The Year of Jubilee
Studies in Leviticus
Okay, you can turn in your Bibles to Leviticus chapter 25. A bit of a difficult passage. I've mentioned before, I'm not Rabbi Butler. I'm not too familiar with all of the particulars in some of these Old Testament law passages. And certainly the year of Jubilee is one of those. So we'll read the section, I'll read the section and then I'll give us sort of an overview and then try to make some practical observations. on the passage. So it's a long chapter. Remember the larger section, you've got the emphasis on worship in chapters 1 to 16, and then an emphasis on holy living or practical living in chapters 17 and following. So of course the high point in the book is chapter 16, the Day of Atonement. In fact, the year of Jubilee falls on that day, or it's initiated on the Day of Atonement. And so what we have here are instructions for the children of Israel in terms of their daily life, their separation from the heathen nations around them, and then as well, their rhythm of worship and celebration of the various feasts that God had given to the nation of Israel. So beginning in Leviticus chapter 25 at verse 1, And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. "'You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. "'What grows of its own accord of your harvest, "'you shall not reap nor gather the grapes "'of your untended vine, "'for it is a year of rest for the land. "'And the Sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you, "'for you, your male and female servants, "'your hired man and the stranger who dwells with you, "'for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land, "'all its produce shall be for food. And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years. And the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the day of atonement, you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land, and you shall consecrate the 50th year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. That 50th year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. "'For it is the Jubilee, it shall be holy to you. "'You shall eat its produce from the field. "'In this year of Jubilee, "'each of you shall return to his possession. "'And if you sell anything to your neighbor "'or buy from your neighbor's hand, "'you shall not oppress one another. "'According to the number of years after the Jubilee, "'you shall buy from your neighbor, "'and according to the number of years of crops, "'he shall sell to you. According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer numbers of years you shall diminish its price, for He sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops. Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God. So you shall observe My statutes, and keep My judgments, and perform them, and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. And if you say, What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce? Then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year, until its produce comes in. You shall eat of the old harvest. The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine, for you are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession, you shall grant redemption of the land. If one of your brethren becomes poor and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, then let him count the years since its sale and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the year of Jubilee. And in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession. If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold. Within a full year he may redeem it. But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house and the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the jubilee. However, the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed and they shall be released in the jubilee. Nevertheless, the cities of the Levites and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the common land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession. If one of your brethren becomes poor and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him like a stranger or a sojourner that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him, but fear your God that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury nor lend him your food at a profit. 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. And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant and a sojourner, he shall be with you and shall serve you until the year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you, he and his children with him. He shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God. And as for your male and your female slaves, whom you may have from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover, you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land, and they shall become your property. And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession. They shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor. "'Now if a sojourner or a stranger close to you becomes rich, "'and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, "'and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, "'or to a member of the stranger's family, "'after he is sold, he may be redeemed again. "'One of his brothers may redeem him, "'or his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, "'or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family "'may redeem him. or if he is able he may redeem himself. Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him. The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the year of jubilee. It shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him. If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. And if there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the year of Jubilee. He and his children with him. For the children of Israel are servants to me. