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It is all His so He makes the Rules
Leviticus 25
Land which I give you 25:2
God reminded them that the land was His 25:23
He gave them the land 25:38
Everything that you have in the promised land is something that I am giving you so I want you to manage it my way
The people of Israel were His also, He brought them out of Egypt 25:55
Major lessons to learn here-God planned on His people resting
God planned on them trusting Him to keep His word about their provisions
God takes care of the poor
He gives them a practical understanding of redemption that teaches us about our salvation
God wanted them to know that work was not more important than time that they would take to spend with Him
You can not get away with violating His principles
We should learn to treat each other with greater kindness because we are His people and we are family
The land was to be given a sabbath or year of rest 25:1-7, 18-22
The seventh year, they were not to work their farms 25:3-4
They were not even to eat what grew on its own 25:5
God promised them that He would cause the harvest of the sixth year to be big enough to feed them for 3 years 25:20-22
Required management of goods Proverbs 6:6-9
Couldn’t be reckless with the harvest
Had to make plans to store food
The servants and the owners didn't eat the food but the poor and the animals did Exodus 23:10-12
God wants the poor taken care of
He makes provision all through His teachings for that
In this seventh year, all debts were forgiven or canceled also Deuteronomy 15:1-11
They were to take care of the poor through loans
They could charge interest to strangers Deuteronomy 15:3
God would bless them for taking care of their own poor
Notice how they were to treat their own people
They were to rest and so were their servants and the land 25:4
They were not to oppress or take advantage of each other 25:14
They were to relieve each other, meet their needs 25:35
They were not to charge interest to each other 25:36
Not to rule roughly over each other 25:53
The motivation to do all this was
Because they remembered that God had redeemed them Deuteronomy 15:15
Because they were commanded to do so Deuteronomy 15:5
It gave them special time to spend with God Deuteronomy 31:9-13
Apparently, the Jews never did obey the law of the sabbath and so God required it of them
Since they did not honor God He charged them with their year II Chronicles 36:21, Jeremiah 25:8-11, 29:10
Their failure to obey God caused His judgment
You do not get away with stealing from God
The year of Jubilee 25:8-17, 23-24
A time of repentance
The Year of Jubilee started with the day of Atonement 25:9
This was a time of afflicting themselves and repenting of their sins 16:29-34
If they do not get right with God and obey Him then this year of Jubilee will be a joke
No slaves set free
No land returned to its owner
A forgiving of debts 25:10, 13
This phrase is on our Liberty Bell, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”
The Hebrew servant was set free after 6 years Exodus 21:2
A time of rest 25:11-12
God had planned in rest for His people
They had the 49th year free
Then the 50th year was a year of rest
This meant that they had to trust Him to provide for nearly 3 years from one harvest or what was saved, the 49th, 50th, and then the 51st until crops began to produce
Returning the land to its owner 25:13-17
The land was never to be sold forever 25:23
Really the land belongs to God 25:23-24
God gave everyone a new start
He got his freedom
He got his land back
Understanding this point will help you understand the story of Ahab and Naboth I Kings 21
Ahab wanted his land
Naboth said he couldn’t sell it I Kings 21:3, 25:23, Numbers 36:7
This year of Jubilee is like what happens to us when we get saved
We repent of our sin
He forgives us of our sins
We rest from our own efforts at pleasing God
He gives us a fresh start
The kinsman-redeemer 25:25-55
Land that had to be sold could be redeemed 25:25-28
Houses could be redeemed 25:29-34
Houses in town had one year to be redeemed
Houses in the villages usual laws
Levites special rules about getting their houses back
Redeeming poor people
They could help their brother Jews with an interest-free loan 25:36
They could charge a gentile Deuteronomy 23:19-20
If a Jew got so poor that he became a slave he was to be treated as an employee 25:40
Jews could own gentile slaves and they did not go free
If a Jew became a slave to a gentile living in Israel he could be bought back 25:47-49
The story of Ruth and Boaz is based on this truth
The story of your salvation as redemption is based on this story