Commentary - Leviticus 27:30-33

Bird's-eye view

Here at the conclusion of Leviticus, the book of worship, we are given the foundational principles of how God's people are to acknowledge His total ownership of everything. This is not about giving God a slice of the pie so that we can do what we want with the rest. Rather, the tithe is a tribute, a representative portion that declares the whole thing belongs to the King. The first tenth belongs to God, establishing His claim over all of it. These closing verses lay out the nature of this tithe, both from the land and from the flock, and establish its sanctity. What is God's is holy, set apart, and not to be trifled with. The regulations here are designed to form a particular kind of heart in the worshiper, one that recognizes God's absolute rights and deals with Him honestly and without guile.

The passage distinguishes between the tithe of the land, which could be redeemed with a penalty, and the tithe of the flock, which was irrevocable. This teaches us that while God makes practical allowances, His claim is serious and unyielding. The method of selecting the animal tithe, by passing under the rod, removes all human calculation and game playing. God doesn't want your best animal or your worst; He claims the tenth, whatever it is. This is a powerful guard against the kind of bargaining and negotiating that characterizes a fallen heart. God is God, and what is holy to Him is not subject to our review or exchange.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus is a book about how a holy God dwells among an unholy people. It lays out the system of sacrifices, the priesthood, the laws of purity, and the holy calendar. It is a detailed instruction manual for worship and life in the presence of God. Chapter 27 serves as a fitting appendix to the whole book, dealing with things voluntarily dedicated to God, such as vows and, here, the tithe. After detailing the path to atonement and communion, the book concludes by establishing the fundamental economic principle of God's kingdom: God owns everything. The tithe is not simply a matter of fundraising for the Levites; it is an act of worship that acknowledges this foundational reality. It is the practical, financial outworking of the first commandment.

Key Issues

Commentary

Leviticus 27:30

‘Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, belongs to Yahweh; it is holy to Yahweh.

The first thing to get straight is the direction of ownership. We tend to think that we own 100% of our increase, and we are commanded to give 10% of it to God. This is a profound misunderstanding. The Bible teaches that God owns 100% of everything, and He commands us to bring His 10% to Him. The tithe is not ours to give; it is His to collect. The text says it "belongs to Yahweh." It is already His property. Our job is not to decide whether to give, but simply to render unto God what is God's. This applies to everything that constitutes our "increase", the seed from the field, the fruit from the tree. This is the foundational principle of biblical economics. Until a man's wallet is converted, we can't really say the man is converted. This is where the rubber of our professed faith meets the road of our actual lives.

Because it belongs to Him, it is therefore "holy to Yahweh." Holy means set apart for God's exclusive use. It is consecrated, dedicated. You are not to treat it as common. You cannot use it to pay your electric bill any more than you could use the communion wine to wash your car. It has been designated for a sacred purpose, which under the old covenant was the support of the Levitical priesthood and the celebration of the feasts. In the new covenant, this principle continues, funding the ministry of the gospel. To withhold the tithe, as Malachi tells us, is to rob God. You cannot steal what isn't yours, but you can certainly steal what is His.

Leviticus 27:31

If, therefore, a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it.

Now, God is eminently practical. He understands that in an agricultural economy, it might be more convenient for a farmer to keep his grain and pay its equivalent in money, perhaps because of distance to the tabernacle or some other logistical reason. So, provision is made for "redeeming" it, or buying it back from God. But notice the condition. If you want to treat God's holy portion as a common commodity for your own convenience, there is a tax on that convenience. You must add one-fifth, or 20 percent. This is not a punishment so much as it is a discouragement from treating holy things lightly. It builds a healthy barrier, a financial reminder that you are dealing with something that belongs to God, not to you. It prevents an Israelite from thinking, "Well, I'll just pay God for that grain later." The penalty ensures that he feels the transaction, and that he understands that redeeming the tithe is an exception, not the rule.

Leviticus 27:32

For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to Yahweh.

