THE SABBATICAL YEAR (LEVITICUS 25:1). Leviticus 25:1 ‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying,' Again we have stressed that here we have God's word to Moses. Leviticus 25:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the... [ Continue Reading ]
THE YEAR OF YUBILE. THE YEAR OF GRAND RELEASE (LEVITICUS 25:8). The year of grand release might well never have been put fully into practise throughout the whole of Israel, as it required full ownership of all the land, and as we know some tribes found difficulty in possessing the land (Judges 1:27)... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PROBLEM OF HAVING A SEVENTH YEAR WITHOUT SOWING AND PLANTING (LEVITICUS 25:20). Leviticus 25:20 “And if you shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase, then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth f... [ Continue Reading ]
“And you shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits, the old store; until the ninth year, until its fruits come in, you shall eat the old store.” Thus in the seventh and the eighth years they would eat ‘the old store', that which had been laid up in the sixth year. Others see ‘the seventh ye... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAND BELONGS TO YAHWEH AND CANNOT BE PASSED ON PERMANENTLY. IT CAN EITHER BE REDEEMED EARLY OR WILL BE PASSED BACK AT THE YEAR OF YUBILE (LEVITICUS 25:23). Leviticus 25:23 “And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. The p... [ Continue Reading ]
DWELLING HOUSES IN WALLED CITIES ARE EXEMPT FROM YUBILE (LEVITICUS 25:29). Leviticus 25:29 “And if a man sells a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption.” But if a man sold a house in a wal... [ Continue Reading ]
HOUSES IN THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES ARE REDEEMABLE AT ANY TIME (LEVITICUS 25:32). This special provision for Levites was because they did not have fields of their own. Their houses were their possession. God was their inheritance. Leviticus 25:32 “Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, the house... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL'S ATTITUDE MUST BE TOWARDS THEIR BROTHERS (LEVITICUS 25:35). “Brothers” here means fellow-Israelites who got into financial difficulties, who were to be treated with especial loving concern. THEY MUST ASSIST THE RECOVERY OF THEIR BROTHER WHO FALLS ON HARD TIMES WITHOUT S... [ Continue Reading ]
REGULATIONS REGARDING FOREIGN BONDSERVANTS (LEVITICUS 25:44). Foreign bondservants were necessarily in a different position for they had no hope of a future restoration of land. It may be asked why foreign bondservants were allowed at all. The answer is because of demand by the foreign bondservants... [ Continue Reading ]
AN ISRAELITE MEMBER OF THE COVENANT MUST ALWAYS BE ABLE TO BUY HIS FREEDOM AT ANY TIME (LEVITICUS 25:47). Leviticus 25:47 “And if a stranger or sojourner with you be grown rich, and your brother be grown poor beside him, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner with you, or to the stock of t... [ Continue Reading ]