Leviticus 25:1-7
As there was a weekly sabbath for man, there was also a sabbath year for the land. Every 7th year was a sabbath year in which the land was not to be sown or the vineyard's pruned. This was a time of solemn rest for the land. Just like man needs a sabbath weekly, the land needs a sabbath. This took a lot of faith to not plant and not tend the trees and vines. Anything the land produced without human aid was the property then of all. No one was to go reap the land for themselves.
Israel failed to keep this command – this determined their time in captivity. See Leviticus 26:33-35. God spoke to them about what would happen if they didn't follow His ways. The land would get its sabbaths by exiling the nation. We see this in 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 where it speaks of the fulfillment of the 70 years in exile made by Jeremiah 25:12.
Leviticus 25:8-17
After seven sabbaths of years, or seven sevens, was the year of Jubilee. This year after was the 50th year; a year to proclaim liberty. The trumpet was blown on the Day of Atonement, to proclaim this special year.
- It was a release from debt; all debt was forgiven.
- It was a release from servitude; those in servitude due to a debt of some kind were set free.
- It was a return of the land to the rightful owner; land lost to debt or any reason came back to rightful owner.
The Day of Atonement was a kind of resetting the holiness of the temple. It was cleansing and consecrating and restoring the temple. This was like starting all over. The Jubilee is a similar reset; a chance to restart. It brought hope and liberty. Those who had not been home for a long time, went home. Those who lost their homes, returned.
In a similar thought, those who bought land, lost it back to original owner. Those who had laborers paying off a debt, were lost. This was not to surprise anyone; Jubilee wasn't supposed to cheat anyone out of money. In our terms, you didn't get a 20-year mortgage if Jubilee was in 5 years. You got a five-year mortgage. Imagine how many people this kept from all consuming debt. Land was sold according to how many crops there were until Jubilee. Everything was to be prorated this way. Jubilee was to be about liberty, not putting others in a lurch or burdening others.
Leviticus 25:18-22
The most important word in this passage is 'shall'. The human response is, "but what ifÐ." We all can fill in the blank from there because we all struggle in faith of this sort. God's promises are true, we know that; but its always easier to tell other that than live it out.
You can imagine the first time this was read to the people. Many would have cried out, "What do eat if we can't sow or gather in produce?" God said he would bring a blessing in the sixth year to carry them through the sabbath years. If they observed his statutes, the land would produce. If they decided not to observe the statute and then see how it would have worked out, the land would not give the results. The only way to receive the blessing was to walk in obedience by faith. God said they 'shall sow' in the 8th year and shall eat of the old harvest until the harvest of the 8th year comes in.
Leviticus 25:23-28
God is the landowner of all of Israel. Therefore, the land was never sold permanently. He granted temporary possession to the tribes. When someone in the tribe becomes poor and has to sell land to pay a debt, there were three ways he might bet it back. Anyone owning land in Israel was to grant redemption. This is a fundamental understanding – it was a concept that ought to have been very meaningful to them, for they were redeemed from bondage by the Lord.
- A redeeming relative, known as a kinsman redeemer could redeem the land on behalf of the relative. The redemption price was prorated according to how many crops the temporary owner had taken off the land.
- If the original owner becomes able to redeem his land back, then he could pay back according to the number of years since he sold it.
- If neither 1 or 2 happened, the land was restored in Jubilee.
Every generation had their Jubilee, a chance to recover and start over. This reset gave the next generation the hope of a good life.
Humankind acquired a debt it could never pay. Every person has to come to the knowledge of that debt. Our only hope is found in our Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He came and paid our debt to set us free. He proclaimed liberty to all those who trust in Him.
Leviticus 25:29-34
Home in a walled city
These should be seen as an urban property, not necessarily land from tribal allotment. If someone was forced to sell a home due to debt, they had a year to redeem the home or it transferred permanently to the new owner. This wouldn't be returned on Jubilee. This provided time for redemption but also offered some stability to the one purchasing.
Homes in villages
These should be seen as rural area and counted as fields of the country. As such, they may be redeemed but also were subject to the reverting to original owner on Jubilee. The same was true of the homes of the Levites in the Levitical cities. The common lands around those cities were not allowed to be sold. These lands were a perpetual possession.
Leviticus 25:35-38
How telling it is of our human condition when the Lord has to tells us not to take advantage of those less fortunate. Your 'help' was not to be in the way of loaning money to make a profit. You weren't to lend or offer food as a loan to earn interest. This isn't help at all but makes the problem worse and puts them further in debt. This is the Lord's heart, we are to hear it and fear Him, more than we desire our way of doing things.
Leviticus 25:39-46
It is interesting and thought provoking that there were different rules for Israel than for foreigners. The children of Israel were servants of the Lord. They could not compel one of their brethren to become their slave. They willingly sold themselves to slavery to pay a debt. They were to be treated with dignity; they were to be treated as laborers borrowed from God. He was to be freed on Jubilee if he had not paid his debt before. The word 'rigor' means ruling them with severity or harshness.
Slaves that were from other nations were not considered servants of God. They became a possession to the master; the people could buy, sell and inherit them.
Leviticus 25:47-55
The law even made provision for a Israelite to sell themselves to an outsider. It would be understood that the Jewish law applies to this man and the deal made would be done with Jubilee in mind. As well, he could be redeemed by a family member or redeem himself prior to Jubilee. The calculation was to be fair, computing the value based on the years to Jubilee. The sojourner had helped one of God's children.
It was important principle that the children of Israel served the Lord first and foremost. He redeemed them out of Egypt.
©2022 Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
Facebook