“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons…’”

Leviticus 27:1–2 (ESV)

Leviticus 27 deals with dedicating things to the LORD. Once something was dedicated to God, it became His possession. If the person wanted to buy it back, he had to pay its valuation plus a premium (usually 20%). God is a good businessman!

These laws would help prevent people from making rash vows. It is easy to commit something in the moment only to regret it later. You’ve heard of buyer’s remorse, but this is giver’s remorse! God pays close attention to the vows we make. If we dedicate something to God, then we should pay it. If we have dedicated ourselves to God, then we should faithfully serve Him. If, for some reason, we cannot fulfill what we’ve said, then we need to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness.

I have found that it is better for me not to make vows, because I know myself. It is far too easy for me to say I will do something and then not follow through. This doesn’t mean that I don’t set goals. I believe in setting goals, because if we aim for nothing we will hit it every time! But I don’t like to make vows to the Lord or to others unless I really know I can do them. And I don’t like to ask people to make pledges. What if they can’t perform it? Then they will be incurring guilt.

Under grace, we don’t earn righteousness. Our righteousness is a gift for believing in Jesus Christ. We ought to offer ourselves to God in appreciation for all that He has done for us. We ought to freely serve God and others in love. But we don’t need to put “confidence in the flesh” by making vows (Philippians 3:3).

If, however, you want to make a vow and dedicate something to God, you do not sin. Just make sure you follow through on what you say!

Thank you for taking time to read this. I would love for you to comment. 😊

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko