Prayer: Father, may I not fall into the sin of the practice of subjugating a brother to slavery or to being a slave. You have proclaimed liberty and freedom. May I choose to live in freedom and help others do the same. Amen.
Reading: Jeremaih 34 key: vs. 8-9 “The word that came to Jeremiah from Adonai, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people that were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them, so that everyone should let his manservant and his maidservant—Hebrew man or Hebrew woman—go free, so that no one should make a slave of a Jew, his brother.” TLV
Attention: “Slavery was prevalent and widely accepted in the ancient world.” However, Hebrew law contained a clause which released a Hebrew brother “after six years of service and given provisions to start over (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary pg. 1511).”
According to the text, the Hebrew people complied but turned around and subjugated their Hebrew brother anew. They brought judgement upon themselves.
This is a much larger topic than be covered scripturally in a journal, but referencing Paul’s address to the Galatian’s, “Brothers and sisters, you were called to freedom—only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Torah can be summed up in a single saying: “Love your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:13-14).”
The new covenant is fulfilled in love. Loving God and loving others. No longer shall we subject others to slavery, nor shall we subject ourselves to slavery. We become slaves to that by which we are controlled. Romans chapter six addresses the topic of spiritual and physical slavery and who is our master. Paul establishes that when we move from law to grace, we transition to a new Master. The old master (sin, flesh) will give way to the spirit if we submit to the spirit.
We cannot control the flesh by the flesh. Only by the Spirit of God can I win the battle between flesh and Spirit. I encourage you to walk by the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh.
Acton: I choose to live in the Spirit and be controlled by the Spirit of God.
Yield: I choose to submit to the Spirit of God.
Engage: I choose to engage with the Spirit of God in the battle against my flesh.
Relationship: I choose to live in obedience to the Spirit of God.
Prayer: Father, I choose to walk in the Spirit as an obedient lifestyle of submission unto You. Amen.
Memory Verse: Romans 6:12-13 “Therefore do not let sin rule in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. And do not keep yielding your body parts to sin as tools of wickedness; but yield yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your body parts as tools of righteousness to God.” TLV
Music Video: Jesus Culture—Holy Spirit https://youtu.be/qNwnOfZ5N8A?si=8LWJxGPd6GEQSPsy
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”