Leviticus was a guidebook for Israel to worship the one, true God. The words written in this book gave a clear testimony of what was expected from worshipers in order to maintain a right relationship with God and others. Throughout this book, Moses writes the words given to him directly from God and there are primarily four topics discussed: offerings/sacrifices (Leviticus 1:1-7:38), priestly duties (Leviticus 8:1-10:20), uncleanness in worship (Leviticus 11:1-16:34), and individual holiness (Leviticus 17:1-27:34). These four areas provided a standard of conduct for the nation of Israel and the priests who assisted them in worshiping God. It was imperative for Israel to obey the laws which were established in Leviticus so that they could experience an uninhibited relationship with God.
The final topic of discussion in the book of Leviticus was the matter of individual holiness, which described proper behavior in areas such as sacrifice and food (Leviticus 17), sexual behavior (Leviticus 18), relationships to friends and family (Leviticus 19), capital punishment (Leviticus 20), behavior of priests (Leviticus 21-22), religious festivals (Leviticus 23), ceremonial/moral regulations (Leviticus 24) and, finally, the laws regarding special years (Leviticus 25). Two special years are mentioned in Leviticus 25: the sabbatical year (25:1-7) and the year of jubilee (25:8-55). The sabbatical year took place every seventh year in the history of Israel. They were to work on their land for six years, but on the seventh year they were to let the land rest (25:1-5). Planting, harvesting, and pruning were not permitted during the seventh year. Allowing the land to rest for a year would allow the soil to be revitalized. The Israelites were, however, permitted to eat whatever the land produced naturally during the seventh year (25:6-7). The sabbatical year was also a time when all debts were forgiven (Deuteronomy 15:1-11) and slaves were released (Deuteronomy 15:12-18).
The year of jubilee took place every fiftieth year (25:8-10a). Moses described the year of jubilee saying, “Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan” (25:10, NLT). The Israelites would rest from their labor and return to the land that belonged to their ancestors (25:11-13) during this year. There were rules concerning buying and selling of land in relation to the year of jubilee and they mainly centered on making sure the price was fair according to how many harvests were left until the next jubilee (25:14-17). The more harvests, the higher the price of the land. God also wanted the nation of Israel to rely on His provision during the seventh year when they would not plant or harvest (25:18-22). If they obeyed God and followed God’s laws, He would provide a large harvest in the sixth year that would continue to provide into the eighth and ninth year (25:21-22).
Various laws were given regarding the buying and selling of land. Since God had given the land to the nation of Israel, they were only stewards of it; therefore, the land was never to be permanently sold (25:23). If an Israelite fell on hard times and had to sell a part of his land, a close relative was to buy it back for him or maybe he would be able to buy it back at a later time; however, if it was not able to be purchased back, the land would be returned to him in the year of jubilee (25:25-28). There were two exceptions to the land being returned in the year of jubilee. A house in a walled city could be purchased only a year from the sale and would not be returned in the year of jubilee (25:29-31). Another exception to this rule was that the Levites always had the right to buy back a house that was sold in one of the towns given to them (25:32-34).
God also gives some instructions concerning the poor (25:35-38) and slaves (25:39-55). If a man became poor, others were obligated to help him without charging interest for the money that they had lent him (25:35-38). The poor were to be treated with respect and compassion during their time of struggle (25:43). If a man becomes poor and sells himself into slavery, fellow Hebrews were not to treat him as a slave but as a hired servant (25:39-40). In the year of jubilee, that servant was to be freed to return to his family (25:41-42). The Israelites were permitted to purchase slaves from the nations surrounding them, but they were to never treat their fellow Hebrews as slaves (25:44-46). Any Israelite who falls on hard times and sells himself into slavery could be bought back by a family member or they could even redeem themselves if they became prosperous (25:47-53). If a Hebrew was still considered a slave during the year of jubilee, he was to be released along with any of his family members who were also in slavery. Israel was once a slave to Egypt and God had delivered them, so the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee were visible expressions of the freedom that Israel had experienced through God’s mercy.
Dear God, thank You for having mercy on me and I now pray that You would help me to show that same mercy to others.
