there was no appeal.
- Binding — free in the making, compulsory in the paying; the one who vowed never set the figure.
- Provided — the man who could not reach Moses' figure went to the priest, who valued him by what he could afford.
- Grace — Israel vowed at Sinai and could not pay. Only God's grace meets that debt, so our trust rests on His word, not our promises.
And thy valuation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old thy valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary;
Leviticus closes with rules for vows, and verse 3 sets the top of the scale. Why would God put a price on a person at all, and what happens to the one who cannot pay?
Nothing here forces anyone to devote himself. The offer comes from the worshipper, and God answers it with a fixed scale.
The Lord wanted seriousness in His people when they made a vow. Here there was no demand on His part, as there was with the firstborn of man and beast. The Lord had already set apart a whole tribe, the sons of Levi, for religious service. Yet He accepted the desire of any individual to be devoted to Himself. He told Moses to value such people on a scale that varied with their age and sex.
Because the vow was never required, it was never irreversible either.
Since the Lord did not require these vows, He did not make them irrevocable. The persons devoted in this way could be redeemed, and so the scale of valuation was provided. 2 Kings 12 mentions what the redemption price was for. It calls it "the money of the persons for whom each man is rated." In the days of the temple the priests were to take this, with the other gifts listed there, fixed or voluntary, and repair the breaches of the house wherever a breach was found.
The chapter runs down through younger and older brackets, and verse 3 sits at the head of them.
The first estimate covered the time when service was valued most, from twenty years old to sixty. The male was set at fifty shekels of silver, the female at thirty.
The verse does not just say "fifty shekels." It names the weight, and that rule runs through every transaction in the chapter.
One more law held without exception throughout these transactions: "And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel." Israel might have preferred to pay in whatever coin suited their dealings with the nations. But here, as with the temple service and their redemption price, they had to pay "according to the shekel of the sanctuary."
A graded price list raises an obvious worry: does God value some people more than others?
When a person devoted himself, or his animal, his house, or his field to the Lord, the question was one of capacity or worth. So there was a scale of valuation according to age. Moses stood for God's claims, and he had to weigh each case by the standard of the sanctuary. If a man undertakes to make a vow, he must be tested by the standard of righteousness... In the matter of atonement all stood on one common level... There may be a vast difference as to capacity — as to title there is none.
Some could not meet the sum. Such a man was not turned away; he went to a different official.
What about the person who could not rise to the claims set out by the representative of divine righteousness? Hear the comforting answer... If a man takes it on himself to meet the claims of righteousness, then he must meet them. But if he feels wholly unable to meet those claims, he has only to fall back on grace, which will take him up just as he is. Moses represents the claims of divine righteousness. The priest expresses the provisions of divine grace.
Poverty lowers the price; it does not cancel it.
Something was due to the Lord and had to be paid. Release from the obligation must not be a light thing, and God must not be mocked by carelessness. Yet there was to be no harshness; only gracious care that the debt to God should not crush the poorest of His people.
Israel as a nation had also made a vow.
This was law. Israel had vowed to do everything the Lord commanded. God held them to it, but they did not keep this vow. Every individual had therefore run up a debt they have never paid and cannot pay. For that reason their condition is hopeless. Only God's grace can meet it — grace that came in the person of the Son of God, but which Israel then refused. Only when their minds are changed will they receive such grace.
- Voluntary: God never demanded these vows; one tribe already served Him. The scale exists only because someone offered himself.
- Valued: the fifty shekels covers the years when service was worth most. It prices capacity, not standing — in atonement all stood on one level.
- Weighed: not the handiest coin of the nations. God named His own weight — the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.
- Redeemable: the price bought the devoted person back, and the silver repaired the breaches in God's house.
- Reduced, never waived: the poor man went to the priest, who rated him by his means. Something was still owed, yet the debt would not crush him. Israel broke the same kind of vow and left the debt unpaid; only grace can meet it.
and if it be of a female, thy valuation shall be thirty shekels.
Leviticus 27 closes the book with rules for a voluntary vow. Someone could promise a person to the Lord and then pay a set price in silver instead. Verse 4 puts a woman at thirty shekels, against fifty for a man in the verse before. What was that scale measuring, and does the lower figure make a woman worth less to God?
The vow was free to make and impossible to undo. One writer also names the two facts that fixed the price:
Two things fixed the estimate, and neither could change: the age and the sex of the person vowed to God… No one had to make a vow: "But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin" (Deut. 23:22). But once someone made a vow, the Lord would require it. No one could set aside an agreement made with God at his own will or whim.
