For everything you can think of, government to individual, God drew up his law for Israel. It was not to show how cruel or stern he was but how interested he was in them and protected they were of him. God is to Israel as a parent, therefore he made rules to go by. Israel still forsook them time after time, but when they did they found themselves in trouble.
What does this have to do with us? Plenty. We have the law of Christ. The laws of the Old Testament have become the moral standard of the world. Take the Ten Commandments for example. They show us all right and wrong. Most of the law was civil and ceremonial, particular to the nation of Israel. However, we can see analogies for our lives as Christians.
Leviticus 27:1 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. 3 And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. 9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. 10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.”
What are you worth? What is your value? What is the estimation of your value? We can look at this text and ask why there is such a distinction and value on human beings. Our duty is to recognize God’s value on us—what he made us. We are cherished, valued and loved by God. He put an estimated value on us, so what are you worth?
All of Israel was precious to God. He called them Jeshurun. This is hard to translate into earthly terms, but it would be as in the palm of his hand, near and dear to him. In chapter 27 are rules for those who dedicated themselves by vow unto the Lord for some kind of service. Right here is the comparison. The Lord saved us to be his servants. Think about it this way. Ask yourself “what can I do?” Serving is doing and being something. You are valuable to your supervisor at work. What you can do and who you are becomes the value placed on you.
This is about people who vowed or dedicated themselves and what they brought to the Lord. The guidelines seem strange to us. The money value was in shekels. The words mean weight, so it could be the weight of things such as gold or iron. The largest weight in the Bible is a talent; it is 3,000 shekels. In this chapter the shekels are of silver. Verses 3-4: males 20-60 years old 50 shekels and females 30 shekels; verse 5: 5-20 year old males 20, female 10; verse 6: one month to 5 years old 5 for the male and 3 for the female; verse 7: 60 years old and above 15 male and 10. This went on even to the beasts. What is being shown to us? The value of the dedication itself is worth much more than a material value.
We base values materially, looking at it from a worldly or carnal standpoint. God isn’t interested in material things. He made it all. Does he really need me to get along? No, not really. If all we do was added up, it still wouldn’t be worth much. God realized children couldn’t do much and those over 60 couldn’t go at it as hard. There was a lot involved in service for the younger and middle aged people. A woman kept the home. Men fought. There was lots of manual labor. God laid out this estimation for what they could do, but he looked, and still does, at the heart.
In God’s estimation, what does he expect of you? Ask yourself this. “Am I doing what I should? Am I being what I should?” Our value toward God is as a faithful servant. We can treat him with faithfulness or we can be carnal—ritualistic, be a “religious” person. God gives material worth to let us know he doesn’t place material value on a faithful servant.
Consider carnal as worldly, self-centered, or religious. How valuable is religion or a religious person to the Lord? We like being religious, but God doesn’t want that and doesn’t want to be treated that way. God is a Spirit and we must worship him in spirit and truth. We have the capacity to treat God faithfully or reduce him by our carnal nature to our own values.
What is your value of what the world offers? What about the world around us? What value do you place on the things of life? We have to place a value on our possessions, our health, jobs, and our savings. We must manage life well so that we have what we need to get by. If we don’t, someone is willing to take it from us. In many places, the Bible teaches about our stewardship. The mistake is placing too much value on our possessions to the point they become greater than God. Then they take the place of him. Anything can do it, even a job. We all have a lot to be thankful for. God knows what we need, but we cannot put what he gives us above him.
Consider your value to society. What is it? It depends, doesn’t it? Consider your value as a believer and a liver, one who shows the kind of living a believer ought to do. Living as a Christian is not popular. People have lost faith in every shape and form. Even those who curse their God’s name need us now more than ever. Search your heart and consider your value to the world as a conformer. If we profess to be Christians but conform to the world—if we blend in—what value are we to the society or the Lord? We may be persecuted as a Christian, but conformity does more damage. It gives the lost person an excuse to reject the Lord. The value that counts is not religious but a realistic, faithful servant of the Lord.
After a vow, a beast could not be exchanged, good or bad. If a person earnestly sought to do so, it had to be approved by the Levites. That’s the approval we need to seek. He’s our Master and God, and his Word is the Levite in our life. If any changes come about, let them have the approval of God. We will bring more honor and glory to his name. Change is a buzz word. It’s good if it brings us closer to the Lord. Otherwise it can be a nightmare.
We are in God’s estimation, and if we want to change what ours is, pray for help to change what needs changing. Who you are is worth a whole lot. Let’s live by God’s estimate. Stop trying to put a price tag on it and go by his price tag. All of us will come out better in the end.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 