Monday, Nov. 4
Leviticus Chapter 27 Click here to read
Leviticus ends in a characteristically dry chapter of the rules that need to be followed if you have dedicated something to the Lord and want to buy it back, essentially substituting a financial gift for a physical gift. This isn’t always possible, but when it is, there are rules for determining the value.
It’s tempting to get sidetracked into a discussion of the relative value of people who have been dedicated to the Lord, but they simply reflect the reality that in a society where most work requires great physical strength, men of prime working age usually produce more than women or men who are younger or older.
The concept of placing monetary value on human life rightfully makes us uncomfortable, but this image occurs throughout scripture. In chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians, Paul writes, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
In his song of praise at the birth of John the Baptizer, Zechariah prophesies: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.”
Redemption, it seems, works both ways.
Leviticus ends with the process for redeeming a person who has been dedicated to the Lord. But Jesus turns that around and pays a price to redeem people who have sold themselves into slavery to sin and death.
Much later in these readings we’ll come to one of the more unusual prophets, a man named Hosea. God directs Hosea to live out the relationship of Israel to God by marrying a promiscuous woman who he repeatedly has to buy out of prostitution.
This reflects the way that God has to repeatedly save Israel from the bondage it gets into through unfaithfulness, and foreshadows the ultimate redemption of God’s people in Jesus Christ.