3.11.25

Good morning!

Last night's zoom call fed us a beautiful Sabbath Sandwich (Ex. 31:13-18; 35:2,3)...do you have all 3 signs of the covenant? One of those 3 is the Sabbath, which is equivalent to a wedding ring for the world to know who your covenant partner is. Enjoy the study and gain some insights to the commitment you made in your marriage vows and don't forget to keep your marital vows (Ex. 24:3,7).

Speaking of commitment, have you ever said something like “Lord, if you only do this, then I will dedicate myself to you.”  Have you ever said something like this, maybe in a moment of desperation?  Have you ever made a promise to God that involved some personal commitment on your part?  But when the crisis has passed, how easily we forget our commitment...kinda like dating...everything was special, memorable, creative, exciting...then came the wedding ceremony and, for too many, it's all downhill from there :-(

Believe me, I know the reality of a commitment gone awry and God knows it all too well, also. He recognizes our fickle nature, especially under stress, but He still provides hefty consequences for such loose language of commitment.  How does this get resolved? Anything I can do? The answer is yes, but it may not be what you expect. Let's take a closer look...Leviticus 27:2 tells us that we can redeem ourselves from such unexamined vows that would commit us to service to the Lord, but only at a price.  As it turns out, the price is very high, for a very good reason. Why do you ask? Because God values your committed words towards Him.

"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'when a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your valuation/erek" (Lev. 27:2)

"You prepare/arek a table before me in the presence of my enemies..." (Psa. 23:5)

You may have noticed the similarities in the word for valuation/erek and prepare/arek. One to give value and the other to set in order. So...orderliness and value are connected.  What is in good order produces fair value.  Sloppiness leads to untrustworthy valuation.  If we apply this thought to the passage in Leviticus, we see something important.  When I make a vow to the Lord (Ex. 24:3,7), I set in order something that has a very high value.  After all, I am asking God to endorse my statement and God’s word is worth a lot.  How much is it worth?  God puts a sliding scale on the hasty vow that can be redeemed according to the valuation of a person.  Huh?

"So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, 'all the words which the Lord has said, we will do." (Ex. 24:3)

"Then he took the book of the covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said,  'all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient'" (Ex. 24:7)

Here at Mt. Sinai, when Israel became God's wife, to become 'one flesh', 'one gospel', we see the vow of commitment clearly. Unfortunately, in this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, we will see with the 'golden calf' that vow will be broken (Ex. 32).

Continuing with our previous thought...The price of redeeming a hasty vow is determined by who made it.  This price was determined by the normal price of a slave in the market. Double huh?

If a man makes a vow, the redemption price is equivalent to what it would take to buy a male slave from the age of 20-50, namely, fifty shekels.  For a woman, the price is 30 shekels.  For a boy, the price is twenty shekels.  For a girl, 10 shekels ...(Lev. 27:3-7). If we convert this into today’s currency, we will be surprised to realize that the redemption of a hastily made vow of an adult male is about five years’ wages; 10 shekels/year!  Let that sink in for a moment.  If I, as an adult, make a vow to the Lord and then decide that I really didn’t mean it, I must pay four - five years’ wages to the temple to receive redemption.  Why?  Because using God’s name as an endorsement is very serious business.

Perhaps we should be a bit more careful about the “deals” we make with God, don’t you think?  Perhaps it’s time to really pay attention to the details of our often blurted announcements.

There is one other point to be made here; one of even greater consequence.  If four years’ wages are required to redeem a hastily-made vow, what do you suppose is the value of a promise that requires the death of the one who makes it (e.g. Ex. 31:14, 15, covered in last night's zoom call)?

Yeshua fulfills His promise by going to the cross.   He dies for what He proclaims.  He's a vow keeper, even to the point of death (Phil. 2:3-8). What kind of value does that put on you?  After all, He didn’t die for Himself.  How much is that worth?

As you go into this 3rd day of the week, keep in mind that value is tied to order.  God is orderly and so is His kingdom and government.  If we make the claim, we better be ready to pay the price (Heb. 13:8).

Shalom!

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