For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Lev. 25
A few observations from this chapter:
- Even the land will partake in God’s salvation. Creation was cursed with man and will be redeemed with man.
- Whenever God asked His people to live by faith, He provided accordingly. “I will appoint my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.” (Lev. 25:21).
- The Israelites were to treat their own people differently than outsiders. We are to do the same with fellow believers. This is not because of bias; it is because they belong to God.
Lev. 26
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross did more than atone for our sins. It also gave us access to God’s promised blessings. Neither the Israelites nor we can faithfully observe God’s commands to receive those blessings on our own. Yet God so desired to give us His blessings that He provided a way for that to happen. Thus, it is Jesus who truly, “broke the bars of [our] yoke and enabled [us] to live in freedom.” (Lev. 26:13b).
That phrase, “live in freedom” caught my attention. The footnote in the CSB gives an alternate translation of, “to walk uprightly”. The obvious idea there is that we can stand erect, freed from the burden of that slavery. However, “upright” is a word with both physical and behavioral definitions. So I couldn’t help but apply them both here. It is quite clear that true freedom comes from faithfully observing God’s commands. In other words, from waking uprightly. Since we cannot do that on our own, Jesus’ invites us to come under His yoke so that He can walk uprightly on our behalf. That is how God enables us to live in freedom.
Lev. 27
I have no idea what all this special vow stuff is about. The only thing I see is that God set that value for whatever a person might want to dedicate to Him. I’m thinking that should have prevented bias or any “unjust scales” with regard to people’s gifts to God. Keeping God as the standard is the only way justice has a chance to prevail.