Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man hath devoted to Jehovah of all that he hath, of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed every devoted thing is most holy to Jehovah.
Leviticus 27 closes the book with rules about vows — what a person may hand over to God, and at what price. Verse 28 sets one class apart from all the rest: the "devoted thing," which no payment can buy back.
God demands nothing in this chapter. It deals with what a person chooses to give.
The Lord wanted seriousness in His people when they made a vow. There was no demand on His part in this case, as there was with the firstborn of man and beast. But He accepted the desire of any individual for devotedness to Himself.
The Hebrew word behind "devoted" is cherem. It named a second, heavier kind of vow, and it usually fell on what stood against God.
Living things could be vowed to Him in two ways. They might be consecrated to Him in life, or under certain conditions they might be devoted to Him for ever. This last kind of vow is here called cherem. Men, animals, and also fields could be devoted in this way, and for such no redemption was permitted. For people, such a vow was probably meant to affect only those who were enemies of God and of Israel. Their death was the only possible way of fulfilling it. The Canaanites are an example of this, as well as the Amorites under Sihon and Og east of the Jordan.
Stuart adds that devoting something to God "was a solemn and an irrevocable act." Jephthah learned that at bitter cost. His rash vow forced him to sacrifice his own daughter, his only child.
One phrase in the verse is strange. A devoted thing is "most holy to the LORD," even when it is something destroyed. Commentators explain that the destruction itself sets it apart for God.
God's strong hand is also upon the evil. This is the meaning of the cherem, or ban: whatever was evil, or defiled with evil, was sanctified to God in its destruction. "There can be no doubt about what lay at the foundation of the ban. It was the compulsory dedication of something which resists or impedes sanctification. So whenever the community or the magistrates carried it out, it was an act of the judicial holiness of God, showing itself in righteousness and judgment." (Keil.) Here there could be no ransom. Things that are evil, and persons most unholy, shall in a coming day be holy to the Lord in this way.
The verse allows no exception: no devoted thing "shall be sold or redeemed." Commentators see here a sentence God will not reverse.
This is the case of something, or someone, placed "under the ban" because of the serious corruption of sin. Once this devoting to destruction has taken place, there is no release, no redemption. Whether it is principles of evil or people identified with the evil, once God has pronounced against the evil, it cannot be reversed. God is always dealing in great grace, seeking to bring people to repentance. Despite this, some resist His great mercy. In the end they show themselves to be enemies of God, determined to act in rebellion.
That leaves a practical question: who decides, and when?
We do not decide when people have crossed the line into open hostility against God, but we should keep preaching the gospel to them as long as they will listen. But God knows, and once He has decided that they are under the ban of devotion to destruction, nothing can change this. How dreadful a thought for those who dare to resist the gracious pleading of the Spirit of God!
These rules close Leviticus. They point past Israel's failure to keep its own vow.
At Horeb they had made their vow of being obedient and devoted to the Lord, but they could not meet the claims of what that vow meant. The sanctification demanded in this book they could not fulfil. But grace is seen connected with it — the grace which is yet to flow out to Israel, the chosen nation. Sanctification by law is impossible; grace alone can sanctify. One thought runs through this final chapter of Leviticus: the Lord will have His own. In the end God will be all in all.
- Willing. No one had to make a vow. God accepted the desire of any individual for devotedness to Himself, and He set the terms.
- Beyond price. A devoted thing goes past an ordinary vow. No redemption was permitted, and the act was solemn and could not be undone.
- Holy. What resists sanctification is sanctified to God in its destruction. That judgment is an act of God's judicial holiness, not a break from it.
- Final. Once God has pronounced against the evil, it cannot be reversed; there is no release, no redemption.
- Grace. Meanwhile we keep preaching to all who will listen. Sanctification by law is impossible; grace alone can sanctify, and God will have His own in the end.
Nothing devoted, which shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed it shall certainly be put to death.
The last chapter of Leviticus is about gifts people bring to God, and almost every gift in it has a price for buying it back. Then comes a rule with no way out: no price can ransom a person placed under this dedication.
People could give living things to God in more than one way. One writer sets out the difference, and shows who the permanent vow was aimed at.
People could vow living things to Him in two ways. They might consecrate them to Him in life, or under certain conditions devote them to Him forever. This last kind of vow is here called cherem. People could devote men, animals, and also fields in this way, and there was no redemption for these. In the case of men, such a vow probably aimed only at the enemies of God and of Israel. Their death was the only possible way of fulfilling it. The Canaanites are an example, as well as the Amorites under Sihon and Og, east of the Jordan. Later God ordered the same treatment for the Amalekites. To devote anything to God was a solemn and irrevocable act, and Jephthah learned this at his cost. He had made a rash vow to offer as a burnt offering whatever came out of his house to meet him, if he returned victorious from the fight. So he felt bound to sacrifice his daughter, his only child. Jephthah had opened his mouth to the Lord, and he could not go back.
Earlier in the same chapter a man could vow a person to the Lord and later settle the matter with a fixed payment. The difference lies in who asked for the vow.
As Jehovah did not require these vows, He did not make them irrevocable. Someone could redeem the persons devoted in this way, so He provided the scale of values given above.
How can destroying something be an act of holiness? One writer answers by defining the ban itself, quoting the scholar Keil.
But the same strong hand rests on the evil too. That is the meaning of the cherem, or ban: what was evil, or stained with evil, was sanctified to God in its destruction. "There can be no doubt what lay at the root of the ban. It was the forced dedication of something that resists or blocks sanctification. So whenever the community or the judges carried it out, it was an act of the judicial holiness of God, showing itself in righteousness and judgment." Here there could be no ransom.
The writer adds that this outcome does not rest on human will. It is the Lord's judgment, and love accepts it as something holiness requires.
The verse describes a point of no return, and one commentator explains how a person reaches it.
This is the case of something, or someone, being placed "under the ban" (v. 29) because of the serious corruption of sin. Once this devoting to destruction has taken place, there is no release, no redemption. This may be principles of evil, or people identified with the evil. Either way, once God has pronounced His sentence against the evil, nothing can reverse it. God works constantly in great grace, seeking to bring people to repentance. Despite this, some resist His great mercy. In the end they show themselves to be enemies of God, determined to act in rebellion. They become what Romans 9:22 describes: "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction." They are those who "stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do" (1 Peter 2:8). We do not decide when people have crossed the line into open hostility against God. We should keep preaching the gospel to them as long as they will listen.
The same idea of a devoted thing returns in sacrifice. One writer draws the line between the offering and the sinner it stands in for.
Substitution is not identification. A sin offering is identified, not with the sinner, but with the sin. Israel's sins were laid upon the sin offering, which then became, for their sakes, a devoted thing. Our sins were laid on Jesus, who in the same way became as a thing devoted for our sakes. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).
- Cherem — The verse uses a special word for what is handed over to God for good. It is a solemn and irrevocable act, and no one could buy it back.
- Price — God never demanded ordinary vows, so a fixed payment could settle them. Because He did not require them, He did not make them binding forever.
- Judgment — What resists holiness is sanctified in its destruction. That is the judicial side of God's holiness, and no ransom was possible.
- Point of no return — God works in grace to bring people to repentance. Once He has pronounced against the evil, nothing reverses it, so keep telling people the gospel as long as they will listen.
- Substitute — One devoted thing was not evil at all. Our sins were laid on Jesus, who became a devoted thing for our sakes. The offering is identified with the sin, not with the sinner.