Leviticus 27 Devotional

Already His Before We Give

“But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.”Leviticus 27:26 (BSB)

Leviticus closes with vows, voluntary promises to give a person, an animal, a house, or a field to the LORD. Each has a set value (27:3-7), and animals, houses, and fields can be bought back by adding a fifth (27:13, 15, 19). A promise to God was to be kept, and the law made keeping it possible even for the poor (27:8).

Some things could not be vowed at all. A firstborn animal already belonged to the LORD, so no one could consecrate it as though it were his to give (27:26). The tithe of the land and the herd was already holy to the LORD (27:30, 32). After all the sacrifices and feasts of this book, it ends on that quiet reminder: God owns everything before we offer anything. David confessed that all his people's generous gifts had come from God's own hand to begin with (1 Chronicles 29:14). Your giving to God is never a favor done for him. It is returning, gladly, what he first placed in your hands.

To think about: What promise have you made to God or to others that you need to keep, and what has he already given you to keep it with?