Leviticus 26:1-13
Key Verse: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom.” (Leviticus 26:12-13 CSB)
Almost every person I’ve met inside a jail or prison is eagerly anticipating one thing: freedom. Regardless of whether they have been there for 2 days or 20 years, they are looking forward to the moment when they will be allowed to walk out the doors of the institution and reenter society.
The people of Israel knew what it was like to be in captivity. For 400 years, they had been held in slavery by their Egyptian oppressors who had subjected them to forced labor. But God had heard their cries and raised up Moses to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land.
Along with their freedom, God established His covenant with them. “I will walk among you and be your God,” He said, “and you will be my people” (v.12). As God’s chosen people, God promised to bless them as they followed His statutes and faithfully observed all of His commands (v.3). This was the abundant life that was now theirs as part of their new identity.
In these verses, God also reminds them of the freedom that He has granted to them. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom” (v.13). The phrase “live in freedom” carries the idea of a person who is not trying to walk while being weighed down with a heavy burden. Rather they are walking upright and straight, with their head held high. The burden they have been carrying is now gone. They are free.
God’s deliverance of the people from the yoke of their slavery in Egypt ultimately points to the work of Jesus Christ and all that He has accomplished on our behalf. Through His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus has set free all those who place their faith in Him and follow Him. The burden of sin and death has been lifted. We can now walk uprightly in the abundant and eternal life that is ours in Christ Jesus.
Are there things in your life that are holding you captive? Where in your life do you need to experience freedom today? In faith, remember that Jesus wants you to be free and has enabled you to live in freedom. By His Spirit, you can walk in freedom today from sinful habits, from anxiety and fear, from bitterness and resentment, from the wounds of others, or from anything else that is holding you back.
Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). So today, “Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Through faith in Jesus and His Spirit’s power, live in freedom today!
Prayer: Father, you are the Lord my God and I am your child. Thank you for setting me free! Help me today by your Spirit to live in that freedom. Break any yoke of slavery that remains in my life. Help me to stand firm in you, Jesus. Amen.