The top figures cover the working years. They track what a person could give in labour:
The first estimate covered the years when service counted most, from twenty years old to sixty. It set the male at fifty shekels of silver and the female at thirty.
The gap between the sexes does not stay fixed. Among the oldest it narrows:
Next comes the oldest class, from sixty years and above: the male at fifteen shekels, the female at ten. There the scale for the aged woman rose nearest to the man, where man might be inclined to despise.
A different price tag says nothing about a person's standing with God. Another payment in the law shows why — the atonement money, where rich and poor paid the same:
In Exodus 30:15 we read, about the atonement money: "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel…" In the matter of atonement all stood on one common level. This will always be so. High and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, old and young, all have one common title. "There is no distinction." All stand alike on the ground of the infinite preciousness of the blood of Christ. There may be a vast difference as to capacity — as to title there is none.
The same sum appears elsewhere as a price set on a person:
The price of a servant was thirty shekels of silver. The redemption price of a free Israelite was fifty shekels (Lev. 27:3); that of a slave, thirty shekels. How it reminds us again of Him who was sold for thirty pieces of silver.
Israel itself had made this kind of vow when it took up the law. One writer draws out what happened next:
By adopting the legal covenant, Israel had in fact made such a vow of self-devotion to the Lord. In the commandments about sanctification just laid down, God had fixed the estimate of what that vow implied… Yet it was still a "law" that "made nothing perfect," and could not succeed. Israel did not perform their vow, whatever the merciful release might be. On legal ground they — and we — are simply bankrupt and ruined sinners.
The chapter makes room for the person who cannot reach the sum. Which official he goes to carries the meaning:
If it is a question of man undertaking to meet the claims of righteousness, then he must meet them. But if a man feels he cannot meet those claims at all, he has only to fall back on grace, which will take him up just as he is. Moses is the representative of the claims of divine righteousness. The priest is the expression of the provisions of divine grace. The poor man who could not stand before Moses fell back into the arms of the priest… it is no longer a question of what we are able to earn, but of what God is pleased to give.
- Vow — no one had to promise anything. But a promise made to God was binding, and the one who made it could not take it back.
- Valuation — the price ran by age and sex because it measured usable service. It came closest to equal for the aged woman, just where people are most likely to think little of her.
- Level ground — capacity differs from person to person. Title does not: the atonement money was the same for rich and poor.
- Shortfall — Israel took up the law and never paid what it promised. On legal ground, the writers put us in the same bankrupt place.
- Grace — the poor man moved from Moses to the priest. The question changed from what he could earn to what God gives.
And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, thy valuation of the male shall be twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
Leviticus 27 closes the book with rules for vows: someone gave a person to the Lord, then settled the gift in money. Verse 5 prices the years from five to twenty, and raises a question — why does God set a different sum on each stage of a life?
Nothing in this chapter forces anyone to vow. The scale exists because God was willing to receive an offer He had not asked for.
The Lord wanted seriousness in His people when they made a vow. He made no demand here, as He did with the firstborn of man and beast. A whole tribe, the sons of Levi, was already set apart for the Lord's service. But He accepted the desire of any individual for devotedness to Himself. He gave Moses directions to value them on a scale that varied according to their age and sex.
Feeling had nothing to do with the sum. Age and sex settled it: here twenty shekels for a male, ten for a female. Hardship did not cancel the debt.
The valuation rested on two things that could never change: the age and the sex of the person vowed to God. Once those were settled, the lawgiver's valuation decided the payment... Poverty could never be pleaded as an excuse to block God's claim, or to shield the one who made the vow from carrying it out. No one was obliged to make a vow. But once made, the Lord would require it.
Why money, when the vow gave a person? It came down to who was allowed to serve at the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship.
Only Levites could do the Lord's work in the tabernacle in person. So we can understand why a payment was demanded in place of the personal service of one of the twelve tribes. And when Hannah vowed to lend her child Samuel to the Lord as long as he lived, she brought him to Eli the priest to fulfil it, and no money payment was thought of in his place.
The scale peaks in the prime years, then falls with age — and the surprise is where the young sit on it.
The highest valuation falls on that period of life — twenty to sixty — when the faculties and energies are most fully in play. But this is striking: the years between five and twenty carry a higher value than the years from sixty upwards. A man who begins to devote himself to the Lord at sixty is worth only fifteen shekels. A youth under twenty counts for five shekels more. The earlier the better.
