Fri.’s Devo - Redemption

Read: Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm
Leviticus makes it clear that God is all about redemption. He gives laws about redeeming land, servants, family, and animals. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
If a man was poor and needy he was able to mortgage his land and himself so that his family would be provided for until the Year of Jubilee when it would all go back to him. He could be redeemed before the Year of Jubilee by an uncle or his uncle’s son if they were willing to pay the price.
We were all poor and needy with no hope until we were redeemed by the blood of Jesus. God is our uncle since our brother is the Jew and his father is God. Our uncle’s son is Jesus. Jesus paid the price for our redemption.
God called the children of Israel: servants, but Jesus said in John 15:15, “From now on I don’t call you servants, because the servant doesn’t know what his lord is doing: but I have called you friends; for everything that I have heard of my Father I have told you.”
In Leviticus 26, God gives them all the promises and blessings of obedience. He also gave them a detailed picture of what would happen if they disobeyed. Unfortunately, they fell under the latter too many times.
In Chapter 27 God told them the amount of taxes they were to pay. The youngest had to pay the least because they had no income. The men that fell between 20 and 60 had to pay the highest taxes because they were the working class. Men paid more than women, etc. and the older people were honored with a tax break. It was God’s fair tax plan.
In Mark, Jesus kept trying to prepare his disciples for what was ahead but they couldn’t get it. They kept getting side-tracked by what they thought should happen. Jesus taught that servanthood was higher than worldly position.
They came to Jericho and a man kept shouting for Jesus’ attention. Jesus healed his blindness and he became a follower. I can’t help but remember Joshua who came to Jericho as his first city into the Promised Land. He also shouted and the walls came down. They smashed their clay jars and everyone could see their light.
Lord, help us to remember that we carry light in earthen vessels that the world needs to see. May we let our lights shine.