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. Amen. Well, before we get started, I forgot there's a bunch of cookies. If anybody wants a cookie, there was a lot left over from Sunday. They're in the refrigerator. Sophia, would you go grab a... I'm not saying you personally have all of them, but you can grab some and maybe pass them around. Since it's the year of Jubilee, we should rejoice in cookies. I fear they wouldn't get redeemed if they sat in there. Oh, good catch. Very good. Let me grab some napkins. How about it? Okay, as I said, we're not going to look at every single detail here, as it's very detailed in terms of the sabbatical year in verses 1 to 22, and then the jubilee year in verses 23 to 55. If you turn back for just a moment to the book of Exodus in chapter 23, verses 10 and 11, you have this reference to the sabbatical year. So in Leviticus, sorry, Exodus 23, 10 and 11, six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. So when we come to this particular chapter, we see first this sabbatical year. Every seventh year, the ground was to lay fallow. And then you have this law or legislation concerning the year of Jubilee, and it was designed so that persons wouldn't live in a state of perpetual loss. and basically it speaks to the redemption of property and to the redemption of persons. So sometimes in Old Covenant Israel, if a person was poor, if you notice in verse 39, and if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor and sells himself to you, so we call that indentured servitude. So if a man fell on hard times, he was poor, he couldn't make ends meet, this was certainly an option for him to sell his work to another man. But that was not to continue on indefinitely, Israelite to Israelite. Israelite to pagan or heathen, it could, but not Israelite to Israelite. So this Jubilee Law was sort of a last resort. The man couldn't redeem himself, or if he didn't have a family member that was able to redeem him, this Jubilee Law would come and provide that redemption for him and to him. The same thing with property. A man that was poor or fallen on hard times Instead of selling himself, he might be inclined to sell some of his possession. And thus, again, the law is designed ultimately so that that piece of land does not pass indefinitely out of his hands. So it was a law calculated to promote order, stability, and prosperity within Old Covenant Israel. And as I said, we'll look at some practical applications after we look at the bulk of the text. So we have first the sabbatical year, verses 1 to 22, and then secondly, the jubilee year in verses 23 to 55. Note the introduction in verse 1, the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai saying. Again, this is something we've reminded ourselves frequently as we move through this legislation. This wasn't the collective wisdom of man. They didn't gather around and say, we ought to construct life in our civil polity. in such a way that nobody's ultimately a loser. That's not what happened. It's the Lord God who spoke. In fact, you see that theological emphasis punctuated throughout the chapter. Notice in verse 17, Verse 38, 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. And then verse 55, for the children of Israel are servants to me. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. So this is legislation or command from on high. This was ultimately for God's glory. It was for the benefit and for the good of the people, the old covenant people of God. And ultimately the principle all hangs on verse 23. It says, the land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine. So God, in his goodness and in his kindness, made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning the gift of the land. But these sorts of laws reminded the children of Israel that it wasn't ultimately theirs, it ultimately belonged to God Most High. In fact, Psalm 24 celebrates this reality in verse 1. It says, the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. And so laws like this were calculated to remind the children of Israel that while it was a gift given by God, it ultimately belonged to God, they were stewards in the land and they were to function in a manner according to his revealed will, to his revealed law. And then notice as well the rest of the land. That doesn't mean the rest in addition to, but the actual rest. This idea of giving the land a break in verses two to seven. So there is this reminder in verse two, speak to the children of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. And then it gives the specifications there. Six years you shall sow your field, six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard." And if you look over at verse, right around verse 21, we see that God would provide even in the midst of these sabbatical years. So in verse 21, then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. And you shall sow in the eighth year and eat old produce until the ninth year, until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest." So God doesn't say, give the land a Sabbath and all of you starve to death. There was provision made by God in His kindness and goodness to make sure that the children of Israel did not starve to death. And then in terms of the general instruction, so we got this emphasis on the sabbatical year and then the provision that comes in verses 6 and 7, and then there's this general introduction to the year of Jubilee. So in verses 8 and 9, we see the time frame. So it's the 50 50th year generally, and it's the Day of Atonement specifically. So in verse 9 you see that. "...then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land." If you turn back to Leviticus chapter 16, you'll see that that is in fact the date that the Day of Atonement was held on. So in 1629, this shall be a statute forever for you. Remember, forever there is conditioned by the covenant. It's not a continuing ordinance for us in this new covenant situation to have a day of atonement. Rather, this was a statute forever as long as the old covenant was in existence and as long as the body politic was together. So this shall be a