Why should five years of youth outrank old age? One writer traces it to what sin does to a life over time.
Saving grace may reach the soul at any time, and surrender to the claims of Christ then follows. But as a rule the best servants of Christ were converted early, and early led to yield their hearts and lives to Him... Grace may work wonders, and lead an old man converted like this to do great things. Yet when the same grace wins the young heart for Christ, and it has escaped the dulling, deadening effects of sin, that heart is certainly more easily trained and taught.
Verse 8 sends anyone too poor to pay to the priest instead. Two roles stand side by side there.
When anyone made a special vow, Moses valued him according to his age. In other words, when anyone dared to take his stand on his own capacity, Moses valued him as the representative of God's claims, "according to the shekel of the sanctuary." If he were poorer than Moses' estimate, he was to present himself before the priest. The priest, as the representative of the grace of God, valued him by what the man who vowed could afford.
Even so, the concession is not a discharge.
It was due to the Lord that something should be paid, so that release from the obligation might not be treated lightly, or God mocked by carelessness. Yet there was to be no harshness; only gracious care that the debt to God might not crush the poorest of His people.
But Israel had already made a vow of its own. That turns the whole scale into a bill nobody could pay.
Israel had vowed to do all that the Lord commanded (Ex. 19:8; Ex. 24:2, 7). God held them to it, but they did not keep this vow. Every individual therefore had run up a debt they have never paid and cannot pay. Their condition is hopeless for that reason. Only God's grace can meet it — grace that came in the person of the Son of God, though Israel then refused it.
Against that debt stands One whose value no scale could set.
Man had a value after all, and though he could not pay it himself, it could be paid. For man there could be escape; for the devoted Victim there was none. No substitute could be provided for Him, and who could rightly estimate His value?
- Free, then fixed. No one had to vow; but a vow spoken was a debt owed, and age and sex — not feeling — set the sum.
- Silver for service. Only one tribe could serve in person, so money stood in place of the life offered.
- Youth outranks age. The top rate goes to the prime years, twenty to sixty. But five-to-twenty beats sixty and over: give a life early and it counts for more.
- Grace makes room. Moses' figure set God's claim. For the poor, the priest re-priced it by what the man could bear.
- One price unpayable. Israel's own vow left a debt no one could pay. Only the Victim with no substitute and no set price could meet it.
And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, thy valuation of the male shall be five shekels of silver; and for the female thy valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
Leviticus closes with a chapter about vows, and this verse sets the lowest rung on its scale: the youngest children, priced at five shekels for a boy and three for a girl. Why would God put a price on a child at all, and what does a scale based on age and sex say about how He values people?
Nothing in this chapter is compulsory. A person offered himself, or someone in his household, to the Lord. God then set the terms.
The Lord wanted seriousness in His people when making a vow. There was no demand on His part in this case, as there was with the firstborn of man and beast. A whole tribe, the sons of Levi, was already set apart for the religious service of the Lord. But He accepted the desire of any individual to be devoted to Himself, and He gave Moses directions to value such people on a certain scale. The scale varied according to their age and sex.
The sums climb and fall across a lifetime. But once a person said the words, he had to pay.
God did not require this vow, but once someone made it, he absolutely had to keep it… The valuation was 5 shekels for a little boy from 1 month to 5 years, and 3 shekels for a little girl (v. 6).
The obvious question is why a small child costs less than a grown man. The answer lies in what the scale measures — and in one other payment, where the price never moved.
When a person devoted himself, or his animal, his house, or his field, to the Lord, it was clearly a question of capacity or worth. So there was a certain scale of valuation, according to age… In Exodus 30:15 we read, about the atonement money, "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than half a shekel, when they give an offering to the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls." In the matter of atonement all stood on one common level. High and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, old and young — all have one common title, with no difference between them. All stand alike on the ground of the infinite preciousness of the blood of Christ. There may be a vast difference as to capacity — as to title there is none.
Read the whole scale and something unexpected appears. The peak falls where strength is greatest, but the youngest years are not the bottom of the list — old age is.
The highest estimation is placed on that period of life — twenty to sixty — when the faculties and energies are most fully in play. But this is striking, that a higher value is placed on the years between five and twenty than on those between sixty and upwards. A man who begins to devote himself to the Lord at sixty years of age is only worth fifteen shekels, while a youth under twenty is reckoned at five shekels more. This is significant. The earlier the better.
