In chapter 25 we read about the jubilee legislation and how debts among persons are to be handled. Chapter 27, correspondingly, addresses those things that have been dedicated to God. This is particularly interesting (and often misunderstood), because Leviticus is so insistent that God is the sole owner of the entire created order - land, people, and animals. How can things dedicated to God be redeemed - and why should they be dedicated in the first place?
I'm not sure I fully understand the significance of what is going on here, but I can offer two observations. First, the idea that certain things would be set aside "as holy-property to YHWH" (27.14) functions within the Levitical framework of distinctions between the holy (kodesh) and the common (hol). We are meant to understand that there is a difference between the two, and that distinguishing between them is central to the role of the priesthood and life in the community of faith. Furthermore, these distinctions or boundaries affect all areas of life, not just the 10% we may or may not tithe, or what we choose to do with our Sunday mornings - being holy, being set apart as the people of God, is an all-encompassing way of life.
Second, after chapters 25-26 have drilled into us God's sole ownership and governance of land, people, and animals, chapter 27 reminds us that this same over-Lord is also a covenant partner. As creditor, God chooses to participate in the same structures of justice and equality that he holds his people to - the ultimate owner, conqueror, deliverer, and king ordains the law of the land, and then models it. This is how:
- Limits are set on standards of value - all commerce is to be defined by a single weight (25)
- Persons dedicated to the Lord may be redeemed (2-8)
- Animals dedicated to the Lord may be redeemed (9-13)
- Property dedicated to the Lord may be redeemed (14-24)
- Allowances are made for other miscellaneous things, including tithes, exemptions, and special circumstances (26-33)
Finally, in addressing things that have been consecrated to the Lord there is a sense that chapter 27 is reaching all the way back to the first few chapters of the book - remember the "bringing-near" of offerings in the approach to the outer court? Leviticus is in a large sense all about the things that have been consecrated to the Lord and the things that belong to the Lord - distinguishing between the hol and the kodesh. It is fitting that this final chapter functions as the "latch" around the great ring that has been our tour of the tabernacle.
Does that sound like an afterthought to you?
No comments:
Post a Comment