Jo’s Place

​ Redemption of Gifts Offered to the Lord The Lord said to Moses,  “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.  If anyone makes a special vow, to dedicate someone to the Lord, by paying the value of that person, here is the scale of values, to be used.  A man, between the ages of twenty and sixty, is valued at fifty shekels of silver, as measured by the sanctuary shekel.  A woman, of that age, is valued at thirty shekels of silver.  A boy, between the ages of five and twenty, is valued at twenty shekels of silver; a girl, of that age, is valued at ten shekels of silver.  A boy, between the ages of one month and five years, is valued at five shekels of silver; a girl, of that age, is valued at three shekels of silver.  A man, older than sixty, is valued at fifteen shekels of silver; a woman, of that age, is valued at ten shekels of silver.  If you desire, to make such a vow, but cannot afford to pay the required amount, take the person to the priest.  He will determine the

Exile and Devastation (The Lord told the Israelites what would happen after He punished them.) “And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you, in the land of your enemies.  You will live in such fear… that the sound of a leaf, driven by the wind, will send you fleeing.  You will run, as though fleeing from a sword, and you will fall, even, when no one pursues you.  Though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other, as though fleeing from a sword.  You will have no power, to stand up, against your enemies.  You will die, among the foreign nations, and be devoured, in the land of your enemies.  Those of you, who survive, will waste away, in your enemies’ lands, because of your sins and the sins of your ancestors.  “But at last, My people will confess their sins, and the sins of their ancestors, for betraying Me, and being hostile toward Me.  When I have turned their hostility back on them, and brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last, their stubborn

More about Punishments for Disobedience “If in spite of all  (My punishment) , you still refuse to listen, and still remain hostile toward Me  (the Lord, your God) , I will give full vent to My hostility.  I, Myself, will punish you  (My people)  seven times over, for your sins.  Then, you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.  I will destroy your pagan shrines, and knock down your places, of worship.  I will leave your lifeless corpses, piled on top of your lifeless idols, and I will despise you.  I will make your cities desolate, and destroy your places, of pagan worship.  I will take no pleasure, in your offerings, which should be a pleasing aroma to Me.  Yes, I myself will devastate your land, and your enemies, who come to occupy it, will be appalled, at what they see.  I will scatter you among the nations, and bring out My sword against you.  Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins.  Then, at last, the land will enjoy its neglected Sabbath ye

Punishments for Disobedience “…If you do not listen to Me  (says the Lord, God Almighty)  or obey all these commands, and if you break My covenant, by rejecting My decrees, by treating My regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey My commands, …I will punish you.  I will bring sudden terrors upon you — wasting diseases and burning fevers, which will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away.  You will plant your crops in vain, because your enemies will eat them.  I will turn against you, and you will be defeated, by your enemies.  Those, who hate you, will rule over you, and you will run, even when no one is chasing you!  “And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey Me, I will punish you… seven times over, for your sins.  I will break your proud spirit, by making the skies as unyielding as iron, and the earth as hard as bronze.  All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.  “If even then, you remain hostile to

​ Blessings for Obedience “Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones, in your land, so you may worship them.  I am the Lord your God.  You must keep My Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence, for My sanctuary.  I am the Lord.  “If you follow My decrees, and are careful to obey My commands, I will send you the seasonal rains.  The land will then yield its crops, and the trees, of the field, will produce their fruit.  Your threshing season will overlap,    with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap, with the season of planting grain.  You will eat your fill, and live securely, in your own land.  “I will give you peace, in the land, and you will be able to sleep, with no cause for fear.  I will rid the land of wild animals, and keep your enemies out, of your land.  In fact, you will chase down your enemies, and slaughter them with your swords.  Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand!  All y

​ Redemption from Foreigners “Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you.  If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family, they still retain the right to be bought back, even after they have been purchased.  They may be bought back, by a brother, an uncle, or a cousin.  In fact, anyone, from the extended family, may buy them back.  They may also redeem themselves if they have prospered.  They will negotiate the price, of their freedom, with the person,    who bought them.  The price will be based, on the number of years, from the time they were sold, until the next Year of Jubilee—whatever it would cost, to hire a worker, for that period of time.  If many years still remain, until the jubilee, they will repay the proper proportion, of what they received, when they sold themselves.  If only a few years remain, until the Year of Jubilee, they will repay a small amount

