THROUGH THE BIBLE - Leviticu..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyards and gather its fruits.

But in the seventh year, There shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you.

for yourselves, and for your male and female slaves, and for your hired worker, and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle, and for the wild animals that are in your land. All its yield shall be for food. You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of seven weeks of years shall give you 49 years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the day of atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all the land.

And you shall consecrate the fifteenth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. The fifteenth year shall be a jubilee for you. In it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself, nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines, for it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you.

You may eat the produce of the field. In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor you shall not wrong one another you shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops if the years are many you shall increase the price and if the years of you you shall reduce the price for it is the number of crops that he is selling to you you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your Lord for I am the Lord your God therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them and then you will dwell in the land securely the land will yield its fruits and you will eat your field and dwell in it securely And if you say, what shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop, I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop. You shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. You are strangers, sojourners with me. And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land. If your brother becomes poor and sells part of the property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and he himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay it back.

the balance to the man who he sold it and then returned to his property. But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee, it shall be released, and he shall return to his property. If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right to redemption.

If it's not redeemed within a full year, then the house of the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the jubilee. The houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee. And for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time their houses in the cities they possess.

And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in the city that possess shall be released in the Jubilee. For the houses in the city of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. But the fields of the pasture land belonging to the cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever. If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, fear your God, that your brother may live beside you, You shall not lend him your money at interest or give him your food for profit.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him a slave. He shall be with you as a hired worker, as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the Jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.

For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly, but shall fear your God. As for your male and female slaves who you may have, you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property.

You may be Gweth, them or to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever you may make slaves of them but over your brothers the people of israel you shall not rule one over another my apologies you may you may make slaves of them but over your brothers the people of israel you shall not rule one over another ruthlessly If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, then after he is sold, he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him, or if he grows rich, he may redeem himself. He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of Jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be rated as the time of a hired worker. If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionally for his redemption some of his sale price.

If there remain but a few years until the year of Jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to the years of service. He shall treat him as a worker, hired year by year. He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of Jubilee. But it is to me that the people of Israel are servants.

They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord, it remains forever. Brothers and sisters, this is a wonderful chapter.

that we have before us here in Leviticus chapter 25. It's a chapter of God's immense grace upon His people. Now, there is so much in this one chapter, and there's much that we're not going to be able to explore or delve into any detail, but the overarching theme or principle is that the concept that God, Yahweh, He's the Redeemer of His people. that he is the all-sufficient provider for his people. He is all they need.

He's all they need. And therefore his people must learn to obey him, to trust in him for everything with no exceptions, with absolutely no exceptions. But beloved, also in this chapter we see the ultimate picture, the ultimate type that is to come, who is the true and full provider of God, the true and full redeemer of God's people. We see in this chapter, pictured for us, that which is Christ who is to come. So what do we have before us?

This chapter is quite nuanced and as I said earlier we're not going to go into all the detail and so we'll have a bit of a high view. A few weeks ago, our brother took us through chapter 23, a chapter pertaining to the different feasts and festivals, if you remember, for the people of Israel to enjoy and to celebrate with one another. We saw seven festivals and seven celebrations, feasts and celebrations, I should say, that took place at different times throughout the year. The chapter back there in 23 began, though, it began with a reminder of the Sabbath. The law given to the people of God back then under the Mosaic Covenant in the book of Exodus.

Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest. A holy convocation is written. You see, this Sabbath day is a gift from God to His people. They didn't know what rest was in the land of Egypt when they were under bondage, under the Egyptians. But now God is giving them a Sabbath.

It's a gift from God, a day of rest, one in seven. And on that day of rest, they are to sit back and rest from their toil and their efforts and their labors, and to be reminded who this God is and His goodness, and to give Him praise and to give Him worship that He is due. So this afternoon before us in chapter 25, the Sabbath is still in view, but we're introduced to another Sabbath. It's not one day in seven, but one year in seven years. You see, the Lord has promised his people through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a land, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land that would become their own possession.

And that land, beloved, will be a fertile land, a land that would reap abundantly all the produce you can imagine, more than ample for all the people who reside in that land. God will bless that land. But as they rest from their toils one day in seven, they are to here instructed to allow the land to rest one year in every seven years. The land is to rest. You see on this year there's not to be any organized farming in the whole land by anyone for a whole year.

No pruning, no sowing we're told, no reaping, no harvesting, no organized farming for a whole year. The land is to enjoy a full year of rest. Beloved, this is an exercise for God's people to trust in God. Now Israel didn't obey, we know that, because in 2nd Chronicles 36 we're told that's one of the reasons they were exiled into Babylon, because they did not obey. The land was given rest in the end, but not through obedience of the people of Israel.

But the people were meant to obey. They're meant to trust God for everything. Trust Him for their own provisions. And if the question is asked, well, how do we eat on that seventh year? The answer should be, God will provide.

God will provide. Even without cultivating the land, God is able to provide. Has He not already proven that He will provide the needs for His people always and in abundance? Beloved, remember the provision of God with these people here in the wilderness with the manna? You remember what he said?

