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REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is love and not law. To love means to care and have a deep affection for a person. In Christianity, love is the unconditional affection God has for humanity through His Son Jesus Christ. Law is the body of rules and regulations backed by sanctions to be obeyed by a given community. In a theocratic society, the law is given by God and is enforced through His appointed servants or leaders. We shall reflect on the fact that the love of God through Jesus Christ transcends the law therefore in Christ we are fully redeemed.

Beloved in the Lord, Leviticus 27:1-34 is the law governing the redemption of a vow made to God by the Israelites. Standard legislation is given for dedicated persons, animals, houses, and lands. Miscellaneous regulations about vows include the standard payment (verse 25), the treatment of the firstborn (verses 26-27), the ban (verses 28-29), and then tithes (verses 30-33) and Fields. People were allowed to voluntarily make vows to the Lord to indicate their zealousness and dedication to Him in response to His providence. These vows are sometimes made to demonstrate one’s gratitude to God or in anticipation of an answer to a prayer. For instance, Hannah made a vow when she needed a child and later fulfilled her vow. “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head”…”I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.” (1 Samuel 1:10-11,27-28). The purpose of Leviticus 27, is to enable a person who made a vow to make a ransom to the priest to redeem the person or items made for the vow with money’s worth or monetary value. Let us imagine that Hannah later changed her mind and wanted Samuel back home, she would have to go see the Priest and follow the applicable law for the redemption of her son. The applicable law in her situation would be Leviticus 27:6 which states that “for a person between one month and five years, (the priest shall) set the value of ( or the ransom of) a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver;” (Leviticus 27:6). In other words the redemption price or cost for Samuel would have been five shekels of silver.

The key lesson for our reflection is that when making a vow to the Lord, it must be done out of love for Him bearing in mind that God made Jesus the the ransom or redemption price for our liberation and salvation. It is, for this reason that Jesus said “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). Paul reminds us that “In him (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7). We are further assured by Peter who wrote that “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19) Again, Hebrews greatly reassures us that “He (Christ) did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:12). Beloved in the Lord, having been redeemed from sin and the penalty of the law by our Lord Jesus Christ, we are no longer on our own, we have been made righteous and justified through faith. We have been fully restored and dedicated to God, it is for this reason Paul admonishes us, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The only vow we are to make now is to demonstrate our love and zeal for God for all that He has done for us by following Paul’s admonishment when he wrote, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2) In Christ, we are no longer under the rigorous demands of the law but have been saved and transformed through His love. Our response to God must be borne out of the same love Jesus demonstrated to us when He was made a ransom for our eternal redemption. Henceforth we need not make a vow since our entire lives and everything we have belongs to God and are dedicated to Him through our redemption in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme “Love not law” We have discovered that the love of God through Jesus Christ transcends the law therefore in Christ we are fully redeemed. Shalom.

PRAYER
Thank you Jesus for redeeming us through your priceless blood. Truly, we need no other sacrifice of redemption or ransom. May the Holy Spirit, strengthen us to keep our lives consecrated and dedicated to the mission of God until the final appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.