When we move from the produce of the land to the increase of the flocks, the regulations change. The method of selection is wonderfully objective. The shepherd would hold his staff low over the gate of the pen, and as the animals came out one by one, he would touch every tenth animal. That one, the tenth one, was the Lord's. The phrase "passes under the rod" ensures that the process is not rigged. The shepherd is not to stand back and say, "Okay, that strong one is mine, that one is mine, that one is mine... ah, here's a scrawny one, that can be for the Lord." No, it is a simple count. One, two, three... ten. That one. It might be the prize ram. It might be a runt. It doesn't matter. The tenth one is holy to Yahweh.

This removes all the pious fraud and sanctimonious game playing that we are so good at. It forces a man to be honest. God's claim is not on "a tenth" of our choosing, but on "the tenth." This is a deep and searching principle. God wants our obedience to be straightforward, without clever calculations designed to benefit ourselves.

Leviticus 27:33

He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; or if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.’

This verse drives the previous point home with force. First, "he shall not inquire whether it is good or bad." Your opinion of the tenth animal is irrelevant. Once the rod has marked it, the matter is settled. It belongs to God. Your job is not to appraise it, but to surrender it. Second, "nor shall he exchange it." You cannot say, "Oh, the tenth one was the best lamb in the flock. I'll give God this other one, which is almost as good." This is the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, trying to look good while holding something back. God will not be trifled with.

And the penalty for trying to be clever is severe. If you do exchange it, "then both it and its substitute shall become holy." You thought you could outsmart God, and now you have lost two animals instead of one. God's holiness is not a thing to be manipulated. And finally, unlike the tithe of the land, the animal tithe "shall not be redeemed." It is irrevocably the Lord's. It was destined for the altar, for the support of the priests. It was blood property, and as such, it pointed forward to the final, unredeemable sacrifice of Christ, who was holy to the Lord in the ultimate sense.

Key Words

Tithe

The Hebrew word is maaser, which simply means "a tenth part." But the concept is not merely mathematical. The tithe functions as a tribute paid to a king, acknowledging his ownership over the entire kingdom. It is a representative token that sanctifies the whole. By returning the first tenth, the Israelite was declaring that God owned all of it.

Holy

The word is qodesh. It means to be set apart, consecrated, dedicated for God's exclusive possession and use. Something that is holy is removed from the realm of the common or profane. To treat a holy thing as a common thing is a grave offense against the God to whom it is dedicated.

Redeem

The Hebrew word is ga'al. It means to buy back something that had been sold, forfeited, or, in this case, consecrated. It is a commercial term used in a theological context. The ability to redeem the land tithe was a practical concession, but the inability to redeem the animal tithe shows the absolute nature of God's claim on the life of the flock.

Context: Tithing as Tribute

It is a mistake to view the tithe as a form of taxation for the Israelite social services, although it did serve that function. At its heart, tithing is an act of worship. It is a tribute offered to the Great King. In the ancient world, a conquered people would pay a tribute, often a tenth, to the victorious king. This tribute was an annual acknowledgment of his sovereignty. In the same way, the Israelite tithe was a glad acknowledgment that Yahweh was their King, that He had given them the land, and that all its increase was a gift from His hand. We do not give ten percent so that God will leave us alone with our ninety percent. We give ten percent as tribute, a tangible declaration that one hundred percent belongs to God.

Application

The principle of the tithe is not a dusty relic of the Mosaic law. It predates the law (Gen. 14:20; 28:22) and is affirmed in the New Testament (1 Cor. 9:13-14). It remains a continuing moral obligation for the people of God. These verses in Leviticus teach us the heart of the matter. Our giving is to be a priority, not an afterthought. It is to be honest, without manipulation. We are not to give God our leftovers, or what we think He deserves, but rather what He requires: the first and the tenth.

The Christian life is a life of acknowledging God's total ownership. This begins with our money because our money is so close to our hearts. When we faithfully render to God what is His, we are training our hearts to trust Him with the rest. We are declaring that He is our provider, not our own cleverness. We are funding the work of His kingdom, the preaching of the gospel, and the care of His people. And we are to do it, not with the grudging spirit of one paying a tax, but with the cheerful heart of a son bringing a tribute to his beloved Father and King.