Leviticus 25:8-12: a reflection

8“‘You shall count off seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven Sabbaths of years, even 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. 10You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. 11That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines. 12For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat of its increase out of the field.

Among the laws God gives his people is one of the most striking: the year of Jubilee, when, every fiftieth year, liberty was to be proclaimed throughout the land. On the Day of Atonement a trumpet was sounded, and liberty declared to all the inhabitants; debts were released, those who had lost their land received it back, and each returned to his family and his own property. Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants, God commands. The Jubilee was a great release, a restoration, a fresh start, when the burdens that had accumulated were lifted and people were set free and restored. It was a picture of liberty and restoration, of debts cancelled and freedom proclaimed. And it pointed forward to a greater liberty: the freedom Christ came to proclaim, releasing us from the deeper bondage of sin and restoring us to God.

Notice what the Jubilee proclaimed: liberty, release, restoration. Every fiftieth year, at the trumpet's sound, the burdens that had piled up were lifted; debts were released, lost property restored, people set free and returned to their families. It was a great undoing of the accumulated bondage, a fresh start, a proclaimed liberty. This was mercy built into the very calendar of God's people, a regular restoration of freedom and belonging. And it pointed beyond itself to a greater liberty still: Jesus would take up the language of proclaiming liberty to describe his own mission, coming to release us from the deeper bondage of sin, to restore us to God, to proclaim a Jubilee of the heart. The liberty and restoration of the Jubilee foreshadowed the freedom Christ came to bring. What the Jubilee proclaimed for a year, Christ proclaims forever.

That is worth resting in, for the liberty and restoration of the Jubilee are fulfilled in the freedom Christ came to proclaim. We can feel weighed down by burdens and bondage, whether of circumstance or of sin, longing for release and restoration; and the Jubilee held out a picture of just such liberty, debts cancelled, freedom proclaimed, people restored. But its deepest fulfillment is in Christ, who came to proclaim liberty, releasing us from the bondage of sin and restoring us to God. The liberty we most need is the freedom Christ proclaims. When you feel the weight of bondage, look to Christ, who came to proclaim the true Jubilee, releasing us from sin. Rest in the liberty Christ came to proclaim, fulfilling the Jubilee's picture of release and restoration, as God commanded liberty to be proclaimed throughout the land to all its inhabitants; for the Jubilee's cancelling of debts and proclaiming of freedom foreshadowed the deeper liberty Christ brings, releasing us from the bondage of sin and restoring us to God, so that the freedom we most need is the true Jubilee he came to proclaim.

Lord, among the laws you give your people is one of the most striking: the year of Jubilee, when, every fiftieth year, liberty was to be proclaimed throughout the land. On the Day of Atonement a trumpet was sounded, and liberty declared to all the inhabitants; debts were released, those who had lost their land received it back, and each returned to his family and his own property. Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants, you command. The Jubilee was a great release, a restoration, a fresh start, when the burdens that had accumulated were lifted and people were set free and restored. And it pointed forward to a greater liberty: the freedom Christ came to proclaim. Show me what the Jubilee proclaimed: liberty, release, restoration. Every fiftieth year, at the trumpet's sound, the burdens that had piled up were lifted; debts were released, lost property restored, people set free and returned to their families. It was a great undoing of the accumulated bondage, mercy built into the very calendar of your people. And it pointed beyond itself to a greater liberty still: Jesus would take up the language of proclaiming liberty to describe his own mission, coming to release us from the deeper bondage of sin. What the Jubilee proclaimed for a year, Christ proclaims forever. Let me rest in that, for the liberty and restoration of the Jubilee are fulfilled in the freedom Christ came to proclaim. I can feel weighed down by burdens and bondage, whether of circumstance or of sin, longing for release; and the Jubilee held out a picture of just such liberty. But its deepest fulfillment is in Christ, who came to proclaim liberty, releasing us from the bondage of sin. When I feel the weight of bondage, help me look to Christ, Lord, who came to proclaim the true Jubilee, releasing us from sin and restoring us to you.