Daily devotion – Freedom
Luke 2: 21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD” ), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
After eight days we read that Jesus was circumcised but this was just the beginning for when He was forty days old, Mary and Joseph attended the Temple in Jerusalem for the purification rights as detailed in Leviticus 12:
Leviticus 12:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. 3 On the eighth day the boy’s foreskin must be circumcised. 4 After waiting thirty-three days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is set apart as holy. And she must not enter the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. 5 If a woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be ceremonially unclean for two weeks, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. After waiting sixty-six days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth.
6 “When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must bring her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 7 The priest will then present them to the LORD to purify her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions for a woman after the birth of a son or a daughter.
8 “If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them to purify her, and she will be ceremonially clean.”
They also had to pay five shekels to ‘redeem the Redeemer’ who would Himself one day redeem you and I with His precious blood.
Note Joseph and Mary’s humble sacrifice of two turtledoves which tells us that they were a young poor married couple unable to afford to bring a lamb as their sacrifice – but we know that Jesus was THE Lamb!
Jesus was raised and by Joseph and Mary and lived His life according to the Law which played an important part of Christ’s saving ministry. Jesus would grow and live in obedience to the Law perfectly – John 8:46.
Jesus would be the One who would bear the curse of the Law for you and I – Gal 3:13 ¶But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Right from His childhood we see Jesus living to give His life for us to set us free from the bondage of the Law – Gal 5:1
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Christmas not only then is a story of the rescue of sinners from sin, but it also is the story of our freedom being made available because of the Blessed Child born King!
As we head towards a New Year in 2024, turn to the Scriptures daily so that you never forget your being rescued by the Son of God and Him setting us free to live in obedience to God through the gift of His precious grace.
This is why each day for those who have been freed and redeemed, makes each day, a day of thanksgiving.