Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Accept the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, January 4, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
God claimed the entire priesthood as a sacrifice. According to the genealogy of Jesus in Luke, he wasn’t descended from Jacob (Israel)’s son Levi as the priests were, but instead from his son Judah. But the author of Hebrews goes on at length in chapter 7 to say that Jesus is a high priest along the same order of Melchizedek, who lived at the time of Abraham. So perhaps the fact that this daily reading appears when it does is to further support the notion of Jesus as the messiah, the “king of peace” (as Melchizedek was), a high priest consecrated to God as a substitute for all the “firstborn”—and for every single part of creation. Jesus
We no longer sacrifice animals to appease God, to make atonement for our missteps, or to purify ourselves and make ourselves worthy to God. We can say that this is because Jesus gave himself as a final sacrifice to make us right with God forever. And while this is true, we are still called upon to sacrifice to God. Jesus’ sacrifice delivered salvation. After that come “sanctification” or “becoming holy.” This is a call to deeply authentic spiritual connection to God—a life based in gratitude and service, in which we sacrifice all those worldly things that pull us away from God.
What worldly things is God calling me to sacrifice?
