Isaiah 55

Who is thirsty?

WEEK  4                                                   Isaiah 55

SATURDAY  Reflections

The promise that God will give those who ask what they really need is the theme of this chapter. Hope fills this chapter for those who seek God. This is found fulfilled in Jesus who quotes the words of the first verse during a feast at Jerusalem (John 7:37-38). Jesus echoes this verse in his words to the church of Laodicea (Revelations 3:18).

Here is a picture of the worldwide church from nations whom have run to the Messiah of Israel, Jesus. This is another picture in the Old Testament that God’s plan has always included those outside of the nation of Israel. For us today, it is a reminder that in the future we may find nations which we would never have imagined become strongholds for the gospel, to God’s glory.

Isa 55:1-13
(1)  Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
(2)  Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
(3)  Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
(4)  Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
(5)  Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
(6)  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
(7)  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
(8)  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
(9)  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(10)  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
(11)  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
(12)  For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
(13)  Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Photo by mrjn Photography on Unsplash

Leviticus 27

WEEK  4                                    Leviticus 27        

FRIDAY  Reflections

In this final chapter of Leviticus, the discussion covers things dedicated (promised, pledged) to God. This could have been a person, like Samuel (1 Samuel 1-2), property, or animals. This dedication could have been made in response to a vow made to God either as a pledge or in response to God’s blessing. The person making the vow could redeem what they pledged but there was a cost involved.

One could complain that women were valued less but this was in response to the fact that women, along with the elderly and the young had little ability to give monetary worth in that patriarchal culture. It had nothing to do with them being of less real value.

The final observation which could cause confusion is found in verse 29. This verse isn’t saying that people are to be human sacrifices. This verse refers to those who are supposed to be devoted to destruction (they are facing capital punishment/execution) can use this dedication to work for the temple as a means of escaping the death sentence.  

Lev 27:1-34
(1)  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(2)  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.
(3)  And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
(4)  And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.
(5)  And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
(6)  And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.
(7)  And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
(8)  But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
(9)  And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.
(10)  He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.
(11)  And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:
(12)  And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.
(13)  But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
(14)  And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.
(15)  And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.
(16)  And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
(17)  If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.
(18)  But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.
(19)  And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.
(20)  And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.
(21)  But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.
(22)  And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;
(23)  Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD.
(24)  In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.
(25)  And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
(26)  Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD'S.
(27)  And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.
(28)  Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.
(29)  None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.
(30)  And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
(31)  And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
(32)  And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
(33)  He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
(34)  These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash

Mark 4

Some who see, don't...

WEEK  4                                      Mark 4              

THURSDAY  Reflections

In the middle of this chapter is an interesting conversation Jesus has with his disciples where it seems that Jesus doesn’t want people to be convicted of their sins and be saved. Jesus said his parables were so “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'” (vs. 12).

 

This may seem to be a wrong but Jesus is quoting from what God told Isaiah about his teaching thus connecting his ministry to that which was taught in the prophets. In that section, as well as this, it isn’t that God is saying that he doesn’t want them to repent but a good many would not repent.

 

There are also some who think that Jesus might not want them to repent before the right time. This would keep them from being like those in the parable of the sower who at first reacted favorably to the word but later were unfruitful or died.

 

Ultimately, God wants to see all saved (2 Peter 3:9). He though knows when the right time is to share all the truth. 

Mar 4:1-41
(1)  And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
(2)  And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
(3)  Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
(4)  And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
(5)  And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
(6)  But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
(7)  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
(8)  And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
(9)  And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
(10)  And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
(11)  And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
(12)  That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
(13)  And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
(14)  The sower soweth the word.
(15)  And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
(16)  And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
(17)  And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
(18)  And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
(19)  And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
(20)  And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
(21)  And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
(22)  For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
(23)  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
(24)  And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
(25)  For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
(26)  And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
(27)  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
(28)  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
(29)  But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
(30)  And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
(31)  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
(32)  But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
(33)  And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
(34)  But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
(35)  And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
(36)  And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
(37)  And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
(38)  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
(39)  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(40)  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
(41)  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Psalm 44

WEEK 4                                               Psalms 44     

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

Our expectation is God will reward those who serve him. This was also the expectation of Israel. The psalmist here isn’t seeing the deliverance he expected. In desperation, he first reminds God what he did in the past and now calls out to God in confusion. For the Psalmist, it seems God has forsaken him. He knows what God has done in the past but now it seems like God may be asleep at the job.

Since we do not know the exact time of this psalm we can only guess what is happening. However, what is seen is the confusion in someone who feels forgotten though they serve God. This psalm reminds me that feelings of desertion are not anything new. Even on the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me!” Jesus wasn’t forsaken, in truth, he won his greatest victory, but at that moment it did not feel like a victory. It felt like agony. Jesus and the psalmist ends with a cry to God and a faith that God will bring deliverance. This is the faith we need as we face moments of confusion because we are not alone.


Psa 44:1-26
(1)  To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
(2)  How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
(3)  For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
(4)  Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
(5)  Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
(6)  For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
(7)  But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
(8)  In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
(9)  But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
(10)  Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
(11)  Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
(12)  Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
(13)  Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
(14)  Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
(15)  My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
(16)  For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
(17)  All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
(18)  Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
(19)  Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
(20)  If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
(21)  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
(22)  Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
(23)  Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
(24)  Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
(25)  For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
(26)  Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.
  

Leviticus 26

Leviticus 26     

TUESDAY  Reflections

Here at the end of the book, God lists the blessings He will give to the children of Israel if they are obedient. However, there is another list, a list of curses if they disobey.

