May the mumbling commence!
In a time of exponentially increasing indebtedness, what a witness could the practice of the Year of Jubilee be! Yes, many individuals and families are swimming in debt. Lord knows, that my family has a share in that problem. Governments – local, state and national have a ever increasing debt.
But, have we ever stopped to ask the question: Who does everything belong to anyways? Read from Leviticus chapter twenty-five:
"In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven years times seven, adding up to forty-nine years in all. Then on the Day of Atonement of the fiftieth year, blow the trumpets loud and long throughout the land. This year will be set apart as holy, a time to proclaim release for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you returns to the lands that belonged to your ancestors and rejoins your clan. Yes, the fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year, do not plant any seeds or store away any of the crops that grow naturally, and do not process the grapes that grow on your unpruned vines. It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must observe it as a special and holy time. You may, however, eat the produce that grows naturally in the fields that year. In the Year of Jubilee each of you must return to the lands that belonged to your ancestors.
When you make an agreement with a neighbor to buy or sell property, you must never take advantage of each other. When you buy land from your neighbor, the price of the land should be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller will charge you only for the crop years left until the next Year of Jubilee. The more the years, the higher the price; the fewer the years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests. Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I, the Lord, am your God.
If you want to live securely in the land, keep my laws and obey my regulations. Then the land will yield bumper crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it. But you might ask, 'What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?' The answer is, 'I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a bumper crop, enough to support you for three years. As you plant the seed in the eighth year, you will still be eating the produce of the previous year. In fact, you will eat from the old crop until the new harvest comes in the ninth year.' And remember, the land must never be sold on a permanent basis because it really belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenants living with me.” (Verses 8-23)
Think of it! Every fiftieth year all debts are forgiven. No more deficits! No more red ink! Property returns to the original owner. People in bondage are set free. It’s no wonder that it’s called Jubilee.
Jubilee is based on the fact that all land – everything – belongs to the Great Creator God. The Lord made it, so it is His. Let us hold our property loosely, knowing it belongs to God and is being held on loan from our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren…
And, who is our Jubilee? Michael Card has a song called “Jesus is our Jubilee”. As the lyrics say: “Sins forgiven, slaves set free. Jesus is our Jubilee.”
Let’s bask in the mercy and grace of the Lord. Let’s give thanks continually. We are free to be what God has created us to be.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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