The chapter does not end with the price list. Verse 8 makes room for the man who cannot pay even the smallest sum named here, and sends him from Moses to the priest.
What, then, about the person who could not rise to the height of the claims set out by the representative of divine righteousness? Listen to the comforting answer: "But if he is too poor for your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him. The priest shall value him according to what the one who vowed can afford." … Moses represents the claims of divine righteousness. The priest sets out the provisions of divine grace. The poor man who was unable to stand before Moses fell back into the arms of the priest.
This chapter puts a price on people. One writer points to the place where Scripture puts a price on Christ.
As to Christ, He offered Himself without spot to God; He was valued at a low price… In Zechariah 11 Christ is valued in this way: "whom the people of Israel valued."
- Free, then fixed. God never commanded this vow; He accepted the desire of anyone who wanted to be His, then told Moses what it would cost.
- Age, not worth. The sliding scale — down to five and three shekels for the smallest children — measures capacity for service, not the value of a soul.
- One level. The atonement money was half a shekel for rich and poor alike. Capacity differs from person to person; title does not differ at all.
- Start early. The scale ranks the years from five to twenty above sixty and older. The earlier someone gives his life to God, the more this reckoning counts it.
- Grace at the bottom. If a man could not reach even the lowest figure, he went to the priest, who valued him by what he had — the chapter of prices ends in mercy.
And if it be from sixty years old and above, if it be a male, thy valuation shall be fifteen shekels; and for the female ten shekels.
Leviticus 27 sets a price in silver on anyone who vows himself to the Lord, and that price changes with age and sex. Verse 7 gives the last bracket, sixty and over, where the figures are lowest — so why should age lower the price of a devoted life?
The chapter deals with something offered, not something required.
The Lord wanted seriousness in His people when making a vow. There was no demand on His part in this case, as there was with the firstborn of man and beast. A whole tribe, the sons of Levi, was already set apart for the religious service of the Lord. But He accepted the desire of any individual to be devoted to Himself. He laid down directions for Moses to value such people on a scale that varied with their age and sex.
The scale peaks between twenty and sixty, the years of full strength. In this last bracket the figures fall — but not evenly.
Next for the oldest class, from sixty years and above, for the male fifteen shekels, and the female ten. There the scale for the aged woman rose nearest to the man's, where man might be disposed to despise.
The price varies here because the question is what a person can render. Acceptance with God is a different question. There the sum in Exodus was the same for every Israelite.
There may be a vast difference as to capacity — as to title there is none. There may be a vast difference as to experience — as to title there is none. There may be a vast difference as to knowledge, gift, and fruitfulness — as to title there is none. The sapling and the tree, the baby and the father, the convert of yesterday and the mature believer, are all on the same ground. "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel." … Christ is our title. The Holy Spirit is our capacity. Self has nothing to do with either one.
Where verse 7 differs from atonement money is that it measures ability alone.
But in Leviticus 27 it is entirely a question of ability, capacity, or worth. Moses had a certain standard from which he could not possibly come down. He had a certain rule from which he could not possibly turn aside.
Line up the brackets and something stands out: a teenager scores higher than a man of sixty. One writer draws the lesson.
The scale sets its highest value on that period of life — twenty to sixty — when a person's powers and energies are most fully in play. But this is striking: it values the years between five and twenty higher than the years from sixty upwards. A man who begins to devote himself to the Lord at sixty is worth only fifteen shekels. A youth under twenty counts for five shekels more. This is significant. The earlier the better.
Verse 8 answers the person who cannot pay the price set. Two men appear in the chapter, and they stand for two different things.
In other words, if it is a question of man undertaking to meet the claims of righteousness, then he must meet them. But if a man feels himself wholly unable to meet those claims, he has only to fall back on grace, which will take him up just as he is. Moses is the representative of the claims of divine righteousness. The priest is the one who sets out the provisions of divine grace. The poor man who was unable to stand before Moses fell back into the arms of the priest.
Even then, something was still paid.
It was due to the Lord that something should be paid, so that release from the obligation might not be treated lightly, or God mocked by carelessness. Yet there must be no harshness; only gracious care that the debt to God should not crush the poorest of His people.
Israel as a nation made a promise of its own. One writer traces what came of it.
