Are you reading the Bible through with me? Grab your pen and journal, and get ready to write your thoughts as you journey through the Bible.
Read Leviticus 25-27. Once again, God is giving rules to follow. “These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses,” Leviticus 26:46.
Not knowing anything about science and only a little about agriculture, the people listened as God instituted laws regarding the use of land and planting. Today we know a lot about crop rotation and resting fields. We know that constant use of the same land will eventually destroy the nutrients in the soil. God understood this and gave rules to the people so they would not go hungry. But He also gave them warnings about what would happen if they chose to ignore Him and His laws. If they did what He said, He would reside with them. Please take note of 26:11-12. “I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
These verses promise divine fellowship, and the promise was ultimately fulfilled when the Lord Jesus stepped across the stars to become the Son of Mary. Check out the Gospel of John 1:14. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The Greek word for “dwelling or residence” literally means “ to pitch a tent.” In Jesus, God Himself took up residence among His people, the Word was made flesh. He was and still is Emmanu-El . . . God with us!
In your journal, make two columns. In one column, write the heading “Yes”. In the other column, make the heading “No”.
Pretend for a moment that you are God. Would He want to take up residence in your life? Yes or no? Under the “Yes” column, write reasons why He would love to pitch a tent in your life. In the “No” column, write reasons why God would not want to live in your life.
Pray for all of those things listed in the “No” column and work on those things this week. Isn’t it a joy that God loves us no matter what we put in our columns and can dwell with us because of Jesus’s sacrifice?
Pray: Oh, Lord, I thank You that You are not a God far removed from us. You have always been actively engaged with Your creation. Thank You that Your love for us was so great that, when none of us could live up to the requirements of Your Law, You sent forth Your Son to purchase our freedom from the sin that enslaved us. Our Lord Jesus lived as one of us to show us a life fully pleasing to God. He then died on the cross as the sinless sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. Thank You for raising Him from the dead so that I might have eternal life. You are still Emmanu-El, God with us, having given us the Gift of the Holy Spirit to live with us. Help me, Lord, to live everyday knowing that live in Your Presence.