He said, every day go out, there'll be manna scattered all over. Collect only a day's provision and bring it back. And you remember what happened for some who brought more than a day's provision thinking, we'll be greedy, we'll get more. What happened the next day? It stunk.

It rotted. It spoiled. But then the Lord was teaching them a concept of the Sabbath, to rest on the Sabbath and to trust God's provision. And then he said, on the sixth day, you go out and collect two days worth. And the next day, what was left?

Did it rot? He didn't stink, he didn't spoil. It was just as fresh as when they collected the first day. It taught, this was a test, to trust in Yahweh. Trust that He's the all-sufficient provider for all their needs.

Jehovah Jireh, God is my provider. God's people are to know this. Just as Isaac was taught this lesson on Mount Moriah with his father, if you remember. When he was up there, he looked around and he saw some fire, and he saw the wood. But he asked his dad, where's the lamb?

And Abraham answered, you remember the words, God will provide. Beloved, did God provide? God provides and he provided and he does provide in his greatest provision to mankind and that comes through Jesus Christ the Son of God and that and Jesus Christ he is the one who's foreshadowed for us here in Leviticus chapter 25. See in the year of Jubilee you see every every seven Sabbath years would follow by a full year and that's the year of Jubilee it's the 50th year. Now it's a glorious year beloved that truly demonstrates, as I said earlier, the grace and mercy and the goodness of God upon His people.

You see, on the most holy day of the year, which is the Day of Atonement, we're told, the trumpets will sound on the 50th year. And that year will be a glorious year. It's a year of restoration. It's a year of freedom. It's a year of rest.

You see, the 49th year, if you remember, is a Sabbath. year of rest. So the land has already had a full year of rest. And now in the 50th year, the land will enjoy another year of rest. I know what you're thinking.

If the people struggle to believe God in the Sabbath year of rest, how difficult would it be to believe in two years in a row of resting on the ground? Where do we get our food from? Trust in the Lord. He's always provided and He'll continue to provide. That's the lesson Yahweh is teaching his people.

Trust in me. Have I ever let you down? The answer is always going to be no. Now there's no hint that the Israelites even kept the Jubilee year throughout the scripture. There's no hint that they kept the Jubilee.

But God was teaching them something glorious, beloved, and I hope we get to see it this evening. You see, in verse 21, he's saying, that's God saying, trust and obey. This is what he says. I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year so that you will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you'll be eating some of the old crop and you shall eat the old crop until the ninth year.

That's not a bad thing. That's God saying that you're still going to have that crop, which is still good for you to eat because I've provided for you all the way through. Be obedient. Be obedient. Rest the land.

Enjoy the jubilee. On the ninth year when the crop arrives, I will provide. You are my people. I am your God. I will provide.

I've rescued you out of the bondage in Egypt. Have I rescued you out of Egypt to bring you into starvation? Is that even conceivable for one to think? Trust and obey. And you'll be more blessed than all the people of all the nations of the world.

Because you know Yahweh. And Yahweh knows you. Verse 18. Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them. And then you will dwell in the land securely.

See that word security is a beautiful word. It actually connotes without fear. You'll dwell in my land without fear. It's a beautiful word. The land will yield its fruit and you will eat and feel and dwell in again securely without fear.

Oh beloved, what glorious things the Lord has provided or planned for those who love Him. His people will lack for nothing. Trust Him. Now as a community, the people were to reflect the character of God. And we see this in the latter part of this chapter.

As God loves them, they are to love God and love neighbor. They were to look out for their neighbors who were struggling financially, and they would help their neighbors. If you're alone, money, don't take interest. If your neighbor is struggling, these are your brothers. If they need food, provide for them.

In doing so, you're providing, you're honoring God. If you're doing it tough, don't just stand there, help them. Remember, verse 38, I, the Lord, rescued you from Egypt. Why would he say that? It's because he's saying, I gave you everything.

Everything you own, even your own lives, belongs to me. I gave you everything. In other words, remember, you were all in dire, dire, desperate need in Egypt. And I looked upon you in mercy. Now look upon your brothers and your sisters in mercy.

Do whatever you can to keep them in your community. Don't make them outcasts in their difficulties. And if times become so desperate that due to whatever reason, it could be irresponsibility, it could be because someone needs to pay their debts, it could be even gambling or something else, whatever reason, if one needs to sell himself in servitude or even if he needs to sell his own inheritance, his land, because of his desperate need. Remember, all the clans, that's all the tribes were inherited, they inherited the land. When they go into the land flowing with milk and honey, that land of Canaan is going to be divided amongst the tribes.

So if one needed to sell the inheritance, or sell himself. And the purchaser, whoever he is, is not to exploit his brother, who is in need, but is to be fair and equitable. If sold into servitude, he's not to be treated in an undignified way, or humiliated, or humiliating way, I should say. He's not your slave, we're told. He's not your slave.

You treat him like a servant, like a hired hand. Why? Because God's saying he belongs to me. He's my servant. Verse 42.

He's my servant. You purchased him. Remember, your life, his life, you all belong to me because I bought you. You're mine. I rescued you from the land of Egypt.

