Christ in all the scriptures Year of Jubilee

 Christ in all the scriptures

The year of Jubilee   Leviticus 25

"And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of rest shall be unto thee forty and nine years.  Then thou shalt call the trumpet of the jubilee to sound, on the tenth day of thee seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.  And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you: ; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family"-Leviticus 25v8-10.

This was GOD'S ECONOMY, this was God's decree as to how a nation should be run, that every 50 years the economy would be reset, and a fresh start was made by all.  This ensured that no one became too rich, or too poor, that everyone dwelt within the rich provision of the Almighty, that He was praised for His goodness, and all were blessed in His generosity.  The salient features were as follows: In the year of Jubilee...

EVERY DEBT WAS CANCELLED

EVERY PRISONER WAS RELEASED

EVERY SLAVE WAS FREED

EVERY POSSESSION LOST WAS RETURNED TO ITS ORIGINAL OWNER

These commands of God are found in the narrative in chapter 25v8-50.   What would modern politicians make of this??!!  The scandal of USURY (exorbitant interest charged on goods and services supplied), leading to the ever widening gap between rich and poor is contrary to the mind of God, and, indeed, is forbidden in His word.  The transgressors will need to account for this in the judgment.  All this results in the enrichment of the few, and the impoverishment of the many, not what God intended at all.  Worse still, God is omitted from the calculations, with the result that He withdraws blessing, resulting in severe economic problems for the world, such as we have now, not to mention the greed that leads to global conflict.                                                                                                               

God's way is always better than man's way, and, until we heed Him, we shall never progress. We can study this wonderful provision of an all wise God under a number of headings:                                                                                                                                REST, REMISSION, RELEASE, RECONCILIATION, RESTORATION, REDEMPTION.  All amazing concepts, only truly possible with the help of our marvellous Creator.  We are all utterly dependent on Him for our daily food and clothing.  He is a Faithful Creator, and it is high time this world started heeding Him.  He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows what is good for us.

There is little doubt that this year of Jubilee accorded to Israel is wonderfully symbolic of God's salvation, and we will take our time to consider the blessings within it.  Enough for now to say it was a time of great joy in the nation, and mutual respect, a time of co-operation, and satisfaction for all. 

Fast forward to the New Testament in Luke chapter 4v16-22, when Jesus returned to His home town of Nazareth.  It is certain that this was the year of Jubilee in Israel, for Jesus made a remarkable claim, during His sermon, quoting from the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah (chapter 61v1-3).  The Jubilee required every man to return to his family (Leviticus 25v10).  This He did, and in the sermon He said at the close of the reading, "...To preach the acceptable year of the Lord...and He closed the book...and began to say unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears".  The acceptable year of the Lord is a reference to the year of Jubilee, and He was here marking an important dispensational change in God's dealings with the world.  So Luke 4 is the New Testament version of Leviticus 25.   Jesus closed the book in the middle of a prophetic verse, thus making a bold statement.  What follows the acceptable year of the Lord is "the day of vengeance of our God".  He was here proclaiming that the day of vengeance was suspended while the Year of Jubilee was in force!  He said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears".  What is the message? that God's day of grace, the fulfilment of the Jubilee, has been ushered in and judgment to come has been suspended until the dispensation of grace has run its course.  This surely is the high point of God's dealing with mankind.  At the announcement of Christ in Luke 4, and, supported by numerous scriptures, we are now living in the greatest time ever afforded to this world.   Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 6 of "the time accepted"-verse 2, "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation".   We are now living in the New Testament equivalent of the year of Jubilee in Israel.  We can now apply the various features of that tremendous year to the saints of God today.