Leviticus 25:8-22

b. THE YEAR OF JUBILEE 25:8-55
RULES FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF THE JUBILEE 25:8-22
TEXT 25:8-22

8

And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years, and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years.

9

Then shalt thou send abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye send abroad the trumpet throughout all your land.

10

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout 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.

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 the undressed vines.

12

For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

13

In this year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.

14

And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbor, or buy of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not wrong 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 crops he shall sell unto thee.

16

According to the multitude of the years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of the years thou shalt diminish the price of it; for the number of the crops doth he sell unto thee.

17

And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am Jehovah your God.

18

Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

19

And the land shall yield its fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.

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 the three years.

22

And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits, the old store; until the ninth year, until its fruits come in, ye shall eat the old store.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 25:8-22

591.

Was the year of Jubilee in the 49th or the 50th year?

592.

On what annual feast day was the trumpet sounded for the year of Jubilee?

593.

This was surely a day of liberty. Mention two liberations.

594.

There was also liberation from harvesting. Was this good news?

595.

Who made the original division of the land to decide the ancestral property?

596.

Please explain Leviticus 25:14 in its context.

597.

No property was actually sold. How would you define what happened?

598.

The land was not being sold, only the number of crops until Jubilee. Was there any problem with this arrangement? Discuss.

599.

Someone could take advantage of his neighbor. How? What was intended to prevent this?

600.

God promised safety and enough food. Upon what conditions?

601.

Why the increase for three years? Cf. Leviticus 25:21.

602.

There was a very significant purpose to the observance of the year of Jubilee. What was it? What lesson is in it for us? Cf. Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11-17.

PARAPHRASE 25:8-22

Every fiftieth year, on the Day of Atonement, let the trumpets blow loud and long throughout the land. For the fiftieth year shall be holy, a time to proclaim liberty throughout the land to all enslaved debtors, and a time for the canceling of all public and private debts. It shall be a year when all the family estates sold to others shall be returned to the original owners or their heirs. What a happy year it will be! In it you shall not sow, nor gather crops nor grapes; for it is a holy Year of Jubilee for you. That year your food shall be the volunteer crops that grow wild in the fields. Yes, during the Year of Jubilee everyone shall return home to his original family possession; if he has sold it, it shall be his again! Because of this, if the land is sold or bought during the preceding forty-nine years, a fair price shall be arrived at by counting the number of years until the Jubilee. If the Jubilee is many years away, the price will be high; if few years, the price will be low; for what you are really doing is selling the number of crops the new owner will get from the land before it is returned to you. You must fear your God and not over-charge! For I am Jehovah. Obey My laws if you want to live safely in the land. When you obey, the land will yield bumper crops and you can eat your fill in safety. But you will ask, What shall we eat the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year? The answer is, I will bless you with bumper crops the sixth year that will last you until the crops of the eighth year are harvested!

COMMENT 25:8-22

Leviticus 25:8-13 In the following verses we have the prelude to a most meaningful time in the life of the Hebrew man or woman. The seventh day reminded him of his deliverance from Egyptian bondage, i.e. that he belonged to God by right of deliverance from death and slavery. The seventh month spoke to him again and again of God's provisions for him in the several feasts of the month. The seventh year told him of God's ownership of the land. Now the climactic, once-in-a-lifetime experience, the year of Jubilee. Seven times seven yearsthe year of deliverance and restoration. It was announced with the sound of the silver trumpets. Perhaps these were ram's horns plated with silver and fitted with a mouth-piece of gold. How we would like to share with the sincere Israelite all the wonder, excitement and joy this glorious year brought. Perhaps we can share a little by a careful understanding of each verse.

