Hey Bible Readers I'm Tara-Leigh Cobble and I'm your host for The Bible Recap [Music] we've only got one day left in Leviticus so let's make the most of it today God is still giving Moses instructions on how the people should live in society together since this is not only the first time they've had a chance to be free people but also the first time they've really interacted with God they've only known him for about a year at this point and they're still learning to trust him maybe you can relate God's instructions today covered a lot of territory the Perpetual maintenance of the Tabernacle caring for the poor Jubilee we also see a specific instance where God tells Israel how to handle blasphemers a man curses the name of God and God orders him to be stoned the purpose of this illustration since it involved a man who was half Egyptian was likely to point out that the same rules apply to those who are foreigners and as far as the decision got established to Stone him to death remember first the Israelites are in a unique situation given that they're a nation-state set apart as God's people and second It's always important to remember that we all deserve death this man got what he deserved the rest of us are just living on Mercy the blasphemer story is immediately followed with a verse that says whoever takes the human life shall surely be put to death this is an illustration of what we talked about with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 about how killing is different than murder otherwise the person who puts a murderer to death would be a murderer and someone would have to murder him and then the Chain Reaction would continue until all God's people were dead God establishes killing and murder as two different things and he puts the power to kill in the hands of the judges or at least that's who most commentators believe these instructions are for in part because they're followed by the whole eye for an eye Passage the way this is delivered seems to indicate that it was guidance for judicial rulings so a judge would order your offender to pay back what he stole from you this is not saying you should go take it for yourself God was outlining order and Civility and setting up some deterrence descending against your neighbor then God continues with a new kind of Sabbath command to let their fields rest on the seventh year just as he's commanded the people to rest on the seventh day the number seven symbolizes completion and Perfection and will continue to see God reiterating that and by the way Leviticus itself is written in seven sections and some of those sections even have seven interior sections all that to say is a thing then God sets out the plan for Jubilee He says this will happen on the year after seven weeks of years based on what we talked about yesterday I bet you already knew what this meant seven weeks of years would mean seven times seven which is 49 so the year after that is the 50th year the Year of Jubilee this pattern mirrors exactly what we saw yesterday with the 50 days between the Feast of Passover and Pentecost the people also didn't work the land on this year so it had two back-to-back years off the Sabbath year and the Jubilee year you really have to trust God for his provision to let the land rest for two years because your food has to last until the third Year's Harvest comes in Sabbath requires Faith but God promises he'll give an abundant Harvest on the year before this break begins another really cool thing happened during the Year of Jubilee debts were canceled and people who had sold themselves into service to pay off debt were set free we've already established that scriptures references to slavery most often reference a different kind of slavery than we typically think of and this section makes that even clearer in 2555 God reminds Israel that even though some people may need to sell themselves into Temporary Service they're ultimately only supposed to be servants to him God sets out a lot of regulations here about how to be kind to those in need and to help others get on their feet Jubilee is a reminder that they are all God's servants and that he provides for them all maybe it was just me but I saw a lot of joy and freedom in today's chapters my godshot was the picture of him as the one who defends the poor provides for the needy and calls the rich to be helpers by sharing and by redeeming others out of debt you may recognize some of these laws as the ones that will eventually connect Ruth and Boaz God has a heart for freedom for rest for provision for the poor in 2538 he says I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God he's basically saying hey when I came to rescue you you had nothing and I'm the one who gave you everything you have so just don't we stingy with it that doesn't mirror my heart all of this is bookended with reminders of his godness and his holiness when I was reading this I couldn't help but smile and think of my friend Coco when someone tries to merge or cuts her off in traffic her immediate response is to say come on over I'm a Christian now I know it can sound cheesy and I know they can't hear her but God can hear her and she can hear herself she's preaching God's generosity to herself she's living open-handedly in a very practical everyday sense she realizes that God has given her the inheritance of the whole earth so she can gladly share the 200 square feet of Highway in front of her she knows God is still providing even when it seems like someone's trying to take something from her she knows having an empty Highway Lane to yourself isn't where it's at she knows he's where it's at because she knows he's where the joy is I'm so glad you're here if you want to help others find their way to these videos the best way to do that is to like subscribe and comment on YouTube I love to read through your comments to remind myself that there are actual people out there watching you are out there and you are seeing more of God each day your comments not only encourage me but they position you as someone who helps others decide if they want to take the time to watch or not it sounds simple but you're actually helping strangers around the world connect with God so drop us a comment if you've got a minute to spare give us a thumbs up we might even feature something you've said on a social media post foreign [Music]