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Leviticus Chapter 25
- Leviticus 25:1 And the LORD
spoke unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
- 2 Speak unto the
children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the
land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto
the LORD.
- 3 Six years thou shalt
sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and
gather in the fruit thereof;
- 4 But in the seventh
year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the
LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
It seems like the Sabbath law was a gift to
mankind for the good of the physical bodies, spiritual well-being
and also for the land and soil to rest and be replenished.
Christ is our rest from sin and from trying
to get to God by our own works and rituals which actually does not
get us to God because outward religion cannot save from sin. We can
do all good works that we can, join all religious organizations we
can find to join but it cannot remove the sin from our lives,
neither can it change our heart from a heart that does its own thing
to a heart that seeks after God.
The Sabbath was a rest and a time to seek
God. Jesus Christ is the one that brings us to God and causes us to
enter into a rest similar to the Sabbath rest. In the book of
Hebrews we see this explained. It is describing those that do not
enter into this rest because of unbelief.
- Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy
brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the
Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
- 2 Who was faithful to
him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his
house.
- 3 For this man was
counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
- 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
- 5 And Moses verily
was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after;
- 6 But Christ as a son
over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
- 7 Wherefore (as the
Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
- 8 Harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the
wilderness:
- 9 When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
- 10 Wherefore I was
grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in
their heart; and they have not known my ways.
- 11 So I sware in my
wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
- 12 Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
- 13 But exhort one
another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
- 14 For we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
- 15 While it is said,
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in
the provocation.
- 16 For some, when
they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of
Egypt by Moses.
- 18 And to whom
swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them
that believed not?
- 19 So we see that
they could not enter in because of unbelief.
- 1 Let us therefore
fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest,
any of you should seem to come short of it.
- 2 For unto us was the
gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did
not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it.
- 3 For we which have
believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my
wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were
finished from the foundation of the world.
- 4 For he spake in a
certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest
the seventh day from all his works.
- 5 And in this place
again, If they shall enter into my rest.
- 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was
first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
- 7 Again, he limiteth
a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as
it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts.
- 8 For if Joshua had
given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of
another day.
- 9 There remaineth
therefore a rest to the people of God.
- 10 For he that is
entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,
as God did from his.
11 Let us
labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after
the same example of unbelief.
- 12 For the word of
God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.
- 13 Neither is there
any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things
are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to
do.
- 14 Seeing then that
we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
- 15 For we have not a
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin.
- 16 Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need.
These verses in Hebrews show us that the
Sabbath rests in the Old Testament were a picture of the final rest
in Jesus Christ that was to come and now has come.
Returning to the scriptures in Leviticus
though we see that even the land needed a rest in order to start
being fruitful again in following years. When we take a day of rest
and spiritual refreshing in the Lord, we too take a Sabbath rest for
our souls. We need a spiritual refreshing constantly.
- Leviticus 25:5 That which
groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap,
neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a
year of rest unto the land.
- 6 And the sabbath of the
land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and
for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger
that sojourneth with thee,
- 7 And for thy cattle,
and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase
thereof be meat.
Here we see our wonderful God making
provision for the poor, the stranger and those that have no way to
make a living on their own. God is good.
- Leviticus 25:8 And thou shalt
number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven
years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be
unto thee forty and nine years.
- 9 Then shalt thou cause
the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the
seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet
sound throughout all your land.
- 10 And ye shall hallow
the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land
unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto
you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye
shall return every man unto his family.
This was a relief to those who had to sell
themselves or their property to pay off a dept. In the year of
jubilee they were shown mercy and relieved of all debt. Their
property was returned and if they were servants, they were set
free.
This sort of reminds me of the day of
jubilee we shall see at the coming of Jesus Christ after He brings
judgment upon evil nations. Of course when individuals now come to
Christ for remission of sins they experience a type of jubilee in
their own souls. To be made free from sin is to be set free from
bondage or slavery from that sin. Sin enslaves and makes the sinner
in complete bondage. It is similar to a slave who has no freedom of
his own but solely lives to please the one who owns him. Jubilee is
a type of freedom.
- Leviticus 25:11 A jubilee shall
that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap
that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it
of thy vine undressed.
Jubilee for the land is needed also and God
even calls it a holy time.
- Leviticus 25:12 For it is the
jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase
thereof out of the field.
- 13 In the year of this
jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.
- 14 And if thou sell
aught unto thy neighbor, or buyest aught of thy neighbor's hand,
ye shall not oppress one another:
- 15 According to the
number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy
neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the fruits
he shall sell unto thee:
- 16 According to the
multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and
according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price
of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits
doth he sell unto thee.
- 17 Ye shall not
therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for
I am the LORD your God.
God is a compassionate and fair God. He
desires to see us treat one another with compassion and honesty.
These laws were made to keep the weak from suffering hardship by
those that are stronger and more powerful. This Jubilee was a gift
from God. A rest, a time of showing kindness and much more.
Sometimes our troubles are caused by our own
failures and mistakes but sometimes someone is born into poverty and
lack. In that case it is through no fault of their own that they
have to become servants to others. God is showing a way of relief
and mercy on those that labor in hard bondage.
- Leviticus 25:18 Wherefore ye
shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye
shall dwell in the land in safety.
- 19 And the land shall
yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein
in safety.
By following the Lords' instructions
concerning Sabbaths, jubilee and the treatment of servants, it would
cause their harvest to yield greater fruits. Also that they dwell in
safety is promised to those that obey the Lord in these matters. We
reap what we sow in other words.
- Leviticus 25:20 And if ye shall
say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not
sow, nor gather in our increase:
- 21 Then I will command
my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth
fruit for three years.
