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Leviticus 27:1-8, The Lord said to Moses,  “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel; for a female, set her value at thirty shekels; for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels]; for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver; for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[h] and of a female at ten shekels. If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.

To make a vow meant to make a promise to God voluntarily; it was not done in response to a rule or any kind of divine requirement.  Someone might make a vow to dedicate their child to God during a time of crisis, or possibly out of extreme gratitude, or even out of a sense of calling.  This did not mean their child would work in the tabernacle (that was for priests), but they followed these guidelines as a way to consecrate their child to God.  People were assigned a value based on age and usefulness to society as a whole.  We could probably spend a lot of time talking about why women were valued less than men but for now we will have to settle on this - it was a different culture, a different time, in a highly patriarchal society. 

While we don't assign monetary value to individuals (thank goodness!), we certainly do consecrate ourselves and even our children to God.  The word consecrate simply means to make something sacred by dedicating it to God.  As Jesus followers, we are called to consecrate our whole lives to God.  This means our whole life, every single part of our existence, is dedicated to the Lord and his work in the world. 

Let's pray...Take my life and let it be consecrated to you, Lord Jesus. Take my thoughts, my work, my loved ones, my resources, and my time.  They are yours to be used for your purposes.  In Your Name, Amen.