Redemption of the Poor and Enslaved “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you.  Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense.  Instead, show your fear of God, by letting him live with you, as your relative.  Remember, do not charge interest, on money you lend him, or make a profit, on food you sell him.  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.  “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave.  Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident, who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee.  At that time, he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back, to the land originally allotted to their ancestors.  Th

​ Redemption of Property “The land must never be sold, on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to Me  (says the Lord) .  You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for Me.  “With every purchase of land, you must grant the seller the right to buy it back.  If one, of your fellow Israelites, falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then …a close relative should buy it back, for him.  If there is no close relative, to buy the land, but the person, who sold it, gets enough money, to buy it back, he then has the right to redeem it, from the one who bought it.  The price, of the land, will be discounted, according to the number of years, until the next Year of Jubilee.  In this way, the original owner can then return, to the land.  But, if the original owner, cannot afford, to buy back the land, it will remain with the new owner, until the next Year of Jubilee.  In the jubilee year, the land must be returned, to the original owners, so they can return to their fa

The Year of Jubilee In the Year of Jubilee, each of you may return to the land, which belonged to your ancestors.  “When you make an agreement, with your neighbor, to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other.  When you buy land, from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based, on the number of years, since the last jubilee.  The seller must set the price, by taking into account the number of years remaining, until the next Year of Jubilee.  The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price.  After all, the person, selling the land, is actually selling you a certain number of harvests.  Show your fear of God, by not taking advantage of each other.  I am the Lord your God.  “If you want to live securely, in the land, follow My decrees… and obey My regulations.  Then, the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill, and live securely in it.  But, you might ask,  ‘What will we eat, during the seventh yea

​ The Sabbath Year While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord said to him,  “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.  When you have entered the land, which I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest, before the Lord, every seventh year.  For six years, you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops… but during the seventh year, the land must have a Sabbath year, of complete rest.  It is the Lord’s Sabbath.  Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year.  And don’t store away the crops, which grow on their own, or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines.  The land must have a year of complete rest.  But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own, during its Sabbath.  This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents, who live with you.  Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces.  “In addition

​ An Example of Just Punishment One day, a man, who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father, came out of his tent and got into a fight with one of the Israelite men.  During the fight, this son, of an Israelite woman, blasphemed the Name of the Lord, with a curse.  So, the man was brought to Moses, for judgment.  His mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.  They kept the man in custody until the Lord’s will, in the matter, should become clear to them.  Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those, who heard the curse, to lay their hands on his head.  Then let the entire community stone him to death.  Say, to the people of Israel: Those who curse their God will be punished, for their sin.  Anyone, who blasphemes the Name of the Lord, must be stoned to death, by the whole community of Israel.  Any native-born Israelite or foreigner, among you, who blasphemes the Name of the Lord, must be put to death.  “Anyone, w

​ Pure Oil and Holy Bread The Lord said to Moses,  “Command the people of Israel, to bring you pure oil, of pressed olives, for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually  (in My tabernacle) .  This is the lampstand that stands in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain, which shields the Ark of the Covenant.  Aaron must keep the lamps burning, in the Lord’s presence, all night.  This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed, from generation to generation.  Aaron and the priests must tend the lamps, on the pure gold lampstand, continually, in the Lord’s presence.  “You must bake twelve flat loaves of bread, from choice flour, using four quarts of flour, for each loaf.  Place the bread before the Lord, on the pure gold table, and arrange the loaves in two stacks, with six loaves in each stack.  Put some pure frankincense near each stack, to serve as a representative offering, a special gift presented, to the Lord.  Every Sabbath day, this bread must be laid out be

​ The Festival of Shelters The Lord said to Moses,  “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.  Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement.  This festival to the Lord will last for seven days.  On the first day of the festival, you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work.  For seven days, you must present special gifts to the Lord.  The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the Lord.  This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day.  (“These are the Lord’s appointed festivals.  Celebrate them each year, as official days for holy assembly, by presenting special gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and liquid offerings—each, on its proper day.  These festivals must be observed, in addition to the Lord’s regular Sabbath days, and the offerings are in addition, to your p