statute forever for you in the seventh month. On the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you." So on that 50th year, it was that day of atonement that initiated that Jubilee year. And basically, the word Jubilee is related to ram or ram's horn. And so the fact that they would blow the ram's horn in order to signify the beginning of the jubilee is whence the name comes from. Wenham says the year of jubilee would then take its name from the blowing of the ram's horn at the beginning of the year. Perhaps you've heard the word shofar. That's that horn that the Jews blow. There's another Hebrew word related to that, same sort of an idea, but that's the word where we get jubilee. And then notice in terms of the practice with reference to the jubilee. Verse 10 is central. It gives the specific rationale behind the day of jubilee, or behind the year of jubilee. And you shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family." So the mind of God, with reference to his people, is liberty. Now, that doesn't mean there aren't seasons of hardship and affliction and trial and difficulty, but this law of the year of jubilee was designed as a last resort so that persons would be able to have their liberty, so that they would be able to have their freedom, so that they could live in the land, so that they could engage in work, so they could engage in family life, they could engage in worship, and they can enjoy the many blessings of God Almighty. It's intriguing. We're going to come up to a section in chapter 26, the promise of blessing and curses. Basically, when you go into the land, if you do what you're supposed to, you'll be blessed. If you go in the land and you don't do what you're supposed to, then you will be cursed. It's a pretty simple sort of arrangement in a covenant of works. And then when you get to the book of Deuteronomy, it gives it in far more detail. And one of the reasons that God indicts or says that He will indict the children of Israel when they go into the land is if they're not thankful, if they don't rejoice, if they don't relish the fact that God in His infinite goodness had given them this gift of land, with all of the food, with all of the milk, all of the honey, all of the blessings, and yet they didn't rejoice, they didn't receive it happily, they didn't delight themselves in it, and they weren't thankful. So that was a means by which, or one of the means by which, God would bring judgment upon them. because an ingratitude in the face of the grace of God is absolutely repulsive, and so the Lord threatens judgment upon them for that very thing. So there is this proclamation of liberty, and basically what it would entail is a one-year break from labor, those bound by work contracts were released, and then the release of indentured servants. So verse 10, you shall consecrate the 50th year, proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. So if you had to forfeit land, if you had to forfeit possession, if you had to forfeit your own freedom, there would be this resolution that would come at least one time in the life of all of God's people. And then notice that this was a time for them to enjoy rest. Verse 11, that 50th year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. As well, it was a season for and an occasion of holiness. It's connected to the various feast days that we saw already in Leviticus 23. So we've got the feasts that mark Israel's calendar year in and year out, the seventh year is a sabbatical year, and then the 50th year is the Jubilee year. So these were times of corporate worship, times for them to return praise to God for His goodness and for His kindness. And that's underscored in verse 12. You don't leave and go to Mexico or Hawaii or wherever else everybody's going in January. That's actually not a condemnation. It's actually a bit of jealousy. But it was a time to reflect on the goodness of God and to enjoy the company of your brothers and sisters. And then in terms of the return of possession, notice in verses 13 and 14. In this year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another. So the owner of the land sold his property because he had fallen on hard times. The Jubilee provided a way for the man to regain his possession, which was given him by God. So again, it's an act of God's goodness and graciousness. And as Gill says, the general design of this law was to preserve the rights of free-born Israelites as to person and property, to prevent perpetual servitude and perpetual alienation of their estates. to continue families and estates as they were originally, that some might not become too rich and others too poor, nor be blended, but the tribes and families might be kept distinct until the coming of the Messiah, to whom the Jubilee had a particular respect and in whom it ceased." And then Wenham, who's a modern commentator, said, the main purpose of these laws is to prevent the utter ruin of debtors. It is to prevent the utter ruin of debtors. So built into the civil polity in Old Covenant Israel is this year of Jubilee, which was designed so that persons could have freedom, so that persons weren't under overwhelming debt for the entirety of their lives. In other words, it sort of sounds like this was God's intention and plan for His people. So the main purpose of these laws is to prevent the utter ruin of debtors. In biblical times, a man who incurred a debt that he could not repay could be forced to sell off his land or even his personal freedom by becoming a slave. Leviticus 25 prohibits anyone from selling himself or his land off permanently. Thus, about once in any man's lifetime, the slate was wiped clean. Everyone had the chance to make a fresh start. So it's a good thing. It's a blessed thing. Again, it's difficult to get our minds wrapped around it. We don't function in this particular way. I'm not sure that I'd even want my government to say, okay, everybody's off for a year. This is a different environment. It's a different situation. It's a theocracy. God is ruling