Leviticus 25

Leviticus 25:1

X. THE SABBATICAL YEAR AND THE YEAR OF JUBILEE (Chap. 25)The legislation in chapters 25-27 was given to Moses on Mount Sinai and not from within the tabernacle (25:1; Lev_26:46; Lev_27:34). 25:1-7 Every seventh year was to be observed as a sabbath. The land was to lie fallow (uncultivated). Food for the people would be provided from the crop that grew of its own accord. The owner was not to harvest it, but leave it for free use by the people. 25:8-17 The fiftieth year was also a sabbath, known as the Year of Jubilee. It began on the Day of Atonement following seven sabbatic-year cycles (forty-nine years). Slaves were to be set free, the land was to lie fallow, and was to revert to its original owner. The price of a slave or a piece of land decreased as the Year of Jubilee approached (vv. 15-17), and all business transactions were supposed to take this fact into account. The words “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (v. 10 KJV) are inscribed on the United States Liberty Bell. Believers today may liken the Year of Jubilee to the coming of the Lord.

As we get closer to His coming, our material wealth decreases in value. The moment He comes, our money, real estate, and investments will be worthless to us. The moral is to put these things to work for Him today!25:18-22 With regard to the sabbatic year, the people might wonder how they would have enough food to eat that year and the following year. God promised them that if they were obedient, He would give them sufficient crops during the sixth year to last for three years. Once every fifty years, there would be two successive years when there would be no sowing or harvesting, that is, when the regular sabbatic year would be followed by the year of jubilee. Presumably the Lord gave enough crops in the forty-eighth year to last for four years. Some scholars believe that, by inclusive reckoning, the fiftieth year was actually the forty-ninth. At any rate, this is an ancient example of good ecology: conserving the land’s fertility by enforced rest. In modern times man has become concerned about preserving our planet’s resources. As so often, God’s Word is centuries ahead of the times. 25:23-28 Land could be sold, but not permanently, because Jehovah is the Owner. There were three ways in which land could be “redeemed” (revert to its original Jewish owner): The nearest relative could buy it back for the seller (v. 25); the seller (original owner), if he regained financial solvency, could redeem it, paying the purchaser for the years remaining until the Year of Jubilee (vv. 26, 27); otherwise, the land automatically reverted to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee (v. 28). 25:29-34 A house in a walled city was subject to redemption for one year; after that, it became the property of the new owner permanently. Houses in unwalled villages were counted as part of the land and therefore reverted to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. Houses owned by the Levites in the special cities assigned to them were always subject to being bought back by the Levites. The field assigned to the Levites for common-land was not to be sold. 25:35-38 If an Israelite fell into debt and poverty, his Jewish creditors were not to oppress him. They were not to charge him interest on money or demand additional food for food that was lent. 25:39-46 If an impoverished Israelite sold himself to a Jewish creditor for nonpayment of debt, he was not to be treated as a slave but as a hired servant, and was to be released in the Year of Jubilee, if this came before the end of his six years of service. The Jews were permitted to have slaves from the Gentile nations, and these were considered their own property, to be handed down to their descendants. But Jewish people were not to be slaves themselves. 25:47-54 If a Jew sold himself to a Gentile who happened to be living in the land, the Jew could always be bought back and set free. The redemption price was determined by the number of years remaining until the Year of Jubilee. The relative redeeming the Jew could use him as a hired servant until the Jubilee. If no relative redeemed him, then he automatically went free in the Year of Jubilee. 25:55 This verse is a vivid reminder that the Israelites and their land (v. 23) belonged to the LORD and that He should be recognized as rightful Owner. Neither God’s people nor God’s land could be sold permanently.