“And every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Jehovah’s; it is holy to Jehovah. If a man would indeed redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth of its value to it. And every tithe of the herd or of the flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to Jehovah. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, neither shall he exchange it; and if he should exchange it, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed” (vv. 30-33). This signifies that anything that belongs to God we have no right over, and we may not dispose of it or change its ownership in any way.
After considering all these points, we can see how earnest God is in desiring our devotion. Whatever we devote, God treasures. This should encourage us to devote ourselves to the Lord in our person, in our possessions, and in everything we can do.
Chapter twenty-seven of Leviticus impresses us with the fact that God aspires that we all give ourselves to Him in whatever we are, in whatever we have, and in whatever we can do. This is God’s desire, His aspiration. He is thirsty for this. He wants to see us devoting ourselves to Him, even if it is in a wrong way. He likes to see that we devote to Him our time, ability, possessions, strength, whatever we have, and whatever we can do. As long as we devote ourselves to Him in so many aspects, He is pleased. He accepts such a devotion. This is the emphasis in Leviticus 27.
Leviticus, a book on what God has done for our enjoyment, ends with God’s aspiration that we devote ourselves to Him. God has done everything for us, and now He needs us to enjoy Him. He wants to have more enjoyers. He has prepared everything for us. The feast is ready, and we should come and dine. Here at the end of Leviticus God expresses His aspiration and expectation that we make a vow with Him to devote to Him whatever we are, whatever we have, and whatever we can do. The purpose of this devotion is that we enjoy the Lord in all that He has prepared for us. Everything has been prepared, but many seats at His feast have not yet been filled. Therefore, God is calling, encouraging, and even urging us to devote ourselves to Him for our enjoyment of Him in all that He has prepared and provided for us.
In the book of Leviticus prophecies are implied. These implied prophecies are in the types and also in the warning.
Prophecies are implied in the types of the feasts, in the type of the harvest and the gleanings, and in the type of the jubilee. The feast of the Passover denotes the death of Christ (23:5). The feast of the firstfruits denotes the resurrection of Christ (23:10-11). The feast of Pentecost denotes the producing of the church (23:15-17). The harvest left at the corners of the field and the gleanings for the alien and for the poor denote God’s salvation left for the Gentiles (23:22). The feast of the blowing of trumpets denotes God’s calling back of His scattered people-Israel (23:24). The feast of propitiation denotes the repentance and salvation of the people- Israel-called back by God (23:27). The feast of tabernacles denotes the coming millennium (23:34, 39-42). The jubilee for people to be freed to return to their possessions denotes that at Christ’s second coming the children of Israel will be freed to return to their lost possessions (25:8-41).
Even in the warning (26:1-46) some prophecies are implied. The warning indicates that in obeying God Israel will be blessed, but in disobeying God Israel will be chastised. Furthermore, in the warning we see that God will not abhor and reject Israel, nor will He utterly destroy them. Finally, when Israel repents to God, He will remember them and visit them.