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Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Leviticus Chapter 25



LEVITICUS 

CHAPTER 

25



1. The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying; 2. Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the LORD. 3. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; 4. but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the LORD; you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 1 to 5)



Oh God if we think that once You permit us to enter our promised land the chapter is closed, we have another thing coming. Once we enter into a relationship with You, a process of growth and development takes place, one that can only be broken or delayed by our disobedience for You oh God never stops working in our lives, even when we become obstinate in our ways. You keep on waiting for us to turn back to You again. 


Once Your people entered the land that You had long since promised them they were to remain in strict obedience to the norms and values, statutes and commandments that You had been grounding them in, throughout their walk in the direction of the promised land. Amen


6. You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath-you, your male and female slaves your hired and your bound laborers who live with you; 7. for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.


(Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 6 to 7)


Oh God my Father living on what the land provides for one year means that one learns to depend on Your divine providence fur during that year anything can happen such as a bad harvest or drought meaning a lack of rain that would hinder the produce, however when we depend on You in Spirit and in faith all becomes possible Amen.


8. You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. 9. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month on the day of atonement you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land. 10. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. 11. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines. 12. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat only what the field itself produces.

(Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 8 to 12)


Oh God, I thank You for this Year of Jubilee, I thank Your for having set us free and for making me aware of the chance of being free. I thank You for finding me this link of the Jubilee to share with all Amen.

The Year of Jubilee


13. In this year of Jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your property. 14. When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another. 15. When you buy from your neighbor, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop years. 16. If the years are more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold to you. 17. You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.


(Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 13 to 17)



Oh God my Father how honourable and fair it is to deal fairly and justly with each other, during this year and every day of our life. Dealing fairly and not adjusting the terms and conditions of sale to our advantage is also being fair, and acting according to Your will. Oh God it is therefore possible to be a good business man or person and to remain a Roman Catholic or Christian. I believe oh God my Father, that if we stick to the truth about our product, You will do the rest and You will bless both our work and every business deal that we are involved in Amen. However oh God I love You more than ever for You also gave us the conditions to inherit a place in heaven, but instead of our having to pay the price according to Your terms and conditions You paid the price of our redemption by permitting Your Son to be sacrificed for our sins Amen.


18. You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verse 18)



Oh God my Father You strictly gave us the command to keep Your commands and ordinances and not simply to observe or analyse or judge them to see if they support our personal agenda or not. May we be seriously dedicated to living, according to Your Will Amen. This indeed will create in us a strong feeling of security Amen.


19. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verse 19)


Oh God my Father if only we obeyed Your orders instead of forcing the land to generate more and more produce and never giving the land a rest. Our drive to produce  faster in order to cater with the given demand is disrupting the natural cycle and we are rightly paying the consequences with our own state of health and that of our families. Amen.


20. Should you ask, "What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?" 21. I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a crop for three years. 22. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the old crop; until the ninth year, when it's produce comes in, you shall eat the old.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 20 to 22)



The same question also appeared to me oh God my Father, however as always You have an answer for every issue in my life. As always You are my sole provider who caters for all my needs. Thank You for my God  and Father I place my trust in You and Your divine providence.



23. The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verse 23)


Oh God my Father all that we have is not ours to hoard and treasure but to share with others. Our lives on earth are indeed that of aliens or tenants for it is limited by time of which we are responsible for producing fruit in our service to others and to ourselves and not waste time in worldly alienation such as online gaming. Amen.


24. Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. 25.  If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 24 to 25)


Oh God my Father this is also applicable for when one of us is feeling weak in spirit and faith and is in need of a good and encouraging word. As brothers and sisters in Your big family, we are to stand up for that person and give a helping hand of encouragement, so that all of us will remain empowered in the faith Amen.


26. If the person has no one to redeem it, but then prospers and finds sufficient means to do so, 27. the years since its sale shall be computed and the difference shall be refunded to the person to whom it was sold, and the property shall be returned. 28. But if there are not sufficient means to cover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of Jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 26 to 28)


Oh God, I thank You for making allowances for those who for some reason do not measure up to their financial commitments, as much as You show mercy on such people, You surely will be merciful with me if I do not completely measure up in my spiritual state of a Roman Catholic or Christian. I may be given the option of spending time in purgatory as compensation until I am ready to qualify for the needed points to be eligible to enter Heaven. Amen.