- 22 And ye shall sow the
eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year;
until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
They need not fear running out of food. for
if they purpose in their hearts to obey the seventh year rest for
the land, God promised to increase them in the sixth year and then
bless them in the eighth and ninth year. Obeying the Lord brings a
blessing not a curse.
- Leviticus 25:23 The land shall
not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers
and sojourners with me.
- 24 And in all the land
of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
- 25 If thy brother be
waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if
any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that
which his brother sold.
- 26 And if the man have
none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;
- 27 Then let him count
the years of the sale thereof, and restore the surplus unto the
man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
- 28 But if he be not able
to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in
the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee:
and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his
possession.
- 29 And if a man sell a
dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a
whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem
it.
- 30 And if it be not
redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is
in the walled city shall be established forever to him that
bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the
jubilee.
- 31 But the houses of the
villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as
the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall
go out in the jubilee.
I don't know exactly why a house in the city
does not go back to the original owner in jubilee but outside of
walled cities is given back to the original owners but God always
knows what He is doing.
- Leviticus 25:32 Notwithstanding
the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their
possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
- 33 And if a man purchase
of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of
his possession, shall go out in the year of jubilee: for the
houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among
the children of Israel.
The year of jubilee and the return of land
applied also to the Levites. The Levites were to be allowed to
redeem their own property at any time or be returned in the year of
jubilee.
- Leviticus 25:34 But the field
of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their
perpetual possession.
- 35 And if thy brother be
waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt
relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that
he may live with thee.
- 36 Take thou no usury of
him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live
with thee.
In other words they were not to charge
interest but have mercy and lend.
- Leviticus 25:37 Thou shalt not
give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for
increase.
They were not to take advantage of the need
of a brother by charging interest upon any loans.
- Leviticus 25:38 I am the LORD
your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to
give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
They were once in bandage in Egypt and it
was only the mercy and power of God that caused them to escape that
bondage. They needed to show mercy and not take advantage of others
who suffer hard times by not charging interest and also by loaning
to them and helping them out in times of trouble like the Lord had
mercy on them and helped them out of bondage from Egypt.
- Leviticus 25:39 And if thy
brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto
thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
- 40 But as a hired
servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall
serve thee unto the year of jubilee:
He was to be paid wages and not treated as a
communal slave. He was to be released in the year of jubilee. He
wasn't to be treated as a bondservant even though he was serving
because of debt.
- Leviticus 25:41 And then shall
he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and
shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his
fathers shall he return.
- 42 For they are my
servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they
shall not be sold as bondmen.
We see that God does not endorse or approve
of slavery as a rule. He does give instructions on the treatment of
bondservants but He never once ordained it among His own people.
- Leviticus 25:43 Thou shalt not
rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God.
They should remember how they once served
the Egyptians with rigor and hard labor. They were not allowed to do
the same thing to their own bondservants.
- Leviticus 25:44 Both thy
bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of
the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy
bondmen and bondmaids.
Since slavery existed and was common in that
day, God sets rules for it. They were allowed to have heathen as
bondservants but not their own people but they were not to be
treated as they were treated when they were in bondage in Egypt.
Sometimes slavery was a result of conquering
the enemy in war. There were people who didn't die in the war and
had to be taken care of. Making them bondservants were one answer to
taking care of the families who lost the breadwinner or provider in
time of war. God never ordains slavery but He did not forbid it when
it was necessary.
We see in today's world that there is no
slavery among most civilized nations. I believe that is a result of
Christianity and its influence all over the world.
Through Christ there is neither Jew nor
Greek, male or female, bond or free. We are all the same. Because of
that type of thinking slavery eventually died out among nations that
were predominately Christian. It took a while but when we really
study God's word, we see that God wills that all are treated equally
and fairly.
Slavery was a type of judgment for those
that sinned against God without repenting or changing when they were
told how they were living was wrong. This is why Israel had to
become under bondage to Babylon at one time in history. They sinned
against God with idolatry and wanting to be like the Babylonians.
God sent them prophets to warn them to repent but they did not
repent. As a result they spent 70 years in bondage to the very
nation they were mimicking.
- Leviticus 25:45 Moreover of the
children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them
shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which
they begot in your land: and they shall be your possession.
- 46 And ye shall take
them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit
them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen forever: but
over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one
over another with rigor.
- 47 And if a sojourner or
stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him
wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by
thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
- 48 After that he is sold
he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
- 49 Either his uncle, or
his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto
him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may
redeem himself.
- 50 And he shall reckon
with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him
unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be
according unto the number of years, according to the time of a
hired servant shall it be with him.
- 51 If there be yet many
years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price
of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
- 52 And if there remain
but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with
him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the
price of his redemption.
- 53 And as a yearly hired
servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with
rigor over him in thy sight.
- 54 And if he be not
redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of
jubilee, both he, and his children with him.
- 55 For unto me the
children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I
brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Perhaps God saw that to send heathen
servants back to their own land and to their own people would
actually hurt rather than help them. Heathen nations in that day
were very wicked. It would have been better to be a slave in the
land of Israel than to return as a free person to the heathen
nations.
Some of the heathen practices were child
sacrifices to idols. They were thrown alive into the fire built to
the idol. Sex orgies in the priesthood of these idol religions
involved innocent children as well as temple prostitutes.
If the bondservants were set free to return
to those lands they more likely would have remained bondservants to
those in heathen lands and suffer a far worse fate. At least in the
land of Israel being a bondservant was better because they were
under the law of God which forbade cruelty to bondservants.
All this though points to true freedom that
comes to all through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If all nations continue to reject the gospel
and choose to remain in their own ways, sooner or later if the Lord
delays His coming, we will see a return to these abominations that
they once had. In the book of Revelation we see a return to slavery
and witchcraft described. We need the savior Jesus Christ to
reconcile us back to God and put within us a heart that loves good
and hates evil.
DC
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