directly these particular people. They are the Old Covenant people, they're separate from the heathen around them, and so there are things unique to them in the Old Testament that don't have a direct application in terms of the New Testament with reference to our practical application. But as Gil refers to at least sort of foreshadows, this all points to Jesus. It's the Lord Jesus Christ who proclaims jubilee. It's the Lord Jesus Christ who proclaims liberty. It's the Lord Jesus Christ who undertakes what we find there in verse 10. You shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you. It's not accidental that this was marked by the Day of Atonement. So the Day of Atonement is wrought, the sins of Israel are expiated, and then we have this announcement of liberty, this announcement of freedom. Same thing happens with reference to the New Covenant. Our Lord Jesus gives Himself as an offering for our sin and thus proclaims liberty. He proclaims ransom and freedom for His people, from the debt of sin and slavery to Satan. And then in terms of the purchase price involved, verses 15 to 16, it depended on how close you were to the jubilee. The further away, the more the money. The closer, the less the money, for obvious reasons. And then the rationale is theological in nature in verses 17 to 22. So in verse 17, therefore, you shall not oppress one another. So that comes up often. So this year of Jubilee was to set this principle forth that there was not to be oppression. That doesn't mean that you were able to oppress people for the other 49 years. So if what we see here is sort of the pinnacle of God's exhortation of the people to not oppress one another, that should have been the sort of earmark that was obvious within the context of Old Covenant Israel on a daily basis. So you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God. And then he goes on, so you shall observe my statutes and keep my judgments and perform them, and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit and you will eat your fill and dwell there in safety. And if you say, what shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce, then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. and you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year. Until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest." So that's a general introduction on the heels of the sabbatical law, the sabbatical law every seventh year. Then we have this announcement of the Jubilee. Now it gets into the particulars in terms of redemption of property and redemption of persons. The redemption of property is in verses 23 to 38. And the overarching principle is there in verses 23 and 24. Again, God owns everything. He has allotted to the various tribes their portions of land. And as a result, God has the final say on how those lands are to be treated and how the people who occupy those lands are to treat one another. So the land shall not be sold permanently. Remember that case of Naboth in 1 Kings chapter 21. Ahab basically wanted to expand his holdings. He wanted to co-opt Naboth's vineyard, and he wanted to put a vegetable garden there. Well, what does Naboth do? Naboth isn't under any hard times. Naboth isn't poor. He hasn't stolen. He's not looking at indentured servitude. This was just an arbitrary capricious act by a godless king to go ahead and steal from a rightful owner of a particular allotment of land. Now, Ahab probably wouldn't have done this if it hadn't been for Jezebel. It was Jezebel who basically pushed him into the ring and said, I want that land or I want you to get that land. You remember the story? He's sullen, he's upset, he's sad, and Jezebel can't understand why. because she comes from the region of Baal worship. Her father was a king. If her father, the king, wanted anything, he would have just seized it. So she says, just take it from Naboth. Get a couple of guys to lie and accuse him of blasphemy, have him executed, and we'll take his land. We'll have a sandwich at night. Everything will be fine. So Naboth, though, shows his fidelity and shows his consistency and shows his faithfulness and his unwillingness to part with the land that had been given to him by God Almighty. So God dictates how persons are to function in the land that he gives. And then in verse 24, And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land. In other words, return it to its rightful owner. And this, again, goes along or coincides with that principle. You're not supposed to oppress them. You're not supposed to crush them. Now, God's not suggesting that you shouldn't be paid back. He's not suggesting that you should go broke so that the poor man can prosper, but he is exhorting that we don't make money at the expense of a man's livelihood forever, that we don't crush him, that we don't stomp him into the ground, and that we don't rid the earth of him just so we can expand our holdings. So that's the overarching principle. And then you've got specific cases detailed in verses 25 to 34. So first you have the case of the poor man who sold his land in verses 25 to 28. We see that again in verse 39. And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor and sells himself to you, he could sell himself or he could sell his property. And if you go back to the book of Exodus in chapter 22, you'll see there was another reason for indentured servitude. Certainly poverty was a reason, but also theft. So in Exodus 22 at verse 2, if the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed. If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. So if I break into your house and I'm caught in the act and it's the hours of darkness, you can exercise that force necessary to stop me in my tracks, including lethal force. But if the sun has risen, then that's a different kettle of fish. The idea being that if you come into my house at night, I don't know what your intentions are. I don't know if you're going to try and steal my gold and silver or if you're going to try to have your way with my