Remember We Were Slaves
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Deuteronomy 14; 15 and Psalm 120 (NIV)
(Jonathan Huang, Deputy Director of Administry)
READ:
Deuteronomy 14 speaks of the dietary laws and tithing. Deuteronomy 15 speaks about cancelling debts and freeing servants every seven years, and ends with the command to set apart every firstborn male.
Deuteronomy 15:15 says, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.”
OBSERVE:
From Deuteronomy 14 through 15 we see the contrast of God’s holiness and grace displayed.
God’s holiness is uncompromising. His laws reflect the desire for His people to represent Him by cleanliness and wholeness in the midst of a culture far from disciplined and principled. By their very lives, the Israelites were to show that the God they served was set apart.
God’s grace is similarly absolute. He commanded creditors to wipe the slate clean for debtors, and masters to release their slaves every seven years. Some might cry that this was unjust – after all, are we not entitled to our properties?
However, Deuteronomy 15:15 makes absolutely clear why even creditors or masters ultimately have to release their rights. The Israelites were indebted to God for delivering them out of Egypt.
APPLY:
One of the things I miss most about Singapore when I’m travelling is the diversity of delicious food available to us. Any given day, we literally have the freedom of the gastronomic world at our fingertips. I treasure my culinary freedom and struggle with these dietary restrictions.
However, as I mature in faith, I learnt what Deuteronomy is teaching me through each law is what I should truly hunger for – what’s on the heart of God.
God’s heart is for His people to be set apart, not just by what we do, but how we do things. The world may employ shortcuts or unethical methods to achieve goals, but Christians cannot. God makes it clear that even in the details, He demands unwavering holiness.
Thankfully He has released us from the dietary laws, and I enjoy my char siew very much! But His desire for us in morality is to “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Phrarisees” (Matthew 5:20).
This applies to how I live my life and the expectations I have for myself. In my dealings with others, I am called to be “open-handed” and generous.
What God prescribes in Deuteronomy 15 can be called reckless – if banks forgive all loans, and nations their deficits, the world economy will collapse! It is also reasonable that we expect a return for favours, to be repaid. After all, it is only “just and fair”.
Yet in God’s economy, sinners do not get what they deserve; debts are cancelled. This is not “just” by the world’s standards, it is a scandal of grace, a reckless love.
Born into a Christian family, it took me a long time struggling with expectations of who I should be and how I should behave before I finally found freedom in God by accepting first that God loves me, therefore I obey him (and not trying to earn God’s love by obeying Him!).
I must remember that I was once lost, but now am found, was blind, and now I see. What right do I have with regards to others, but to point them to where I found this – in Christ Jesus.
The immensity of the holiness of God is matched only by the abundance of His grace. The two chapters today represent that fully.
DO:
I want to pursue the heart of God, and today that means being strict with myself in my conduct, and character, even to the minutest detail. How I do things matters just as much as what I do. God’s standards for me as a Christian is to represent His holiness uncompromisingly.
When dealing with others, I am called to be generous. Just as I am a recipient of God’s grace, I must reflect this to those around me, even to those who I view I have a right to hold to account.
After all, I remember that I was a slave, and God set me free.
PRAY:
Dear God, thank you for the grace you extended to us when we were still slaves. May Your deliverance inspire us to live fully for You, living uncompromising holy lives and being extremely generous with others. We remember the sacrifice of your Son, which gave us the very breath we breathe, and in whose name we pray, Amen.
