Numbers 30

De. 23 21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not be slack to

22 pay it : for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee ; and it would be sin in thee. But 23 if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe and do ; according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, a freewill offering, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

Nu. 30 1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, 2 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded. When a man voweth a vow unto the LORD, or sweareth an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word ; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

[Verses 3-16 refer to vows of woman, as daughter, wife, widow, or divorced.]

Lev. 27 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and 2 say unto them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy 3 estimation. 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 sanctu- 4 ary. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be from 5 five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty 6 shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 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 esti- 7 mation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and upward ; if it be 8 a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him ; according to the ability of him that vowed shall the priest value him.

[Verses 9-25 concern the redemption of beasts, houses, and fields]

26. Only the firstling among beasts, which is made a firstling to the LORD, no man shall sane- 27 tify it ; whether it be ox or sheep, it is the LORD’s. And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall ransom it according to thine estimation, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof : or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. 28 Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed : 29 every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD. None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be ransomed ; he shall surely be put to death.

Nu. 6 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying Speak unto the children of Israel, and say 2 unto them, When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to 3 separate himself unto the LORD : he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink ; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of 4 grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that 5 is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of his vow of sep- aration there shall no razor come upon his head : until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, he shall let the locks of the hair of his 6 head grow long. All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall not come near to a dead body.

[Verses 7-20 respect purification from defilement by the dead.]

21. This is the law of the Nazarite who voweth, and of his oblation unto the LORD for his sepa- ration, beside that which he is able to get : according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation.

Vows were religious engagements or promises voluntarily undertaken by a person toward the Almighty. Though the Israelites were not counselled or encouraged to make them, yet Je- hovah himself declared his acceptance of them, and they were therefore binding not only in a moral view, but according to the national law, and the priest was authorized to enforce and estimate their fulfilment. Wheeler.—The motive for such vows is to be sought in the un- satisfactory feeling attending the religious ser- vice of the Old Testament in the hearts of those who wished by means of it to draw nearer to

God. The consciousness that the sacrifices could only figuratively reconcile and unite to God, urged some among the Israelites expressly and entirely to give up themselves or what be- longed to them to the Lord. Gerl.

De. 23 : 21-25. The imperative obligation and the voluntary character of such vows is very clearly enunciated in these emphatic words : When thou shalt vow a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it ; for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee ; according as thou hast vowed, a free will-offering. B.—Nu. 30 : 2. He that vows is here said to bind his soul with a bond. It is a vow to God, who is a Spirit, and to him the soul with all its powers must be bound. A promise to man is a bond upon his estate, but a promise to God is a bond upon the soul. Our sacramental vows, by which we are bound to no more than what was before our duty, are bonds upon the soul; by them we must feel ourselves bound out from all sin and bound up to the whole will of God. Our occasional vows concerning that which before was in our own power, when they are made are bonds upon the soul likewise. The command given is that these vows be conscientiously performed. He shall not break his word. H.

The remarkable passage Josh. 9: 19, 20 shows in what light the children of Israel regarded the breach of their plighted faith even to a portion of the devoted nations of Canaan; “But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This will we do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we swore unto them.” Bush.

The Vows of Women (Nu. 30: 3-16).

Vows made without the knowledge or consent of the father or husband were to be of no force. No priest had any warrant from the Mosaic institutes to come between a young woman and her father, or between husband and wife. Vows to God were to be completely spontaneous, as between the soul and God. They were not to be extorted by others, nor yet to involve the entanglement of others. C. C.—It is observable how carefully the Divine Law consults the good order of families. It is fit that every man should bear rule in his own house, and rather than that this great rule should be broken God himself would release the obligation even of a solemn vow; so much does religion strengthen the ties of all relations and secure the welfare of all societies, and in it the families of the earth are blessed. H.

Redemption of Votive Offerings.

Upon reflection, the person might regret the step he had taken, or particular circumstances might render the literal performance of this vow inconvenient or unsuitable. Provision is here made for the redemption of the persons or things thus consecrated, and a table of rates is here given by which the priests were to be governed in their estimation of the value of the thing vowed. It does not appear that it was the purpose of the Law to enforce the practice, but merely to place a natural impulse of devotion under wise regulations. If an Israelite under such an impulse should bind himself or his child by a vow, to be a servant of the sanctuary, he might commute that service by paying a specified pecuniary equivalent, varying with sex and age, into the sacred treasury; and if he were too poor to pay the prescribed sum, it was in the discretion of the priest to fix upon some other, proportioned to his means.

Redemption of Persons (verses 3-8).

The rules of mortality are the principle on which these rates are graduated. The value was regulated according to the probability of life and service. None were vowed under a month old; and the first-born, being considered by a prior Law (Ex. 12) the Lord’s property, could not be vowed at all.

Of Beasts (verses 9-13).

