Jubilee
Leviticus 25:8–13
In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. Leviticus 25:13
Jubilee was the year, occurring every fifty years, in which all land holdings in Israel were to revert to their original family owners. Nothing in our experience exactly parallels this year of Jubilee. But the intent of those laws and the principles embodied in them are eternally valid.
1. We are not to set our hearts on accumulating riches. The Jubilee laws did not prohibit an industrious Jew from prospering financially. In fact, there are many promises that, if the people obeyed God, they would indeed prosper. Nevertheless, Jubilee was a curb on massive land accumulation, especially at the expense of poorer families. It was a reminder that, although wealth can be good and can be well used, there are things that are more important than riches, such as families and protection of the poor. Jubilee was a curb on greed. We need to remember this in our highly materialistic and acquisitive society.
2. All we have, we have as a trust from God. The Jubilee principle was based on the ultimate ownership of the land by God. Everything we have as Christians, whether land or bank accounts, a job or merely personal opportunities and talents, has been given to us by God and is to be used faithfully to serve him. We are stewards of what God has given us, and a steward is accountable to his master for what he has. Are you using what God has given you for him?
3. “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3). It is not enough to put worldly goods in their proper perspective or even use them responsibly as God’s stewards. It is also necessary to feed on the very Word of God, since it is only spiritual food that will nourish the soul, and it is the soul, not material things, that is eternal. Jesus expressed this at the time of his temptation when he replied to Satan’s suggestion that he use his divine power to turn stones into bread, saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
The Jubilee year began with the sounding of the trumpet. One day the trumpet call of God shall sound for us, “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 the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16–17). If you are cherishing this hope, you will set light value on the possession of mere earthly things and live for God and his Word. Are you? Will you? The time to do it is now.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
