Reading: Leviticus 24-25
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. Six years
thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune
thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; 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(Lev. 25:2-4).
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the
land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And
God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep My covenant
therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations
(Gen. 17:8-9). Over 500 years previously, God had bestowed
this promise upon Abraham. At the time, Abraham was expected
to keep God’s covenant by being attentive to God in all things
and obeying His directives as he received them. Now, as He
prepared to lead Abraham’s descendants into the Land of
Promise, God painstakingly expanded on those directives so
that His people would have no doubt what He expected from
them in each and every aspect of their lives. Amongst the things God wanted His people to understand
was His total and complete sovereignty over all things. The land
shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are
strangers and sojourners with Me (Lev. 25:23). He needed
them to realize that everything they had ultimately belonged
to Him and understand that they possessed it at His pleasure.
This was a hard lesson for His people to grasp, and God knew
that they would begin to view His blessings and shared gifts
as earned possessions over time. To guard against this, He
included instructions on the upkeep and usage of the land that
He would provide them as part of His Covenant directives. Just as every seventh day was set aside as a day of rest and
total focus on God, so too was every seventh year. 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. For 365 days, the people were to take a break from sowing, gathering domestic crops, and tending the fields, and
they were to focus instead on God’s promise to provide (25:6-7).
By following this cycle, the people would be perpetually reminded
of the true source of their bountiful provisions. God established the Year of Jubilee at the end of seven
sets of seven years (every 50th year). And ye shall hallow the
fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land
unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto
you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession,
and ye shall return every man unto his family (25:10). For
49 years God’s people were able to freely buy, sell, and trade
their lands amongst themselves according to the standards set
by God, but during the 50th year, God’s gifts reset themselves
to the original owners. In addition, any Israelites that had fallen
on such hard times that they had had to indenture themselves
in the service of their fellow countrymen had their debts forgiven
and their freedom restored. The year of Jubilee was intended
to remind God’s people of His absolute sovereignty. It was a
forceful reminder that their blessings came not from their own
efforts but from God. And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for
grace(John 1:16). Thought For Today:Denying God’s sovereignty over all things
is tantamount to denying God. Christ Portrayed:By the kinsman-redeemer (Lev. 25:47-55). Christ is our
Savior and Redeemer who made us His kinsmen: In whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace (Eph. 1:7). Word Studies:24:3 Testimony = Ark of the Covenant; 24:6 pure table
= table of pure gold; 24:8 covenant = commitment of Israel to be loyal to
the Lord; 24:11 blasphemed = cursed; 24:15 bear his sin = be held responsible;
25:10 hallow = set apart, sanctify; 25:14 oppress = cheat, take
advantage; 25:35 be waxen poor = cannot support himself; 25:36 usury
interest on loans; 25:37 victuals = food, supplies; 25:43 rigour = ruthless
severity, oppression; 25:45 begat = fathered. Pray For One Another:Government Official: Rep. Dan Meuser(PA), Rep. Lisa
Blount Rochester (DE) • Country: St. Pierre & Miquelon (5,716) North Atlantic
Ocean • Major Language: French • Religious Freedom • 99% Roman Catholic;
1% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Know that the Lord is loving and merciful to
His children (Jer. 31:9). Optional ReadingMark 13