It was on the close of the great day of atonement that the loud blasts from the trumpets was heard ... when the Hebrews realized that they had peace of mind, that their heavenly Father had annulled their sins, and that they had become reunited to Him through His forgiving mercy, every Israelite was called upon to proclaim throughout the land, by nine blasts of the trumpet, that he too had given the soil rest, that he had freed every encumbered family estate, and that he had given liberty to every slave, who was now to rejoin his kindred. Inasmuch as God had forgiven his debts, he also was to forgive his debtors. (Ginsburg)

Since the Day of Atonement was on the tenth day of the first month of the religious calendar of Israel, the year of Jubilee was counted as beginning from the first day of the month Tishri (i.e. according to Jewish tradition). The Feast of Trumpets occurred on the first day of Tishri, hence the blowing of the trumpets of the new year was an announcement for the slaves that liberty was at the door. In the interim of ten days, the slaves were said to have put on garlands of flowers (by provision and permission of their masters); they ate, drank and rejoiced in eager anticipation of the coming year of Jubilee. If Israel began the counting of the years only after they had taken possession of the land, this would have placed the first year of Jubilee on the sixty-fourth year after they came into the promised land. The observance of Jubilee was almost identical to the sabbath year. Indeed every fifty years then were what amounted to two successive sabbath years. In contemplating the return to their ancestral possessions we can say with Bonar, ... we see a picture of human happiness in one of its most natural and intelligible forms. You see parents rejoicing for their children's sake, and children for their own, in being once more allowed to sit under their vine and fig tree, and pluck the flowers and fruit of a region so sweet, and balmy, and abundant, You see their happy countenances, and eyes bright with joy; and the holy look toward heaven of the man of faith and prayer, who thanks the Lord for all. They forget the past in the joy of the present. Past losses are made up. Nor is one solitary individual forgotten. Every man has his portion.

Leviticus 25:14-18 Satan has always been present, even in Eden, to distort to his own advantage all the good gifts of God. In what way could the law of Jubilee be abused? We can think of at least two ways, and we are sure there are others: (1) charging excessive lease money for the use of the land. All that could actually be sold was the number of crops to be produced by the land. Misrepresentation of what had been produced on the land, and therefore what could be expected in the future would be one way of defrauding your neighbor. According to tradition one-sixth was the maximum mark-up for any sale. Two years was the minimal time. Accurate records of what the land had produced plus one-sixth interest was allowed, but not more; (2) the sabbath years could be easily counted in the sale when in fact no crop would be forthcoming. The sale amounted to the total number of crops so the price was lower and lower as the year of Jubilee approached. We are sure there were ways to oppress and cheat and intimidate, even as there are today. Only reverence toward God can offset greed and lust. Remember, if you do not answer to your neighbor, you will most assuredly answer to God. God reminds Israel that His statutes are not only for reading, they are for doing!

Leviticus 25:19-22 The safety of the nation was contingent upon their obedience to His laws. As God is Israel's strong tower and wall of defense, it is by keeping His commandments that the Israelites will enjoy the security which other nations endeavor to obtain by great labour and mighty armies. (Ibid) Why would anyone ask the question: ... what shall we eat the seventh year? Someone had not taught or someone had not listened. The promises were clear and sure. Cf. Deuteronomy 28:8. Couldn-'t they remember God's provision of manna on the sixth day in excess to cover the seventh day? Hadn-'t He provided every sixth year for the sabbath years? What was wrong with their memory?or their confidence in the character of a loving living heavenly Father? Perhaps the same thing that affects our memory and faith.

FACT QUESTIONS 25:8-22

603.

Show the relation of the year of Jubilee to the sabbath day, the sabbath month, and the sabbath year.

604.

How was the year announced? When?

605.

How do the words of our Lord, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors relate to the year of Jubilee?

606.

What supposedly happened in the first ten days of the month of Tishri?

607.

When was the first year of Jubilee observed?

608.

Describe in your own words the happiness that must have prevailed in the year of Jubilee.

609.

In what two possible ways could the year of Jubilee be abused?

610.

Israel would enjoy prosperity and safety upon what conditions?

611.

Why would anyone ask the question what shall we eat the seventh year?