Set Apart July 23 Devotional

LEVITICUS 23:9-10 | ⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹⁰ Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.

Yesterday we learned that God intends there to be a freedom rhythm in our lives, a movement away from unhealthy or exploitive things toward whole and redeeming ones. The second great festival was called First Fruits. In agricultural societies, daily and yearly rhythms are connected to seasons and to the sequences of labor. There is a time to plant and sow, and a time to reap. Community well-being depends on the success of the harvest, which guarantees a food supply for the present and for future months. Giving the first elements of the harvest back to God is a gratitude rhythm, a practice to remind the nation that behind the order of nature stands their Creator and Redeemer. Sun and rain, the fruitfulness of field and farm, are a cause for thanksgiving. Prayer at meals, moments when we stop to recall God’s many gifts, acts of giving, along with Thanksgiving traditions, play a similar role for us.

Pray for our Malawi friends whose survival depends on harvest time. Do you have gratitude practices?

Gracious God,

You are the giver of every good and perfect gift. Thank You for Your amazing provision in this world and in my life.

Amen.