Lessons from Leviticus

I was originally going to title this post Lumbering Through Leviticus; however, after cursory review of lumbering (clumsy and awkward and some of it synonyms: hulking, inept and maladroit) I decided another title was in order.  :-)

Why lumbering anyway?  Well, that's how I felt mentally.  Leviticus is one of those books that I sometimes have to 'knuckle' through.  Kings and Chronicles sometimes have the same effect on me.  And its not the books, its me.

I'll be reading along and catch myself 'reading' and mentally I've checked out, I'm off making lists or working on something else.  *sigh* So stop, go back to where I 'exited' and start re-reading.  Again!

The odd thing is, even if I chose to read aloud, I can still do the same thing - go into the 'zone' of performing the function without allowing the Word to wash me.

Having to retrace my steps has actually resulted in some interesting discoveries and ponderables.

Estimation (Lev 27:2-8), I was intrigued by the different amounts each gender/age was valued.  So how much was each person worth?

	Men	Women
20-60	50	30
5-20	20	10
0-5	5	3
60 & up	15	10

That's in shekels - silver too - approximately $128 per shekel.

As I began writing this the thought occurred, what does estimation mean?

H6187 - From H6186; a pile, equipment, estimate.

• H6186 - A primitive root; to set in a row, that is, arrange, put in order (in a very wide variety of applications).

And what does a singular vow mean?

This appears to be something quite different from other offerings and vows.  I checked several commentaries - this one by Jamieson, Fausett and Brown seemed the most concise and easily understood.

When a man shall make a singular vow, etc. — Persons have, at all times and in all places, been accustomed to present votive offerings, either from gratitude for benefits received, or in the event of deliverance from apprehended evil. And Moses was empowered, by divine authority, to prescribe the conditions of this voluntary duty.

the persons shall be for the Lord, etc. — better rendered thus: - “According to thy estimation, the persons shall be for the Lord.” Persons might consecrate themselves or their children to the divine service, in some inferior or servile kind of work about the sanctuary (1Sa_3:1). In the event of any change, the persons so devoted had the privilege in their power of redeeming themselves; and this chapter specifies the amount of the redemption money, which the priest had the discretionary power of reducing, as circumstances might seem to require. Those of mature age, between twenty and sixty, being capable of the greatest service, were rated highest; young people, from five till twenty, less, because not so serviceable; infants, though devotable by their parents before birth (1Sa_1:11), could not be offered nor redeemed till a month after birth; old people were valued below the young, but above children; and the poor - in no case freed from payment, in order to prevent the rash formation of vows - were rated according to their means.

There is one ponderable I had as I completed my journey through Leviticus.  I've a couple more that 'popped out' but those will have to wait for another post.

Don't get discouraged if you're having a hard time staying focused while reading the Word.  Even the difficult passages, or parts that may not appear as interesting.  God has each and every word recorded for our benefit.