Read: Leviticus 24:1-25:46; Read: Mark 10:13-31; Psalm 44:9-26; Proverbs 10:20-21
The menorah was to be lit continually with olive oil. The table of shewbread was to be furnished with new bread every Sabbath. These were to represent the fact that the Spirit and light of God was to burn continually in our hearts and we were to constantly be feeding ourselves on the Word of God.
A fight arose between two young men because one of them blasphemed God’s name. The blasphemer was the son of an Egyptian father and an Israelite mother. God said that he was to be taken outside the camp and stoned to death. This is a picture of a person who have not made God their father yet they are in the church. They defy the truth so they are to be told the truth. To be “stoned to death” means that the truth must kill the old man so that the new man can resurrect.
In the Old Testament the rule was “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. This law was about restitution and revenge but Jesus said not to resist evil, but to turn the other cheek. This goes against our nature and feels like we are laying down and giving in to evil, but God doesn’t see it that way. To win in the kingdom means we have to lose everything in this world. But if we seek God’s kingdom, then everything worthwhile will be added back. Giving up our “rights” is what God wants us to do. It is choosing his rights first.
The land was to be worked six years but to rest during the Sabbath year. In that way, the land would be able to replenish and rebuild its nutrients. God was giving them a whole year off of working but they never did observe this because of their fear of losing out on income. Because of this, God had to drive them out of their land for 70 years so the land could be repaid for all the Sabbaths it had been robbed of.
The fiftieth year would be a year of Jubilee where everything would go back to its original owner. Slaves would be set free. Israel won its independence during the Balfour in 1917, a year of Jubilee. Fifty years later, in 1967, Israel won the Sixth Day war and got Jerusalem, or part of it. In 2017, President Trump proclaimed that Jerusalem should be the place of Israel’s embassy. All these happened during Jubilee years. God still keeps his Word.
In Mark, Jesus explained the cost of the kingdom. It will cost you everything just as it would cost him his life.
Lord, remind us of what you paid for our freedom when we feel we are losing this world. It is just not worth keeping what will not benefit us in the long run.
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