Sun.’s Devo - Redemption

Read: Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm 45:1-17; Proverbs 10:22 God is all about redemption. If a foreigner that was living among them became rich, and an Israelite was poor, he could choose to work for him. He would not be considered a slave but a temporarily hired servant. He retained the right to be bought back by someone in their extended family or themselves. The price of redemption would be determined by the number of years till the next Jubilee when every slave and their families would be set free. *** If we look at this spiritually, a person who has fallen into sin (poverty) and lost his way, may find himself a slave to sin for a while. He can be redeemed through the prayers of his family or his own repentance. Then he must pay the consequences of his sin and be set free. *** They were not to set up idols or images to worship. They should observe God’s Sabbaths and fear the Lord and reverence his sanctuary. Great blessings of provision and goodness would fall on those who obeyed the Lord’s laws. They would enjoy plentiful harvests and peace in their land. They would prevail over their enemies. God would tabernacle with them and walk among them. *** But if they disobeyed him and worshiped other gods they would face terror, disease, sorrow and lack. God would become their adversary and they would be conquered by their enemies. God would do all he could do to break their pride. Nothing they tried to do would prosper until eventually their land would became desolate. If they continued to walk against the Lord, he would give them up to lawlessness and they would end up killing their own children. God would destroy their places of idolatry and cause their enemies to take them captive scattering them among the nations. *** If they then accepted their guilt and repented of their rebellion against God, he would remember his covenant with them and their ancestors and how he brought them out of Egypt. *** People could give themselves or a family member to the service of the Tabernacle as a vow to the Lord. Hannah is an example of this. She vowed to give her child to the Lord and gave Samuel to Eli to serve the Lord in the Temple. The value of the person would equal the amount of service he would be able to give. The younger the person, the greater value they accumulated. A male given from birth would have added value up to 90 shekels of silver by the time they were old. When Jesus was sold in betrayal, the priest valued him at the price of 30 shekels of silver as an insult. *** An animal that was offered to the Lord could only be substituted by one of equal value. If the offer an unclean animal, the priest would value his worth. If the man wants to redeem it he must pay its worth plus one-fifth. This penalty was to keep them from making rash promises to the Lord. *** In Mark, Jesus was taking his disciples to Jerusalem where he was going to be crucified. They were filled with awe, while the people with them were filled with fear. The proximity to Jesus made the difference. Jesus had told his disciples what was going to happen and yet they were still not getting it because it must have felt so safe being that close to Jesus. The crowds with him did not have the same feeling. *** Jesus told them again what was going to happen when they got there and still, all they could think of was him sitting on his throne in victory. James and John asked him if they could have the seats of honor right next to him. Jesus asked them if they were willing to do what it would take to obtain them, because it would take much suffering to sit there. They assured him they were. *** The other disciples were indignant that James and John had beat them to asking for that honor. Jesus explained that to be a leader is to really be a servant. Jesus had not come to rule, but to serve and to lay down his life to redeem others. *** As they reached Jericho, they were met by a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who was sitting beside the road. He began crying out for mercy from Jesus. He called him the son of David. He would only know that by the Holy Spirit. The people told him to stop saying that, but Jesus called for him to come to him. He threw off his coat and jumped up and came to Jesus. Jesus asked him what he wanted and he said, “to see.” Jesus told him to go, because his faith had healed him. He was instantly healed. *** The disciples had been given every reason to be rich in faith and yet were blind. Bartemaeus was poor and blind but rich in faith and got it all. His name means “son of one esteemed: son of one unclean.” He had been the son of someone the world esteemed but through his blindness became unclean. Now, he was both esteemed by God and made clean. *** Lord, may we not be blinded by our religion and all that has been given to us. May Your Word be the lamp for our walk and the light we follow. May we not stop being awed by your Word and your ways.