 29. If anyone sells a dwelling house in a walled city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the right of redemption shall be one year. 30. If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed a house that is in a walled city shall pass in perpetuity to the purchaser, throughout the generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 29 to 30) 


Oh God, my Father I thank You for not setting a time limit on my redemption, I thank You for having accepted to pay the price Yourself even if this meant that You were to experience a cruel passion as a consequence. You signed the contract of redemption with Your holy blood. You are welcome to reside in the dwelling of my soul forever and ever Amen. I also thank You for claiming back my soul from the evil one every time I sin against You Amen.


31. But houses in villages that have no walls around them shall be classed as open country; they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verse 31)


 Oh God, my Father I pray that I will always be a fortress making part of Your city and not be an open unprotected land. Amen. I thank You for the price that You paid for my redemption Amen. 


  32. As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites shall forever have the right of redemption of the houses in the cities belonging to them. 33. Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites-houses sold in a city belonging to them-shall be released in the jubilee; because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. 34. But the open land around their cities may not be sold; for that is their possession for all time.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 32 to 34)


Oh God, my Father even though the Levites had no particular land in comparison to the other tribes You still made special provisions for them. May we all be dependent on Your providence only oh God my Father Amen. 


35. If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens. 36. Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you. 37. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit. 38. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 35 to 38)


Oh really and truly oh God my Father that a friend in need is a friend indeed. We are to stand up and support each other, even if this means supporting a daughter who has become pregnant out of marriage and was abandoned by the spouse, or even with the spouse who indirectly has become our kin. During such moments of stress, we are to share with them all that You my, God and Father has provided for us Amen.


39. If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. 40. They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41. Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 39 to 41)


If I happen to be the bread-winner of the family, I cannot give those dependent ones me the bare minimum of my income and spend or save the rest for my own purposes and intentions and cause those who are dependent on me to live a totally limited life. I am not to use my power as breadwinner against those who are dependent one me Amen.




42. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. 43. You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 42 to 43)



Oh God my Father you paid such a dear price for our redemption and freedom that it is a shame that some people treat others as slaves, on the other hand some of us have a lack of self- esteem for ourselves that they willfully surrender their already low degree to others and permit abuse and manipulation in order to satisfy the perpetrators pleasure. Amen.


44. As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves. 45. You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. 46. You may may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 44 to 46)


 Oh God my Father today we have modern slaves. Although we proclaim ourselves to be free people in truth we are also slaves to many forces around us, however, the greatest of all forces is our sinful self, that compels us to behave sinfully. I pray oh God my Father that You break our inner self, and transform it in one based on our belief in You. Another form of slavery and abuse is that of employing illegal immigrants and not treating them as local employees. Although laws have now been passed in favour of fair treatment we are to always remain aware of our tendency as natives to impose our power over such people who may feel already inferior to us. Amen.


47. If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien's family, 48. after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them, 49. or their uncle or their uncle's son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 47 to 49)


 Oh God my Father as sinners we are all in debt, therefore by means of a prayer of intercession to you we intercede for each other especially during moments of need. However as a means of prevention we are always to pray for each other, for we do not know when our time of testing will come, or when the forces of evil decide to launch an attack on us. Therefore, we always need to be ready and consistent in our relationship with You and others Amen.


50. They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years; the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired laborer.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verse 50)


Oh God thank You for redeeming me with Your blood. Although You are clean of all fault, You chose to pay the price of my redemption in full, since the time of my birth to the time of my death as a hired labourer with limited time on earth Amen. 


51. If many years remain, they shall pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase price; 52. and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 51 to 52)


Oh God, I thank You for being my benefactor and paying the price of my redemption. When comparing the rate at which my sins accumulate, meaning through my thoughts feelings and actions,  I would never have had enough resources to compensate for my sins Amen.  


53. As a laborer hired by the year they shall be under the alien's authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight. 54. And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year. 55. For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.


(Book of Leviticus Chapter 25 verses 53 to 55) 
 

Oh God my Father You have all the right to consider us as Your servants and even more as Your sons and daughters, for You Yourself chose to pay the price of my redemption Amen.



I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-


 Oh God, my Father may every day of my life be the Year of Jubilee for every second of my life I am in need of Your redemption. I thank You for taking me out of the pit of my sins every time I fall, for I am still weak. I pray for Your constant love and mercy Amen. Thank You oh God my Father.







  










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