One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Wednesday, March 2nd
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Blessings for Obedience
The Lord promises many blessings for when the Israelites are obedient to the commands He gave Moses. God will send rains to produce an abundance of crops and grapes, so they will eat their fill and have enough. He will give them peace in the land from animals and all their enemies will fall by their sword. He will multiply the number of people thus fulfilling his covenant with them. Most importantly he says this,
"I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high." 26:12-13
Punishments for Disobedience
However there were steep consequences if the Israelites rejected the Lord's commands, and refused to obey them. Diseases would be rampant, they would plant in vain, and they would be overrun by their enemies. Then there are further and more severe punishments if they continue to remain hostile to the Lord. This is anticipating how the Israelites, though receiving conseqences, will continue to rebel against God. If you read through this chapter, you will see the progression of the Israelites sin and the progression of God's wrath against a rebellious people. But here is the amazing thing. Even after all of this if the Israelites will repent, God will remember the covenant he made with their ancestors Abraham, Issac and Jacob.
“But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of their enemies. I will not cancel my covenant with them by wiping them out, for I am the Lord their God. 45 For their sakes I will remember my ancient covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of all the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.” 26:44-45
Redemption of Gifts Offered to the Lord
"This chapter deals with things that are given to God by a vow. That means they were not required by a command of the law, but the vow was a freely promised and given gift to God. In this case, it deals with persons that were promised to the LORD in a vow." (Guzik)
These verses are somewhat confusing. What does it mean to redeem someone who was consecrated via a vow to the Lord. Why would you want to buy something back after you already gave it to the Lord. The following commentaries really help explain this whole idea which is talked about with both humans and animals.
"What seems to be the case is that when a vow is made to consecrate a person to the Lord, that person belonged to the Lord permanently. Unless redeemed, they would be devoted to the service of the sanctuary for the duration of their lives. We might ask, “Why would someone do this?” But we do it in our own society, even if with different means, the intent would be the same. We give children up for adoption in hopes of them, or us, having a better life. We give ourselves up to employers, even signing work contracts, in order to secure a more positive future. Someone at the sanctuary would be under the care of the sanctuary. This practice may explain the term nethinim which is used in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah to describe a class of people who served at the temple, but who were of a lower class than that of the Levites. Nethinim comes from natan, to give, and thus they may be people given over to the temple service, whether those of foreign birth as slaves, or those of Israel who are consecrated by vow. The purpose of the valuation, then, would be to redeem a person who was devoted to the Lord if their future looked brighter outside the temple. If this was the case, then they could be redeemed to live out their lives as the Lord had prospered them apart from the temple service. Again, this is conjecture, but it makes logical sense." (superiorword.org)
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
As Jesus began his ascent to Jerusalem, the disicples were full of fear and confused about some of what Jesus had taught. Though the disciples were in awe of Jesus for his own courage, they were worried about their fate. Though they were afraid, we have to give the disciples credit for following. Jesus not only talked about his physical suffering but the humiliation he would face as they mocked him and spat on him!
"Significantly, Jesus mentioned the shame of His suffering. Jesus suffered the most terrible emotional humiliation in His death, and it was done out of love for us." (Guzik)
The Request of James and John
James and John typify the general confusion the disciples are experiencing, as they contemplate his suffering and death. It is not surprising that they are more focused on themselves than Jesus and what he is about to do for them. They still thought that when Jesus reached Jerusalem it would result in him establishing a political kingdom. And if that were the case, they wondered what reward might they receive as his disciples.
Jesus asks them if they are ready to drink the cup of suffering that he is about to drink. Naively they say "yes". Jesus acknowledges they would indeed suffer like he did. After all, we know that James was martyred for his faith. When the others learned James and John were jockeying for the best positions in the kingdom, it is time for Jesus to clarify what it means to be his follower. He says,
"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As followers of Jesus, our calling card is "serving others". Though we don't see a reward immediately, we will be seen as great in Jesus' eyes and receive a reward one day. Jesus gave up everything for us by dying on a cross. But God raised him from the dead, God has given him the name which is above all names. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11
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