Category: Leviticus

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Redemption has a practical everyday application in ordinary life as well as spiritually or religiously. How do we redeem our words, our promises and vows?

SJA Notes

* Dear God Above, please teach us today and humble us, that we might live by faith.

“… Every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD.”

There is a link between this passage and that of 1st Samuel 1, where Hannah vows to the Lord that if He gives her a son she will devote him to the Lord all the days of his life.

Samuel was given very early to the Lord, and heard God from a young age.

Samuel users in a pivotal change for Israel – the kings!

Here in Leviticus we read the language of both redemption and being devoted for destruction.

Samuel ordained the kings, and one of their jobs is to mete out judgement, devoting to destruction.

Both Saul and David upheld this, at times. But then Saul refuses in 1st Samuel 15.

David is a better model of redemption and destruction, but still fails.

Jesus, our true and forever King, the perfect model and pattern – HE will bring destruction in a final ultimate treading of the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty (Revelation 19).

Here in this passage we read a clear foreshadowing of Jesus,

“No one devoted, who is to be devoted for destruction from mankind, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.”

Romans 5:10 tells us that before being reconciled we are God’s enemies.

Ezekiel 18:4 tells us that the soul who sins shall die.

So we are those devoted to destruction.

And yet, we read in Romans 6,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because He paid the penalty for our sin, Jesus was able to ransom and redeem us.

Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

* Father God in Heaven,

You are so good to us, thank You Lord!

Please teach us more of You today.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Blessing and cursing side by side is common in the Scriptures. It is the picture of Salvation and Judgment. It is the picture of Passover – God’s angel passed over the Israelites to fall upon the Egyptians. Verse 40+ takes us to John the Baptist’s message. It is good to return to God our Father in Heaven!

SJA Notes

* Dear God, You are only true and Your word is truth. Please teach us from Your word today.

“If you walk in my statutes …”

This reading takes us through a very black and white set of instructions (and consequences of obedience or disobedience) from the Lord.

IF <obedience> THEN <blessing> ELSE IF <disobedience> THEN <curse> END

We see this pattern, a clear logic statement, throughout God’s word.

In Deuteronomy ch 11 the Lord outlines this very clearly. We hear of Mount Gerizim (set for blessing) and Mount Ebal (set for cursing).

Then later in that book we see Moses and the priests acting out the instruction, like a play on a very large scale. Six tribes standing on Mount Gerizim, six on Mount Ebal. From Gerizim were blessings, from Ebal curses. You can imagine them as songs, dirges and thunderous shouts all in one, resounding across the valley.

Can we take hold of this today, this logic?

Jesus came to bring blessing to His people.

Jesus also came as a sword, as He tells us (Matthew 10, Luke 12),

“I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Jesus is the reality of blessing and curse together.

Because Jesus divides. He makes it clear that without Him there is only curse (Luke 13:28, Matt 13:42).

Jesus divides the line between blessing and curses, takes the arbitration away from our own fitful obedience and dominant disobedience, and He takes the wrath of judgement for our disobedience on Himself.

Jesus became a curse for us so that we could have blessing (Galatians 3:13-14).

Looking deeper, taking Leviticus as this wonderful painting of Jesus, foreshadowing His work, the binary instruction becomes:

IF <Jesus> THEN <blessing> ELSE <curse> END

* Dear Father in Heaven,

Please show us Jesus today.

Please forgive us Lord God, and draw us to You.

We would love You better today.

Amen.

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

This is a long chapter – it has something important to say. Remember the Books of the Law paint the picture of an ideal society. Israel only followed these regulations imperfectly. Land and debtors – both were to obtain rest. Ownership of land was not vested in the Crown as in Australia. It was vested in the clan and it returned to the clan. Clan members could not sell but only lease it out during a Jubilee cycle of 50 years. This gave great political power and freedom to ordinary people – such that we don’t have today here in Australia!

SJA Notes

* Dear God, please help us today as we walk this road.

“And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”

The Year of Jubilee, every fifty years. The year itself was consecrated. The purpose of it was freedom and redemption, rest and reliance on God.

There was freedom from debt. Redemption from slavery. The land was left alone and had rest for the whole year (the land was the Lord’s).

And important is the day on which the fiftieth year is proclaimed and consecrated.

The Day of Atonement!

All of those things – freedom, redemption, rest – We see these again in Jesus! His work of salvation when He atoned for our sin.

The Year of Jubilee is a big sign God gave His people. That there is something more, go deeper, look at what God is teach us God’s people about debt, about slavery.

And for us today, we have Jesus. The greatest big sign God has given to us His people. Teaching us about debt, slavery, freedom, redemption.

Hallelujah!

* Gracious Lord God,

Thank You for bringing us freedom from our sin. What a jubilee that is for us!

Thank You for embedding this within the framework of how Israel was to function, so that it might remind them at that time, and us in the now, for our need to be free from our sin.

And thank You for Jesus, by whose work our freedom is won.

Amen.