Feb 21: Leviticus 24-25

Feb 21, Leviticus 24-25

Leviticus 24 - God interjects the commentary on feasts with a word about getting oil to keep the lamps going. This is intentional - God doesn't want them to forget that the daily duties of the tabernacle are important, and not just the annual parties! Then we read about a narrative on blasphemy (sacrilegiously offending God) against God and how serious He takes it. We get a bit of important historical data, mostly that the son is the son of an Israelite mom and Egyptian dad. Knowing what we know now about how much God is against the Israelites intermarrying and becoming like the foreign neighbors, we get a better picture as to the why. An important thing to note here is that the leadership did not just react to this, they waited for the Lord to tell them what to do, as this was new to them. God instructs Moses to have all the Israelites come out and lay hands on the man and stone him to death. Couple of things to note  here - by laying hands on him, is as if they are placing the sin where it belongs (kind of like the goats being sacrificed…). Also - whoever curses God bears that sin. We cannot take lightly that God is to be respected and revered, He is Yahweh. Then comes the famous ‘eye for an eye’ section. Think about it this way - how much better would you treat people if you knew that the offense that you did to them would be done exactly to you? My guess, is you would most likely be a little bit sweeter and kinder. 

Leviticus 25 starts out by discussing the Sabbath year and the year of Jubilee. Basically, rest your crops every 7th year for the Sabbath year and eat what grows off of it for your household and travelers that you take in. This was considered to be a holy Sabbath to the Lord, for the Israelites to remember what God has done and how He created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh. 

The year of Jubilee = the great equalizer. It was basically a big reset button for all of your assets. If obeyed, it would go well for them. God was also proving that He would provide for them through their land, even though not worked. God owned the land and lent it to them. Just like us, we may have a deed to our property, but it is still ultimately Gods. God also sets up regulations for those in financial need, and the principles still apply today - we are to show mercy to those in need as they are recipients of God’s mercy as well. 

To sum it all up:

• Everything is God’s and it is on ‘loan’ to us - so don’t get too attached! Live life to its fullest and know that God is putting things before you and will take care of you. Just obey Him and what He has called you to - which is living life as for Him.