Set Apart July 22 Devotional

LEVITICUS 23:4-8 | ⁴ “These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, the holy convocations, that you shall celebrate at the time appointed for them. ⁵ In the first month, on the      fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a    Passover offering to the Lord, ⁶ and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. ⁸ For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall not work at your occupations.”

Chapter 23 begins with Sabbath, a weekly celebration, but goes on to command yearly celebrations, or festivals, which are multi-day events. These “holy convocations” give a collective rhythm to the annual calendar, shaping time and hearts. The first is Passover, and it is a yearly reminder and experience of the freedom God wants us to have and share. The Passover festival recalls the liberation from Egyptian slavery, the movement from tyranny to independence, from oppression to a great and challenging freedom. Many things can enslave us, including social conditions, political regimes,     chemical addictions, economic systems, vices and habits, ideologies and attitudes, and also disoriented desires. One week a year, Israel     remembered and by ritual, reenacted the truth that God does not enslave when He relates and commands. His authority roots in love and a covenant relationship with Him leads away from slavery to freedom.

How free are you?

Gracious God,

Free me from attitudes and behaviors that lead to spiritual and psychological slavery. Help those who are enslaved by awful powers.

Amen