Sorry for the gap. The whole family seems to be sick. Poor Matthew got over his early and is now the "servant of all". Ethan and Annie both have fevers, I'm down with a sinus infection (under treatment), and Helen is picking up a cough as well as her chronic ailment.

God is with us to keep our spirits up, and we'd appreciate any prayers for healing.
thanks
- posted by Jor @ 9:48 PM -

 
Leviticus 25 If he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he goes free in the year of Jubilee, he and his children, because the People of Israel are my servants, my servants whom I brought out of Egypt. I am God, your God. (The Message)

It must be a God-thing. I am getting a lot out of reading in Leviticus.

This passage is about how the economy of Israel is to be based on the one underlying fact: "I am your God, who brought you out of Egypt." He is making it clear that Israel is a slave who has been redeemed from Egypt, and not to consider themselves as just any other nation under the sun. God is establishing that the land He is giving them is His land, and that as redeemed slaves, they are His people. It is being loudly proclaimed throughout this Israelite Constitution. I used to think it was just a religious formula: do this because I'm God, and you're not! Which is valid from that point of view, but just any-old god can claim obedience due to superior power and the willingness to inflict consequences.

But the God of Israel is establishing His right to claim Israel as His people because of the good He has done them. Because He saved them from Egyptian slavery, because He led them to a land flowing with milk and honey, because He gave them lands and cities and riches. As the New Testament informs Christians: "You've been bought with a price, you are not your own." The Old Testament informs Israel: "You were saved from slavery, and given an inheritance by God. You are not your own."

Establishing Israel's Year of Jubilee is a continual reminder throughout their entire economy (land and labor): "The land cannot be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are foreigners--you're my tenants." and "Because the People of Israel are my servants whom I brought out of Egypt, they must never be sold as slaves."

The economic value of land and an Israelite is based on productivity as expressed in the number of years until Jubilee. Everything is clearly rented from its original owners. God keeps His claim on Israel, and gives the economic benefit to the Israelites themselves. They are responsible for the consequences of their actions, but not permanently so. God sets a limit to the downward spiral: 50 years.

I'm in awe of God's genius. He is really creating a people who are set apart as His.

And this informs me of the character of God towards me. He is the father of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son who sold himself, but was redeemed by his father and restored to his inheritance. Now I can hear the Prodigal Son story as a reflection of what God set up in ancient Israel. He knows we go astray and He has made provision. All the sacrifices, all the Jubilee laws were designed for His wayward people. He knows us well.

And I can relax! I can find peace in His great provision! Even if I go astray, He will welcome me back. This is about relationship, not rules. This great grace of our good God. How wonderful, how marvelous! What incredible bounty! What love!

Now to pass it on...
- posted by Jor @ 10:16 AM -