wife. So I'm obviously going to try to resist whatever your purposes and intents are, but in the midst of that, in that exchange, if I kill you, I am not guilty. If the sun is down, it's the hours of darkness, in that exchange, if I, the homeowner, kills the intruder, I'm not held guilty. I'm not liable for that. But if the sun has risen, and I think the idea being is that you're better able to ascertain or determine his intention. And then as well, your neighbors are likely awake, you can shout out and get some assistance. But either way, that thief who is caught, he's not exonerated, he is rather then made to pay back in restitution. And if he doesn't have the money, which he doesn't, because he's breaking into somebody's house and stealing their stuff, then he shall be sold in order to pay back his debt. And, you know, that seems a bit awkward to us, but it makes perfect sense because if you get caught stealing today, you go to jail and you pay your debt to the state. Well, you didn't victimize the state. You victimized your victim. And if you pay back your victim, the victim prospers. But while you're in the midst of working and paying back your victim, you're probably learning good skills and things from that particular covenant family that will hopefully avert you from engaging in theft once you have finished out your time of indentured servitude. So it's basically a win-win, because if you go to the modern prison system, you're going to learn how to be a better criminal, and you're going to pay your debt to the state. That's a lose-lose situation. The biblical sort of a scheme functions in such a way that it's win-win for even the thief himself. So the case of the poor man who sold his land, Wenham again says, the law's immediate concern, if you notice, I'm sorry, verses 25 to 28. There's several ways that the man might get his possession back. So verse 25, if one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold." The Hebrew for this is goel, and we refer to it as a redeemer kinsman or kinsman redeemer. You see examples of that in the book of Ruth, Ruth chapter 4, specifically with Boaz. And then you see it in Jeremiah chapter 32. I think it's Jeremiah's uncle that buys a piece of property. And the idea being is that he buys that property prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of Judah, as a promise that God is going to bring them back to the land. I mean, if I knew there was an attack that was about to converge upon Chilliwack, I don't think I would buy property. I mean, I might get it cheap, it might be a good idea, but I wouldn't know that Chilliwack was going to be reconvened. But when Jeremiah's uncle buys that piece of property, there is a sign connected to it that God is saying, you'll be back in the land of Judah. The captivity will be for 70 years and then you will return. But the idea being is that you have this kinsman redeemer, a Goel. And so that is one of the possibilities, verse 26, "...or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it," that's certainly an option as well, "...then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession." But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the year of jubilee, and in the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession." So it was that final sort of step or that last resort, again, to provide for a place where persons wouldn't be subject to bondage the entirety of their lives. So Wenham says, the law's immediate concern is with the redemption of land and property. If a man is forced to sell off some of his family property, ideally another member of the family should come and buy it back for the family. Examples of this are recorded in Ruth 4 and Jeremiah 32. The closer the relationship, the greater the moral duty to act as redeemer. Look specifically at verses 48 and 49. After he is sold, he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle's son may redeem him. So it starts with brother, and then uncle, uncle's son. So the ones closest in proximity to the man who had fallen on hard times ought to function as that kinsman redeemer and such, or make good if they are able. And then secondly, in verses 29 to 31, you have the case of the poor man who sold his house in a walled city. Now, as far as I can tell, the difference between a house in a walled city versus a house outside of the walled city is that the house outside the walled city was more attached to the particular land that was useful for agrarian purposes. Within the walled city, no doubt there was buying and selling of houses there that was quite commonplace. And so there does seem to be an exception here. Not an exception, that's probably not a great word, but the jubilee doesn't apply. It applies in the first year, but it doesn't have that sort of last resort-ness like it does when it comes to land. So in verse 29, if a man sells a house in a walled city, that he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold. Within a full year, he may redeem it. But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. However, the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. And again, I think the distinction, walled city, probably lots of buying and trading and selling and bartering and whatnot. But outside the walled city, those houses were more permanently attached to the land that was useful for agriculture. But there is this exception with reference to the Levites. And that's the third case in verses 32 to 34, the case of the cities of the Levites. It isn't the case that they are able to take from the Levites in the same manner that you were non-Levites. So notice in verse 32, Nevertheless, the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the common land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession." Remember, they didn't get the same sort of tribal allotments. They had 48 cities given to them within the land of Israel, but it wasn't the same as other Israelites in terms of their possession. Again, Wenham says, Levitical cities must be treated