He belongs to me. You all belong to me, Yahweh is saying. So if he sells his land, his property, Then it's only to be sold for the value of crop years until the year of Jubilee. Again, let's ask the question, why? Again, we get the same answer.

Because the people and the land all belong to Yahweh. Verse 23. The land shall not be sold in perpetuity for the land is mine. It all belongs to God. Who gave them the land in the first place?

Was it not God? And he's saying, the land is mine, your lives are mine, your cattle is mine, your property is mine, everything, everything belongs to me. Everything belongs to me. Get that into your head, everything belongs to God. And so on the year of Jubilee, the gracious blessing of the Lord is seen in incredible abundance.

Because if one had sold himself into servitude to slavery, if they weren't freed on the Sabbath year, verse 40 tells us then they would receive their freedom in the Jubilee. If a land or a property is sold and a man doesn't have the money to buy it back, Or if a man in the meantime, even if he sold himself and he hasn't got the money to buy him back, the relative, a close relative, a father, an uncle, or a cousin has the right to buy him back. They're called a kinsman redeemer. And a kinsman redeemer can come in and rescue the relative and buy that person back. And buy the land back, buy him back from his servitude.

They can purchase the life and the freedom of their relative. But if they have no money, beloved, Then that person is freed and in the year of Jubilee or in the year of Jubilee, Yahweh, God becomes his kinsman redeemer. He restores his inheritance and he purchased his freedom. There's so much here that we could spend time on unpacking but for sake of time, but we won't. But beloved, the year of Jubilee is when all things are restored.

Freedom is restored, inheritance, and rest is given to the people of God and to the land that the Lord had given them. You see, even if these were lost, even if they were lost because of unwise decisions, because of lack of wisdom, even if people had lost their possessions or their own freedom because of outright sin, In the year of Jubilee, freedom is restored and inheritance returned and the prolonged rest given to the people of God beloved. A correct understanding of the year of Jubilee would cause one's heart to long for Jubilee. What a picture. I want you to imagine man, a man who'd lost his property, and a man who'd also lost his freedom because he couldn't afford to keep both.

So he sold himself into servitude. For years now, he's been trying to work off his debt, but he's not getting ahead. He's edging and edging and striving and toiling, but he cannot get ahead. Then imagine, then imagine the joy of hearing on the Day of Atonement, the trumpet sound, Jubilee literally means the ram's horn. He hears the ram's horn sound and immediately he knows, I'm free.

I'm free. No more bondage. No more debt. I'm forgiven. I'm restored again, beloved.

This was a picture of the jubilee to come. We've said it on many times, what we see in the Old Testament is many times a physical, tangible picture of what is to come. The Lord is teaching his people then and he's teaching us now to look toward the full and final fulfillment that is found in Jesus Christ. It's a picture. Freedom, though, the freedom of the picture to come is not from servitude from a fellow Israelite.

but servitude to sin. Because we know in and of ourselves we are slaves to sin. It's not an inheritance in the land of Palestine that is in view here, but it is an inheritance in heaven. Because in Luke chapter 4, in a synagogue in Nazareth, our Lord reads from Isaiah 61. Listen to what he says, "'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' he says, "'because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

"'He has sent me to proclaim liberty,' read him, "'to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, "'to set at liberty those who are oppressed.'" And he goes on, "'to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'" The year of Jubilee that is in view here. But what is the significance of our Lord's words? Well, listen to the very next words of our Lord's in Luke chapter 4.

He says, Today, today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. That which I have spoken to you in Isaiah chapter 61 before you is being fulfilled in me, Jesus is saying. What a glorious truth. Beloved, the jubilee trumpet has already sounded, and it will sound again. Let me explain.

The ram's horn will sound again. We have an already and not yet happening here. The fulfillment Jesus speaks about is the spiritual redemption from slavery of the people of God. And they were slaves to sin and unrighteousness. We know this.

But by grace, through faith in the person and the work of Jesus Christ alone, you're set free. You're redeemed. He is your kinsman redeemer. Ephesians 1 verse 7 says it like this. In him we have redemption.

Through what? Through his blood. The forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. You see, Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. He has paid the price to free us from our bondage.

He's our jubilee. Bath you're in. There's still a not yet. That trumpet is still yet. to sound again.

1 Peter 3, 4 speaks of both. Blessed be the God of our Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, redeemed us. That's the redemption that we have, the spiritual redemption we have in Christ. We are as redeemed, beloved, if you trusted in Jesus, if you're trusting in Jesus, if you've been united in Him, you're just as justified and redeemed today as you ever will be. But then there is a not yet element in 1 Peter as well, where it continues to say in verse 4, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

What a blessing. Beloved, the jubilee trumpet, that ram's horn will blow once again. How glorious will that day be for those who have received the freedom from bondage of sin in Christ Jesus. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with him. Beloved, are you looking forward to that trumpet sounding? Are you looking forward to that ram's horn blowing that last time when Jesus comes and redeems his people? What's left?

I'll tell you what's left. Because here, because that passage I just read for you in verse Thessalonians continues in the last words of his, therefore, therefore, encourage one another with these words. Hold on to those promises. The day will come. Trust in Christ.