Remember and Share God's Grace
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 15:12-23 (NASB)
12 “If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free. 13 When you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 It shall come about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; 17 then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.
18 “It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.
19 “You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You and your household shall eat it every year before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses. 21 But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You shall eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.
SUMMARY
Moses tells the Israelites that a Hebrew slave should work for six years and be released in the seventh year. He instructs the Israelites to remember that they themselves were slaves in the land of Egypt and it was God who has brought them to the land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. Reminding them of their past and the blessings they received, he tells the Israelites not to send slaves away empty-handed when they are freed.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
Reading and meditating on this passage brought one word to my mind: GRACE. I imagined living as a slave for a second. There would be no hope, future, or freedom. But the slave system of Israel that God declared through Moses was different from the traditional slave system. Slaves were freed after 6 years of service to their master. They could have freedom and live a brand new life! God’s grace was apparent even in the slave system of Israel.
The Israelites themselves were slaves in the land of Egypt. They knew how difficult and miserable it was to live as slaves. God reminded them to remember where they came from and it was God who redeemed them from the past (v. 15). God called the Israelites “a holy people” and He had chosen them to be a people for His own possession out of all the people on the face of the earth (Deut. 14:2). From living as slaves to being chosen and loved by God, how amazing God’s grace was on the Israelites!
APPLICATION
This passage made me think about God’s grace in my life — how I came to know and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, how He brought me out of darkness into light, and how faithful and gracious He has been. Everything is truly by God’s grace, and each day should be filled with praises and thanksgiving. Yet, I find myself focusing only on daily problems and struggles and easily forgetting about His abundant grace and who I am in Christ. I need to remember that I am no longer a slave to sins and the world, but God’s child (Galatians 4:7). I need to receive God’s grace daily through meditating on God’s words and count my blessings each day.
God also wants His children to share the grace we received with others as He commanded the Israelites to share their blessings with their slaves when they were freed (v. 14). I will actively look for opportunities to share God’s grace with others today and will ask the Holy Spirit to give me boldness when opportunities come.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that I may live in peace and freedom. I confess I often forget Your grace in my daily life and fill my days with complaints and worries. Help me to count the blessings You have poured out in my life and be thankful, always. You have called me” a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Help me to remember my true identity in Christ and live each day with praises and thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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