differently. All the tribes apart from the Levites were granted land. The Levites were not given any land, only 48 cities in the pasture lands immediately surrounding them. Had the Levites been allowed to sell off their townhouses with no guarantee of ultimate redemption in the Jubilee, the Levites could have found themselves with no homes of their own at all. And then he says the purpose of the laws in verses 32 to 34 is to prevent this occurring. So there was a bit of a difference in terms of, say, one of the tribes that possessed land versus the Levites. So the Jubilee is calculated to make sure that persons who are a bit more vulnerable don't suffer loss the way that perhaps others might. And then again, the rationale. It's always theological in nature. So in verses 35 to 38, if any one of your brethren becomes poor and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him like a stranger or a sojourner that he may live with you. Curious passage, interesting text. But you'll remember in the law that God commands the children of Israel to treat the sojourners and strangers well. You were slaves in the land of Egypt, and you were treated very poorly. You were treated very wickedly. You were enslaved. So when you function as the body politic in the land that God is giving you, you're to treat the sojourners, the strangers, with respect. In fact, there were many, not just Israelites, that came out with the Israelites at the time of the Exodus. Exodus 12, 38, a mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds, a great deal of livestock. So they were told to treat those aliens, those strangers and sojourners in their land with a special type of dignity and kindness. So verse 35 again, if one of your brethren becomes poor and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him. Why do you think this is this way? Like a stranger or a sojourner that he may live with you." Now, it may not be the same way today as it was when some of us were growing up, but when some of us were growing up, if you fell on hard times, it often was looked at as a shameful thing. Right? You failed. You messed up. Whatever. You got yourself into this. And you know, it does rise up in persons. They get a little bit judgmental. It rises up in persons to get a little bit harsh. Well, you know, you made your bed. You got to sleep in it now. So you know one of these covenant members. He got into drink. He got into things he shouldn't have gotten into. He sells his property. He ends up selling himself. There might be that vein of harshness that you bear in your heart toward him. So God says, no, you don't do that. If one of your brethren becomes poor and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him. Again, this is the highest expression of Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18. Love your neighbor as yourself. You don't say, well, you know, you made your bed now sleep in it. No, you're supposed to help him. Treat him like a stranger or a sojourner that he may live with you. Incidentally, he's going to remind us of the law concerning usury. Take no usury or interest from him, but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. Again, this isn't just altruism. It's not just love everybody the way that you want to be loved. That's certainly the principle of the Golden Rule. But the principle of the Golden Rule is grounded in the fear of God. It's the fear of God that dictates that you live in a particular manner. And then verse 37, you shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 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. Now, with reference for the law concerning usury, there's a similar prohibition in Exodus 22, 25, also Proverbs 28, 8, Ezekiel 18, 8, and 13, and 17, and then Ezekiel 22, 12. Now, if you turn to Deuteronomy chapter 23, you'll see this doesn't apply to your treatment of the heathen or the pagan. You can charge them usury. Now, obviously you shouldn't do it to the point where you're killing them, but there's a different set of rules in terms of the covenant people versus the heathen outside the covenant people. So in 23, specifically at verses 19 and 20. So back to our particular passage, I'm not sure, I don't think that this is sort of a, oh, by the way, this is another set of legislation dealing with usury. He's already dealt with it in the Pentateuch. He's already specified that. I think here, verses 35 to 38 is the theological rationale or justification for the redemption of property. And in that context, when you have poor people among you, Don't charge them usury. Don't make it more difficult for them such that they get to this eventuality where they have to actually sell their possession. In other words, there's a bit of preventative maintenance here. If you love one another and you express that love in tangible ways, then perhaps we can evade the potential that some will fall into this position of poverty or having to actually sell their possession or their person in order to make ends meet. And then the last part deals with the redemption of persons, and there's three categories here. The Israelite enslaved to an Israelite, verses 39-43. The pagan enslaved to an Israelite, verses 44-46. And then the Israelite enslaved to a pagan, in verses 47-55. So in verses 39 to 43, you have the Israelite enslaved to an Israelite. So again, whether you were poor, or whether you were a thief, or whatever was the particular situation, you could sell yourself in order to pay off a particular debt. And then notice, with reference to this indentured servitude, we see again that release promised in the year of Jubilee. So verse 39, and if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant and a sojourner, he shall be with you and shall serve you until the year of Jubilee. So there is this obvious or this certain release with reference to the year of Jubilee. And then again, the theological rationale, verses 42 and 43, In other words, they belong to me. They don't belong to you. They're not your possession. They're not chattel. They're