Day 38

All Belongs to God

Read: Leviticus 24-25

This section mingles directions for worship with directions on how to treat people. The common thread is this: all belongs to God. God is holy, and his name must not be blasphemed. In the Old Testament the punishment for misuse of the name of God was death. Exodus 20:7 is still true: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” Cursing has become common, but in the sight of God it is a terrible sin.

The Year of Jubilee was given by God so that the rich would not constantly become richer while the poor became poorer. To start with, each family had a plot of ground to provide for its material needs. If they lost that plot either because of poor management or in spite of their best efforts, the land was to be returned to the original family every fifty years.

In the meantime, if someone had a poor relative, he was to help that person. There were specific regulations to provide for those in need. The Bible constantly emphasizes God’s concern for the poor and therefore teaches that he who would be godly needs to share in that concern.

Every part of life was to be regulated with this in mind: the whole world belongs to God.

PRAYER
Father, in this secular society in which we live, help us to have an entirely different outlook on life, one which will affect how we treat people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.