Clean beasts and unblemished, proper for offering—viz., bullocks, sheep, or goats, could not be redeemed; and the firstlings, being already consecrated to God, could not be thus devoted. 9. Shall be holy. Set apart for God’s service according to the nature of the vow—that is to say, it shall be offered at the altar if given or vowed for sacrifice; or shall be given to the priests or Levites if vowed for that end; or shall be sold and the value of it employed in the service of the sanctuary, if given with that intention; or left at large to be disposed of as should be deemed most meet for the service of God. If the vow related to the gift of an animal, it must be offered in sacrifice if suitable to be so offered; and whoever was detected in attempting to substitute for it one of inferior worth was punished by the forfeiture of both. If it were an unclean animal that had been consecrated, the owner might still retain it on the payment of one fifth more than the priest declared to be its value.

Houses and Lands (verses 14-25).

On the same condition a house or a farm, consecrated as a religious offering, might be redeemed. The estimation of the value of an estate so consecrated was to have reference to the length of the interval between the time of the consecration and a Jubilee Year, at which time it reverted to its owner; and this provision held equally good, if the estate consecrated was one of which the devotee was only a tenant. Bush.—The law is then extended to lands which had been sold, and which in the Year of Jubilee returned to their former owners; because the first allotment of the land was then wholly restored. For these fields God commands a price to be paid upon a calculation of the time, so that only the produce and not the fee should be taken into account. Calv.

Lev. 27:26. The first-born of all males of both men and animals belonged to God. The firstling of a cow, sheep, or goat was unredeemable and sacrificed, its blood sprinkled and fat burned upon the altar, and the remainder given to the priests. But the firstling of a man or an unclean animal was to be redeemed by the payment of five shekels. Wheeler.

Of Things Irredeemably Devoted.

28. Notwithstanding, no devoted thing. Heb. cherem. This is not the nēder or common vow, such as we have previously considered, but one of a far more solemn kind, and inadequately represented by the term “devoted thing.” It signifies properly a vow made with imprecations by the vower on himself or others if that should not be done in which he engaged. Of the precise difference between the nēder and the cherem we are not informed by Moses, but it is clear from this passage that a thing devoted to God by cherem was irrevocably devoted beyond the power of redemption. Bush.—As to the word cherem, there is no good reason to doubt that its application to man is made exclusively in reference to one rightly doomed to death and in that sense alone given up to Jehovah. The feeling of the sacredness of life has its seat in the depth of the human heart. In an enlightened mind it becomes a clear conviction that all life belongs to God and is claimed by him. Every animal sacrifice is an expression of this truth. When human life is in question, the impression is beyond comparison stronger and more distinct. To destroy a life is in fact to give it back to God. The putting to death either of a criminal or an enemy, if it is anything more than an indulgence of vengeance, is to be regarded in this light. The man who, in a right spirit, either carries out a sentence of just doom on an offender, or with a single eye to duty slays an enemy in battle, must regard himself as God’s servant rendering up a life to the claim of the Divine justice (Rom. 13:4). It was in this way that Israel was required to destroy the Canaanites at Hormah, and that Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord. In all such instances a moral obligation rests upon him whose office it is to take the life. He has to look upon the object of his stroke as under a ban to the Lord. This is the only ground on which the destruction of human life is to be justified. When this ground is clearly ascertained, the duty of him who is called to act refers to the forfeit of the individual life. There can therefore be neither redemption nor commutation. Clark.

29. Put to death. The vow of Jephtha has very mistakenly been referred to this command. What was devoted could never be offered in sacrifice; but in all places where mention is elsewhere made of the ban laid on anything (Nu. 21:23; I.e. 2:34; Joshua 6:17; Mal. 4:6), this appears as a dedication to destruction, as a fulfilling of the Divine vengeance, as an honoring of God on those in whom he cannot show himself holy and glorious. Jephtha’s vow cannot be of this kind, as he vowed his daughter for a “burnt-offering,” since here it is not said that the thing devoted should be offered in sacrifice, but that it should be put to death. In like manner the devoted town was to be made “an heap forever” (De. 13:16). Gerl.

Lev. 27 : 30. The tithe of the land. This is the first mention of tithes in the Law of Moses. As the priests and Levites had no share in the division of the land, except a number of cities with their suburbs, they were supported by the tithe or tenth part of the produce of all the lands : this tenth was paid to the Levites, who again paid a tenth of all which they received to the priests. It is impossible to assign any direct reason why a tenth part of the produce, and not more or less, was assigned to the ministers of religion. The tenth part was anciently paid to kings, as well as to God. It appears from 1 Sam. 8 : 15 that this was a part of the royal right among the people of the East. Aristotle mentions it as an ancient law in Babylon : the same law obtained also in Athens, which was a republic, and among the Romans. Lewis.

