Leviticus 25:8-12. 8“You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9Then 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 your land. 10And you shall consecrate the fiftieth 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. 11That fiftieth 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. 12For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.
Of all the holidays that the Israelites were told to celebrate, Jubilee might be the most amazing. Jubilee was a holiday that occurred every fifty years. Sort of like Pentecost being on the fiftieth day after Passover, Jubilee was on the fiftieth year.
The year of Jubilee was meant to be a big do-over for Israel. Have you ever wanted a do-over? A second chance? Well, that’s what Jubilee offered. Did you read today’s scripture from Leviticus? There’s some pretty incredible things happening in these verse.
First of all, every slave is set free – proclaim liberty throughout the land. Back then, people might choose to be a slave because they had no other choice. The Law of God had all kinds of rules for how to treat slaves and how to make sure that no one was a slave forever (unless they wanted to be). Jubilee made sure that at least every fifty years there would be no slaves at all in the country.
Next, everyone returned to their property. When the Israelites entered into the Promised Land years earlier under Joshua, each tribe was given a piece of land. From there each family was given land. This land was a gift from God and part of their inheritance as the children of Abraham. Over time, some families had to sell their land in order to avoid poverty. But at Jubilee, every family got their land back, their inheritance.
Finally, the year of Jubilee was a year of rest – you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. In a land where most people are farmers, this was a big deal. No farming for a year. The people were required to rest and the land got to rest too.
OK, what does all this have to do with Jesus? And what about the Holy Spirit? Isn’t Pentecost about the giving of the Holy Spirit?
When Jesus began his earthly ministry he declared that he was the true Jubilee. When Jesus ascended into Heaven and then sent the Holy Spirit to us he was giving us our spiritual Jubilee. In what way?
Every slave set free: When Jesus died on the cross, he died to set us free from sin. The Holy Spirit living in us has changed who we are. We are no longer slaves to sin, but children of God. When you become a Christian, sin no longer controls you. You don’t have to sin. Instead you can live by faith and trust God instead.
Everyone returns to their property: Having the Holy Spirit doesn’t give us a literal piece of property, a nice house with a yard. But it does give us an inheritance in Gods kingdom. Because Jesus died for us and we have trusted in him, we get to live with God forever on a New Earth. That is our inheritance – life with God on a whole new planet. And the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the “guarantee of our inheritance.” If God would give us God (The Holy Spirit), won’t he also give us everything else?
Rest: To be saved you either have to be perfect or you have to trust in Jesus who was perfect. Well, none of us can be perfect, so we need to trust that Jesus did all the work for us when he lived a perfect life. That’s why now we can and must rest. When you have Jesus and the Spirit giving you everything, you no longer have to work for it. With Jesus there is no more proving how great we are, only trusting in how great he is.
Jubilee reveals the heart of God, his love for his people and his desire for them to thrive. Our spiritual Jubilee also reveals how much God loves us and wants us to thrive in Jesus. No more slavery to sin. The hope of living with God forever. And resting from trying to earn our way to Heaven. Now we can focus on truly loving God and being kind to everyone around us.
You: Have you ever gotten a second chance? How did that make you feel?
You with Jesus: Can you explain how Jesus is like Jubilee? Read Luke 4:16-21 to help you.
Prayer: Father, I can’t imagine being loved any more than I am by you right now. You set me free. You give me an inheritance. You let me rest in your love for me no matter what. Jesus you are my Jubilee. Amen.
TLICfamily 