Originally posted: 05/22/2019
“…then I will so order My blessing for you…” (25:21).
His Blessing comes at His command, as He So Orders; and I admit I engaged in some wrestling during Leviticus 25.
My son is a black belt in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), and I couldn’t escape this picture running parallel in my mind as I thought of me “rolling” and “grappling” on a mat of misunderstanding with the Almighty Omniscient One.
(Yes, I am talking about slavery as laid out in verses 44-46. I did some study on this passage in light of the ancient world and gained insight on this complex issue. I invite you to do the same. Leviticus 19:33-34 might be a good place to start. Also, below is a link from carm.org, Christians and Apologetics Research Ministry that offers much insight on the subject.
https://carm.org/slavery/the-bible-leviticus-2544-46-and-inherited-slaves/)
But we are not going to grapple with that today.
So rather than grappling over the areas I don’t fully comprehend, I chose to submit, or “tap out” as they say in BJJ. Allow me to introduce you to this very important technique used in BJJ. “Tapping out” is achieved by gently slapping your hand on the mat or on your opponent, signifying you give up… before any injury occurs. Better to “tap out” than to leave the mat irreparably damaged.
Along my way through Leviticus 25, these words leapt off the page, “…then I will so order My blessing for you…” (25:21). He So Orders His Blessing, as He sees fit, as He directs.
So today I invite you, if you are grappling with what you can’t make sense of, to prayerfully dig into His Word, “tap out,” and trust your questions and your heart to Him Who So Orders His Blessing.
Lot’s of Scripture today… Praying you’re in the mood to dig!
Consider Him Who So Orders His Blessing
- He So Orders His Blessing to rest the land, ensuring continued provision for His people.
- “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord,’” (25:2).
- He So Orders His Blessing to restore property to its God-given owner during the year of Jubilee, announced with the sound of a horn.
- “You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land… 11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field. 13 On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property… 17 So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God,” (25:9, 11-13, 17).
- He So Orders His Blessing through the unwavering faith and obedience of His people.
- “You shall thus observe My statutes and keep My judgments, so as to carry them out, that you may live securely on the land. 19 Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. 20 But if you say, “What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?” 21 then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years,” (25:18-21).
- He So Orders His Blessing to sojourn with His people.
- “The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me,” (25:23).
- He So Orders His Blessing to provide a kinsman redeemer.
- “Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land. If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold,” (25:24-25).
- He So Orders His Blessing to care for the poor.
- “Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Do not take usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live with you. 37 You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain. 38 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,” (25:35-38).
How do we respond to Him Who So Orders His Blessings?
As we consider His Blessings, let us align our hearts and lives to be in a place to receive His Blessing as He So Orders. It may mean we have to give up demanding answers and grappling on the mat of misunderstanding; it may be time to “tap out” before we incur any injury to our spiritual well-being, and in abandoned faith commit to fully trust Him Who So Orders His Blessings.
- He So Orders His Blessing to rest the land, ensuring continued provision for His people.
- By faith we look forward to His new earth, finally at rest from the corruption of sin.
- “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind,” (Isaiah 65:17). - For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now, (Romans 8:19-22).
- “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
- By faith we look forward to His new earth, finally at rest from the corruption of sin.
- He So Orders His Blessing to restore property to its God-given owner during the year of Jubilee, announced with the sound of a horn.
- By faith we know we are rescued and redeemed, and will one day be completely restored to Him, to Whom we originally belonged, in eternal Jubilee.
- For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, (Colossians 1:13).
- Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed, (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
- For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord, (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
- By faith we know we are rescued and redeemed, and will one day be completely restored to Him, to Whom we originally belonged, in eternal Jubilee.
- He So Orders His Blessing through the unwavering faith and obedience of His people.
- By faith we seek to obey and please Him as we pursue Him above all else.
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight, (Proverbs 3:5-6). - And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, (Hebrews 11:6).
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart
- By faith we seek to obey and please Him as we pursue Him above all else.
- He So Orders His Blessing to sojourn with His people.
- By faith we believe He will never leave us; He sojourns with us, even to the end of the age.
- “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you,” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
- “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:20).
- By faith we believe He will never leave us; He sojourns with us, even to the end of the age.
- He So Orders His Blessing to provide a kinsman redeemer.
- By faith we trust Him, our Kinsman Redeemer, Who has bought us back with His own blood.
- “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (Matthew 20:28).
- …the church of God which He purchased with His own blood, (Acts 20:28).
- “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (Matthew 20:28).
- By faith we trust Him, our Kinsman Redeemer, Who has bought us back with His own blood.
- He So Orders His Blessing to care for the poor.
- By faith, we receive His perfect provision for our spiritual poverty, and in humility and gratitude, care for those in need.
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 5:3).
- For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich, (2 Corinthians 8:9).
- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3).
- “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me,’” (Matthew 25:34-40).
- By faith, we receive His perfect provision for our spiritual poverty, and in humility and gratitude, care for those in need.
There will always be unanswered questions, whether it is our understanding of His Word or His Character in the midst of life’s unjust circumstances and sufferings. But He has given all we need in His Son, His Holy Spirit, and His Holy Word. So when we need to, let’s trust Him as we “tap out,” that we would sojourn in faith with Him Who So Orders His Blessing.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence, (2 Peter 1:2-3).