Leviticus 27:1

Leviticus 27:1 says. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.  God was addressing people who made vows to Him and letting them know that God would set the value of their vow.  These were vows where a person dedicated themselves to service in the tabernacle according to Matthew Henry and were not something required by God but were voluntary vows.  It is good to do what God asks of us, but it is even better when we willingly go above and beyond what He asks.  Verse three continues, And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.  Matthew Henry says that this was the value to redeem the person from their vow, so that the priests would have money to fund the tabernacle.  The amount of the redemption depended on the age and gender of the person making it.  Through Christ, all people are valued the same regardless of age or gender, and He paid the price to redeem each individual.  Verse four states, And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.  The price to redeem a female was less than the price to redeem a male in his prime.  Verse five adds, And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.  Then there was the amount set to redeem a child between five and twenty, with the different amounts for the male and female.  These amounts were set based on the amount of work it was believed that the person could do, and once again these were voluntary vows made to God.  Verse six continues, And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.  Since children of this age would not be able to make a vow, it would have to be assumed that their parents were the ones making the vow.  When the children were dedicated to God, they could be redeemed for a price.  The price of redemption today so that we can be dedicated to God is the same for all individuals, and that is accepting Jesus Christ as one's Savior and Lord.  Verse seven says, And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.  The redemption value between a man and a woman over sixty were still different, but the woman was considered to be of a closer value to the man.  Verse eight adds, But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.  If a person was poor, then the priest was to set the value of their redemption if they made a vow to God.  Matthew Henry says this was to teach the people to not make rash vows, because a vow made to God had value.  We today likewise should not make rash vows to God.  Verse nine continues, And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.  If a person vowed an animal to the Lord, then it was to be considered holy, or set aside for God.  Verse ten states, He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.  Once an animal was vowed, it could not be exchanged, but if a person attempted to exchange another animal for the one vowed, then both would be considered holy, or set apart for God.  Once we come to Christ vowing our faith to Him, we are forever His.  Verse eleven adds, And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:  Unclean animals that were vowed to God, that could not be sacrificed, were to have a redemption value for them set by the priest.  Verse twelve continues, And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.  Verse thirteen concludes, But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.  The animal, if unclean, was to be for the use of the priest, and if the man vowing it wanted to redeem it, he would have to pay an additional twenty percent over the value.  God expects us to take our vows seriously.