Israel had vowed to do all that the Lord commanded. God held them to it, but they did not keep this vow. Every individual had therefore run up a debt they have never paid, and cannot pay. Their condition for that reason is hopeless. Only God's grace can meet it.
The chapter puts a price on people. One writer follows that idea through to Christ Himself.
As to Christ, He offered Himself without spot to God; He was valued at a low price… In Zechariah 11 Christ is valued this way — He is the one the children of Israel priced.
- Voluntary. God demanded no vow. He accepted one, then held the person who made it to a fixed standard.
- Capacity. The falling figures at sixty measure what a person can render, not the person's standing before God.
- Title. Atonement money was the same for rich and poor — difference in capacity, none in title.
- Early. A youth under twenty outranks a man of sixty on the scale — the earlier you give yourself, the better.
- Grace. Anyone too poor for the estimate went to the priest — and Israel, poorer than the estimate, has only grace left.
And if he be poorer than thy valuation, he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him according to his means that vowed shall the priest value him.
Leviticus ends with a chapter on vows, where a person could promise himself, his animals, his house or his field to the Lord for a set price in silver based on age and sex. Verse 8 is the one exception to that fixed price: what happens when a man cannot pay what he promised?
A vow began as a free choice and ended as a debt God would collect:
The estimation rested on two things that could never change — the age and the sex of the person vowed to God. Once those were settled, the lawgiver's estimation, as laid down here, decided the payment — unless the one who made the vow was too poor to pay the stated sum. In that case, and only in that case, the priest could value him by what the one who vowed could pay. So no one could plead poverty to bar God's claim, or to escape carrying out his vow. No one had to make a vow: "If you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin." But once he made it, the Lord would require it.
The verse does not cancel the debt. It resizes it:
But in its considerate fairness there was another provision in verse 8. Something still had to be paid, because it was due to Jehovah. That way no one could treat release from the obligation as a light thing, or mock God by carelessness. Yet there must be no harshness — only gracious care that the debt to God might not crush the poorest of His people.
The poor man turns from one man to another, and that change is the point. Moses held the fixed scale; the priest held what the scale did not:
Verse 8 deals with the case of the poor man, who could turn from Moses to the priest, and the priest would value him according to his ability. Now the priest was one who could "deal gently with the ignorant and wayward." Pure law itself allows no flexibility: it demands payment in full. The priest stood for the measure of grace that the law system allowed.
Mackintosh takes that move as a picture of how anyone comes to God. Either a man meets the standard, or he admits he cannot:
If it is a question of man undertaking to meet the claims of righteousness, then he must meet them. But if, on the other hand, a man feels himself completely unable to meet those claims, he has only to fall back on grace, which will take him up just as he is. Moses represents the claims of divine righteousness. The priest sets out what divine grace provides. The poor man who could not stand before Moses fell back into the arms of the priest. It is always so. If we cannot "dig" we can "beg"; and the moment we take the place of a beggar, it is no longer a question of what we are able to earn, but of what God is pleased to give.
The scale measured what a man could pay. It never measured his right to come to God:
In the matter of atonement all stood on one common level. So it must always be. High and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, old and young, all have one common title. "There is no distinction." All stand alike on the ground of the infinite preciousness of the blood of Christ. There may be a vast difference in capacity — in title there is none. There may be a vast difference in experience — in title there is none. There may be a vast difference in knowledge, gift, and fruitfulness — in title there is none.
The chapter reaches further than one man's vow. Israel itself promised and could not pay:
When Israel took up the legal covenant, the nation had in fact made such a vow of self-devotion to the Lord. In the commandments about sanctification just laid down, God had fixed the estimate of what that vow involved. He had also been gracious towards the poverty of the people. All the provision about priesthood assures us of that. The priest is the special witness of such merciful consideration of spiritual poverty. Yet it was still a "law" that "made nothing perfect" and it could not help them. Israel did not perform their vow, whatever the merciful release might be. On legal ground they — and we — are only bankrupt and ruined sinners.
- Vow — no one had to make it, but once made God required it; poverty excused no one from paying something.
- Valuation — Moses held a fixed scale he could not lower, so the man who fell short had to go elsewhere.
- Priest — the poor man turns from the fixed standard to the one who deals gently, and the priest values him by what he has.
- Grace — when we cannot dig, we can beg; the question stops being what we can earn and becomes what God is pleased to give.
- Title — ability differs from person to person, but every believer has the same right to come to God, resting on the blood of Christ.