not like your horse. They're not like your cow. They're not like your animals. It's rather, they're my people. They are my servants. Verse 42, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God. Remember, the Egyptians ruled over the children of Israel with rigor. And so God oftentimes invokes that reminder for the children of Israel that they don't serve or function in the capacity like the Egyptians. In fact, there are times when God appeals to them, remember what your life was like then, and remembering what your life was like then, don't return that in kind to a covenant child. Don't do that to one of your fellows. Rather, treat him with respect, love, and dignity. If it becomes the case that he has to sell himself into your service, that's fine. That's perfectly acceptable. The law governs that. But don't exact the sort of servitude out of him the way that Pharaoh did with the children of Israel in Egypt. Rather, you're not supposed to rule with rigor. You're supposed to fear God, recognize that these people ultimately belong to God, and that you need to exercise yourself in a responsible manner. And then the pagans enslave to an Israelite in verses 44 to 46. So the Jubilee does not apply to slaves from the nations that are around you. So if in the act of war, or in the midst of the various goings-on in Old Covenant Israel, you managed to acquire a slave from a nation around you, they were not subject to the Jubilee Law. But the Jubilee Law does apply to the children of Israel. And again, that's the reminder. So verses 44 and 45 deal with the strangers that you may have as slaves. But in verse 46, and you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession, they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor. And then the last particular section in verses 47 to 55 envisages a sojourner or a stranger who does well in old-governed Israel. I think that's kind of interesting, right? You've got Old Covenant Israel, a theocracy under the direct control of Yahweh, that even non... Israelites can profit in and prosper in. If you run a body politic correctly, everybody should benefit. There should be liberty. There should be prosperity. It's not that the world doesn't have resources. I mean, we happen to be sitting on a great mass of them in Canada. We're flanked by oceans for trade. I mean, we should be poised in Canada for a jubilee every year. I mean, not time off, but prosperity, liberty. These are not foreign concepts to redemptive religion. When God gives good gifts to his children, the idea is that they receive them with gratitude, they live in light of those things, and they seek to imbibe what God had commanded in Genesis 1, 26 to 28, being fruitful, multiply, multiplying image bearers, sending them all throughout the earth to reflect the glory and the goodness of God Almighty. So God's not anti-prosperity. He's anti-prosperity gospel. You know, come to Jesus and you'll get a bag of gold. That's certainly wrong. But God's not at war with people doing well in their business. Solomon says, do you see a man who excels in his work? He shall stand before kings. In other words, he works in such a way that he works his way up, the king hears about it and hires him to fix his plumbing, or hires him to do whatever it is that he needs done. So God's not anti-prosperity, and he's certainly not anti-liberty, and he has created, or he created in the Old Covenant model, a situation where even a sojourner or a stranger close to you can become rich. And if in that eventuality an Israelite must sell himself into indentured servitude to that sojourner or stranger that is close to you who had become rich, well, you've got the laws governing that. So the Israelite can be redeemed in verses 48 to 54. And it's by the same sort of way. So the kinsman redeemer can intervene or he can redeem himself, verses 48 and 49. The price is agreed upon relative to the time of the jubilee. The farther away, the more it's going to cost. The closer it is, the less it's going to cost. And then the jubilee release applies in that particular situation. So if you're a sojourner or a stranger close to the covenant children of Israel and you become wretch, you've got to operate under the law of God. You can't say, well, I'm not a Jew, so therefore these laws don't apply to me. Of course they apply to you. This guy is ours. The Jubilee has come, proclaim the year of release and let him go. And the theological rationale there in verse 55, Well, in terms of some practical observations, turn back real quick to Leviticus chapter 19. I call this the Old Covenant love chapter. If I asked you what is the love chapter in the New Testament, you'd say 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul tells us love is patient, love is kind, it bears no evil, it rejoices in truth, all those sorts of predicates concerning love. Well, that's how Leviticus 19 functions. We're to love with our possessions, we're to love with our words, we're to love by our actions, we're to love in judgment, we're to love in our attitude. And specifically in verses 17 to 18, you shall not hate your brother in your heart, you shall surely rebuke your neighbor, not bear sin because of him, you shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord. So this year of release, this jubilee, and in some sense, as well, the sabbatic year, is to reflect that. Several times in this particular chapter, we read, you're not to oppress your brother. You're not to oppress those who are in covenant with you and God. So the practical application of Leviticus 19.18. Secondly, the corporate application of justice. Oppression does happen in Old Covenant Israel. All kinds of bad things happen subsequent to the giving of the law. That's why we have appended to the giving of the law the promise of blessings, but also the promise of cursings. Now, the promise of cursings, or curses, are going to be played out in vivid detail as you move through the historical revelation the nation of Israel. And so when it comes to justice