Lev. 27 : 32. Passeth under the rod. The tithing rod, used in numbering the tenth out of the herd ; or the shepherd’s crook, under which the flock passed as he numbered them daily. Patrick.—It seems to be in reference to this custom that the Prophet Ezekiel, speaking to Israel, says, I will cause you to pass under the rod, and will bring you into the bond of the covenant : you shall be once more claimed as the Lord’s property, and be in all things devoted to his service, being marked or ascertained by especial providences and manifestations of his kindness, to be his peculiar people. A. C.

The Second Tithe (De. 14 : 22-29).

The tithe of Lev. 27 : 30-32 (above) was taken generally from the land, the herd, and the flock, and was paid to the priests and Levites as their regular means of support. But here is a second tithe in addition to the first, taken specifically from the corn, the wine, and the oil. This was not for the maintenance of the priests and Levites, but was taken to the sanctuary and expended in providing sacrificial meals for the promotion of brotherly and religious feeling. This for two years out of three. B.

28,29. Every third year the whole second tithe of the year’s produce was to be set apart, not to be brought to the sanctuary to be eaten before the Lord, but as a portion in their towns for the Levite, the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless. This was not an additional tithe, but the former differently applied ; the tithe of the first and second years was to be eaten before the Lord at the sanctuary ; the tithe of the third year was for the poor and needy. W. L. A.

Each man was to act as his own assessor, and to separate at harvest-time God’s share of corn and wine and oil. Every plan was devised to suit his convenience. He might bring his tithe to the temple either in kind or in coin. Jehovah was no hard Taskmaster, but a considerable and generous King. Giving to him was only another form of receiving. The absence of intermediary officers was a spiritual advantage. It brought each man into direct contact with God, and taught him to act with integrity toward the “Searcher of hearts.” D. D.

Piety and charity are to be liberally provided for in the apportionment of income. The tithes were to be faithfully and punctually set apart as a first charge upon the Jew’s income. The second or vegetable tithe was appointed to be consumed in feasts at the sanctuary, or, in the third year, at home. A lesson is taught here as to the duty of liberal, systematic, and conscientious giving for religious and charitable purposes. If this was done under law, how much more ought to be done under the impulse of love to Christ! Orr.

The tithes in Israel being thus sanctified by the commandment of God to his honor, the maintenance of his ministers and the relief of the poor, it taught them and teaches us to honor the Lord with our substance (Prov. 3:9), acknowledging him to be the author of all our increase and store (Hos. 2:8). To honor his ministers, and to communicate unto them in all good things, that they who sow unto us spiritual things should reap our carnal things. And to give alms of such things as we have, that all things may be clear unto us. Yea even to sell that we have, and give alms; to provide ourselves bngs that wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that falleth not. Ainsworth.

The greatest prosperity that a man can have from God is the gift of a heart that loves to give. Under the Old Dispensation it was a law to give the tenth part of one’s income to the Lord. Under the New Dispensation all giving is a voluntary thing. A man who had complied strictly with the terms of the Law in giving his tithes might be just as covetous as ever in regard to all the rest; but a man under grace has the covetousness itself broken up, and feels that all is the Lord’s, and only lent to himself for a little season to use for the Lord, to do good with as he has opportunity. It is one of the remarkable things in the change from the Old Dispensation to the New, that whereas the tithe law of benevolence was abolished, no new law was put in its place. It was because God was then setting up the voluntary system, and would carry everything by grace, and heartfelt, cheerful, happy love. Cheever.

God is a good Master. He will be pleased to see you increase your comforts, provided only you increase your giving to his poor and his cause in the proportion in which you increase your expenditure on yourself. Next to our own daily support and that of those dependent upon us, He would have us to lay up against the time to come, and make provision for those of our households who are under age or in infirmity if we should be taken suddenly from the earth. If he open up the way, we may add to the capital of our business, only however to increase the means of serving him. We are to give to his cause and to his poor liberally and systematically. No one of us is kept from the enjoyment of this high privilege—for it is a privilege; and as we increase in resources we should increase our gifts. As far as possible we should have a fixed proportion of our income laid aside for these purposes. The poorer we are, that proportion may be the smaller, for the twentieth part of his income may be a greater sacrifice for one than the tenth will be for another. We should never allow it to become stereotyped, but we should adjust the matter anew with every change in our circumstances. If we act on this plan, benevolence would become a habit in us, instead of a wayward impulse, and our lives would help to irrigate the Church, the neighborhood, and the nation with blessing. W. M. T.

In the after Jewish history, tithe neglect was always associated with spiritual decay and death, and tithe resumption was equally associated with spiritual restoration and life. When Hezekiah instituted his great reformation he made it a point to have tithe paying restored. And the people were busy four whole months in the work. The result was that God blessed them. The priests who served in God’s house said to Hezekiah, “Since the people began to bring the offerings we have had enough to eat and have left plenty, for the Lord hath blessed his people and that which is left is this great store.” It should be the same to-day. All the great societies are complaining for want of means to carry on their work. If God’s people would do their duty and come back to weekly giving, as Paul has “given order,” and give as God has prospered them, the blessed shout would come up from the missionary societies, “We are well supplied.” Ashmore.