Some may wonder how God could be so cruel in His judgment, but we have to realize God had given the nation of Israel a lot. He had humbled Egypt and brought them out. He had shown himself to them in a pillar of fire and cloud. He had provided greatly for them. We remember the words, "To whom much is given much is required" and they had been given a lot.

It is like a child, we expect more out of a teenager than a toddler. Both may receive a punishment, but the punishment for the older is going to be greater because they should have known better. 

However, the thing I want to look at is in verse 44, God promises to not cast them away completely. We see the love and faithfulness of God in spite of human rebellion. This is the God that at the right time will send Jesus to save not just the Jew but the Gentile as well. This is the God who time after time in the rest of the Bible is true to his covenant, even when people aren't. This is our God who is good, all of the time..

Lev 26:1-46

(1)  Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

(2)  Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

(3)  If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;

(4)  Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

(5)  And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

(6)  And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

(7)  And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

(8)  And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

(9)  For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

(10)  And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.

(11)  And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.

(12)  And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

(13)  I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

(14)  But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

(15)  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

(16)  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

(17)  And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

(18)  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

(19)  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

(20)  And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

(21)  And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

(22)  I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

(23)  And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;

(24)  Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

(25)  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

(26)  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

(27)  And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;

(28)  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

(29)  And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

(30)  And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

(31)  And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

(32)  And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

(33)  And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

(34)  Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

(35)  As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

(36)  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.

(37)  And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

(38)  And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

(39)  And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

(40)  If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;

(41)  And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

(42)  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

(43)  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

(44)  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.

(45)  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.

(46)  These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Leviticus 25

Year of Jubilee, what a celebration.

WEEK  4                                            Leviticus 25  

MONDAY  Reflections

The people of Israel would probably have no idea about the importance of letting soil rest so that it could remain fertile. God did. This command not only helped the land but reminded the people they were to rely upon God and not their labor.

 

God also set up a way to reset the economy with the Year of Jubilee. The command resets the social system by the freeing of any person who sold themselves into servitude to pay debts. The year of Jubilee also returned property to the families they had originally been allocated to. It was God’s way, I believe, to correct mistakes or misfortune by parents or grandparents. It gave everyone in the nation a clean slate and the property of their ancestors. Unfortunately, Israel never followed God’s command faithfully concerning the Year of Jubilee, so we don’t have a pattern of God’s radical social system lived out.

Lev 25:1-55
(1)  And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
(2)  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
(3)  Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
(4)  But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
(5)  That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
(6)  And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
(7)  And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
(8)  And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
(9)  Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
(10)  And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
(11)  A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
(12)  For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
(13)  In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
(14)  And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
(15)  According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
(16)  According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
(17)  Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
(18)  Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
(19)  And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
(20)  And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
(21)  Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
(22)  And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
(23)  The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
(24)  And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
(25)  If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
(26)  And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;
(27)  Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
(28)  But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
(29)  And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it.
(30)  And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.
(31)  But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.
(32)  Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
(33)  And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
(34)  But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
(35)  And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
(36)  Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
(37)  Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
(38)  I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
(39)  And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
(40)  But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:
(41)  And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
(42)  For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
(43)  Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
(44)  Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
(45)  Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
(46)  And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
(47)  And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
(48)  After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
(49)  Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
(50)  And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
(51)  If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
(52)  And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
(53)  And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
(54)  And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
(55)  For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Isaiah 54

WEEK 3                                                 Isaiah 54 

SATURDAY  Reflections

In ancient times one of the worst positions to be in was a childless widow or an older woman without a family. There was no protection, no rights to speak of, and no security. It was nothing to sing or shout about. It was a place of despair. God calls for those who are in this place to sing and shout for joy. The reason as to why is because God is going to give them everything a husband and children would and more.

 

This promise is for the people of God when he brings his deliverance. For the nation of Israel, it was to be looked for in the messianic king. For the church, we know it will be when Jesus returns. Those who are without hope can have hope. For those without a future in this world, it is a future of endless possibilities.

 

For the Christian, we are reminded by this scripture that God will make all things right.

Isa 54:1-17
(1)  Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
(2)  Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
(3)  For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
(4)  Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
(5)  For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
(6)  For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
(7)  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
(8)  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
(9)  For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
(10)  For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
(11)  O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
(12)  And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
(13)  And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
(14)  In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
(15)  Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
(16)  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
(17)  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Photo by Ursula Spaulding on Unsplash

Leviticus 24

WEEK 3                                             Leviticus 24       

FRIDAY  Reflections

There is an interesting duality here at the end of chapter 24. First, the entire congregation was to stone a person to death, and then God reaffirmed his command that a life taken had to be made right with a life given.

 

I understand where most people come from who disagree with capital punishment, but I personally see it as God’s plan for government in a broken world. This being said I want to point out that though stoning sounds very cruel it requires the entire community to do it. There was no single person who was the executioner. God ordered it to be carried out, as it were, by the people (the government). There wasn’t to be a single person deciding who lived and died. I don’t believe God intended it to be an act of vengeance, either.

 

Here again, God says the law was to be the same for everyone. There was no special treatment or special exceptions for anyone.

Lev 24:1-23
(1)  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(2)  Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.
(3)  Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.
(4)  He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.
(5)  And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
(6)  And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.
(7)  And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
(8)  Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
(9)  And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.
(10)  And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
(11)  And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
(12)  And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.
(13)  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(14)  Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
(15)  And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
(16)  And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.
(17)  And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
(18)  And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
(19)  And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
(20)  Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
(21)  And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
(22)  Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
(23)  And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.