Feb 8: Leviticus 24:1 – 26:13
Could
you imagine everyone doing a Jubilee ‘shuffle’ back to their original home
every fifty years? It would be a logistical nightmare. At least during that
year you wouldn’t be responsible for planting, maintaining, or harvesting
crops. Where would you be heading back to if this practice was still enforced?
Then think back generations – where did your family own land 200 years ago? I
found it interesting that God said no land could be sold permanently because it
belongs to him (25:23). I guess this kind of a major shuffle would reinforce
that. It is a reminder that in truth nothing we have really belongs to us –
everything is God’s and he loans it to us for a while.
So
much information on redemption here – it’s hard not to think about the way
Christ redeemed our souls with his very life. The talk of slavery makes me
cringe, but we have to remember this was written to people who lived in a very
different culture than we do today. Doesn’t EVER excuse the buying and selling
of humans, but in reading these passages we are asked not to be judgmental.
Again
there is a lot of discussion on how to treat the poor. This is a regular
feature of God’s regulations and something we are called to continue even now.
How can you help someone in need today?
The
passages end with an amazing promise to the Israelite people. Oh, that they
would have upheld their part of the bargain! How does this promise apply to
Christians?
Only
one more day in Leviticus – we made it!
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