within society, God took that very seriously. Many times in the book of Proverbs, you see that God abominates unjust scales. Many times in the prophets, they come in the name of Yahweh to upbraid the people for the way that the people are treating other people. You have to reflect your religion, your vertical relationship with Yahweh. It is fleshed out in your horizontal relationship with Yahweh's people. You know, we have that in the Lord's Supper. The idea in 1 Corinthians 11 is that the people of God are coming together to enjoy the Lord's table, the Lord's Supper. Well, in conjunction with that particular rite or sacrament, they had a meal together. And in that meal, the haves were excluding the have-nots. Paul doesn't say, well, you know, that's okay, you had a lot of money, you did well, go ahead and eat, make all those poor people watch you. No, this is a betrayal, this is wrong, this is not good. Whatever you're doing at that point, it's not observing the Lord's table. And so we need to express our love for God in our love for our brethren. So the prohibition against oppression of others, verses 14 and 17, and then the positive impact of a fresh start in society, a good and a blessed thing. As well, you've got the covenantal emphasis on worship. The Jubilee is an extension of the Sabbath day and the sabbatical year. The Jubilee is an expression of the Israelites' fear of God, verses 17, 36, and 43, and the connection between true religion and a decent society. I mean, if we honor God the way that we're supposed to honor God, then our society will reflect that. For a contrast, look at Romans chapter 1. Those who did not even like to retain the knowledge of God in their thoughts are given over by God. And again, this happens to Old Covenant Israel. Don't think they hear this, yay, let's go do this, let's obey everything we, no, no. The giving of the promise of the new covenant, we oftentimes speak of Jeremiah 31, and we should, 31 to 34. But it's Deuteronomy 30. If you read Deuteronomy 30 on the plains of Moab, basically Moses is promising, God through Moses is promising redemption by the mediator, Jesus Christ, in the new covenant. So basically, what Jeremiah is doing isn't unique or new to Jeremiah. It was already announced on the plains of Moab by Moses in Deuteronomy 30. And then finally, the typical significance of the chapter. Two texts we'll turn to and then we'll close. Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61, same language is used with reference to this idea of release. This was the proclamation that was to obtain when that horn was blown to signify the year of Jubilee. So in Isaiah 61 at verse 1 we read, "'because the Lord has anointed me "'to preach good tidings to the poor. "'He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, "'to proclaim liberty to the captives "'and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, "'to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord "'and the day of vengeance of our God, "'to comfort all who mourn.'" And then turn to Luke's gospel in Luke 4. Luke 4. So hopefully this will tie up any loose ends and you can see whatever details we may be absent in with reference to the book of Leviticus chapter 25 and all the things going on in terms of Jubilee, we see the typical significance of Leviticus 25 in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Luke 4, 16, so he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Now look at verse 20. So all that is envisaged in the year of Jubilee is brought to fruition in our Lord Jesus Christ. John Gill, commenting on Leviticus 25, he says, And indeed, the whole of this case is applicable to the spiritual and eternal redemption of the people of God by Christ. They through the fall and in a state of nature are become poor and helpless, and in a spiritual sense have neither bread to eat, nor clothes to wear, nor money to buy either. and are in debt, owe 10,000 talents, and have nothing to pay, and so are brought into bondage to sin, Satan, and the law. Nor can they redeem themselves from these by power or price, nor can a brother or the nearest relation redeem them or give to God a ransom for them. None but Christ could do this for them, who through His incarnation, whereby He became of the same nature, of the same flesh and blood with them, and in all things like unto them is their Goel, and so their Redeemer, and has obtained eternal redemption for them, not with silver and gold, but by His own precious blood. So what God through Moses is doing in Leviticus 25 is what God through Moses is doing throughout the Pentateuch. He's preaching Christ to us. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for these emphases that we find in a passage like this in terms of liberty, in terms of seeking not to be oppressive to our fellows, but to be generous, to be large-hearted, to live our lives in the fear of God, knowing that that will express itself in the way that we conduct ourselves toward one another. Lord, bless our church. Help us to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. Help us to live in a manner that is consistent with our high calling in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And may you be glorified here. May you be honored and praised. May you look with favor upon our children and our young people. May you open their hearts and cause them to remember their creator and their youth, cause them to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and live. And may there be a church here in successive generations proclaiming this wonderful release that comes through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. And we pray in his most holy name, amen. Well, hopefully, there's no questions. Actually, if there are any questions, we can try. Some tough stuff there. And it's interesting, too, because immediately they receive it, and then they want to throw them off a hill. after he preaches sovereign election to them, basically. Good. Well, take a cookie for home or a child. No cookies. Redeem them.