Bible in 365 Days – Day 53

Focus Chapters:

• Leviticus 17-19

Standout Verse(s):

Leviticus 18:1-5 NLT

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

Observation (s):

1. The Israelites were commanded to put aside the ungodly practices of the places in their past (Egypt) and refrain from imitating the practices of the place in their future (Canaan).
   
   

   Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.

   
   
2. Obedience to God’s decrees and regulations are the way to life.
   
   

   You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

Application:

In Jamaica, there exists a state within a state called Maroon Town. Maroon Town’s existence was formally recognized in 1739 under a peace treaty, following the British’s failed campaign to defeat the Maroons, a band of slaves who had escaped the plantations over time. Through the treaty, the Maroons’ freedom was recognised and their land was given to them. The Maroons recognized no government but their own. Today, Maroon Town with its own laws, regulations and customs still exists, operating separate and a part from the Jamaican laws. The Maroons chose to be separate and apart.

In a similar manner, we, as Christians, are called to be a state within a state. While the popular saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”, exists,  we are not expected to adopt all the practices of the places we visit. In short, as citizens of God’s kingdom, when in Rome we are not given freedom to do all that the Romans do. God’s stipulations to the Israelites serve as a caution for us. We are to refrain from adopting the ungodly practices of both the places of our past and future. We should not adopt or imitate the practices or way of life of Egypt, from whence we came, or Canaan, where we are headed. Instead, we are expected to adhere to the laws and decrees of God’s kingdom, the kingdom of our spiritual citizenship. Such adherence is promised, by God, to be the way to life.