What is the Jubilee?

This was the fiftieth year, coming at the end of every seventh Sabbatical year. The land was held as belonging to Jehovah, and if sold, or redeemed, the price must be reckoned according to the number of years to the next Jubilee, when all possessions returned to their former owners. Hebrew bond-servants also were set free in the year of Jubilee. If land was consecrated to Jehovah, it might be redeemed before the Jubilee, but if not redeemed by that time it became perpetually consecrated. The trumpet of the Jubilee was sounded in the tenth day of the seventh month, on the great day of atonement. It was to be a year of rest for the land, there being no sowing or reaping.

But there is one more event that takes place on the Day of Atonement. We read of this in Lev. 25:9. "Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land."

What was "the trumpet of the jubilee"? It was different to the Feast of Trumpets which had passed ten days before. God says of it: "Thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound." (Lev. 25:8). Seven times seven years surely speaks of the fulness of God's time. Then the trumpet of the jubilee is blown and what happens? The captive slave is set free. The lost land is returned. They were to "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". (Lev. 25:10).

The trumpet had sounded on the first day of the seventh month to call them back to their land, but it was not till the Day of Atonement was completed, all their sins judged and covered, not till then could the trumpet of the jubilee sound, and liberty be proclaimed "throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof".

The first of these has reference to the Sabbatical year (25:2), and the second to the institution of the Jubilee (8-55). As on the seventh day they were to rest from all their work, so in the seventh year the land was to have rest from cultivation by the husbandman, the term used of the one is that used of the other. It was to be a Sabbath of rest, "shabbath shabbathon." "The seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest to the land — a Sabbath for the Lord. Thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, for it is a year of rest to the land. And the Sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for the stranger that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat" (4-7).

One-seventh of their time God did not allow them to use for their own ends. One-seventh of the increase of the ground God did not allow the occupier to possess as his own. Jehovah had a right to do that, and strict righteousness was manifested in this law; for whilst the husbandman had full right to the produce of his tillage, God only claimed as His to dispose of the increase of the land, on which the occupier had expended no labour. The land was to keep that year a Sabbath to the Lord. The barns and the storehouses were not to be filled that year for the occupier's profit. A cessation from all agricultural operations was to take place throughout it. The Sabbath day spoke of rest. The Sabbatical year spoke of it likewise, yet not to the injury of the cultivator of the ground, for his wants as well as those of his household, would be amply provided for; but the cattle and the wild beasts, God's creatures, were to be cared for by the Creator no less than His intelligent creature — man. Of this year Jehovah had spoken, when communicating the terms of the first covenant made between Israel and Himself (Ex. 23:11). Man's wants were first thought of, but those of the beasts as well. What the poor left, the beasts of the field were to eat. The Lord preserveth man and beast (Ps. 36:6). And just as the Sabbath day's observance was not to stand in the way of that which was needful to be done in the sanctuary, and for the circumcising of those who were eight days old, so the ordinance of the Sabbatical year did not interfere with due provision for the people's need. It may have been that a year of lying fallow was good for the ground, as it is said thereby to enjoy its rest (Lev. 26:34; 2 Chron. 36:20). But this law was a test to see if cupidity, and a disregard for others, would characterise the people, which the Lord had brought out of Egypt. How they would act in reference to it Lev. 26:34-35, foretold. God well knew and forewarned them as to that which they would fail to do, announcing to the people as they rested under the shadow of Mount Sinai, but recently emancipated from Egyptian slavery, that the land should lie desolate, though not for ever, keeping its Sabbaths, whilst exile was their lot. After the captivity the returned remnant (Neh. 10:31) remembered and observed this law, and that special feature in connection with it, namely, the release to be granted to every Jewish debtor (Deut. 15:1-2, 9), or as Nehemiah expressed it, "That we should leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt." This year, then, was one of great importance to all, and on the feast of Tabernacles, which fell within it, the law was commanded to be read to all the people (Deut. 31:10-11). So whilst this institution tested their willingness to obey God's commands, it also provided a suitable opportunity for reminding them all of God's law, on the observance of which depended their continuance in the land. But if they should fail, as assuredly they have, and their present long exile witnesses of their failure, on what can they count if they can count on anything for happier times in the future, and the full enjoyment of Jehovah's former blessing? The principle established by the institution of the Jubilee supplies us with the answer.

Every seventh year was to be a year of rest to the land. Seven times seven years were to roll by, and then would come the Jubilee. On the Day of Atonement, in the fiftieth year, the trumpet of loud sound Shophar t'ruah, was to be heard proclaiming the Jubilee, in virtue of which the chains of the Hebrew slave in the land were broken, and the claims of any one over the portion of land which originally belonged to another was extinguished, and to be relinquished. "Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a Jubilee to you, and ye shall return every man to his possession; and ye shall return every man to his family" (25:10).

Every seventh year was to be a sabbatical year, when the land was to be given a rest. And when seven of these sabbatical years had passed the fiftieth year was to be a jubilee, when not only no sowing was to be done but every man was to return to his inheritance. This law must have been a great test to the people.

Of all the Jewish solemnities the jubilee would seem to have been the most soul-stirring and enrapturing. It stood immediately connected with the great day of atonement. It was when the blood of the victim was shed, that the emancipating sound of the jubilee trump was heard through the hills and valleys of the land of Canaan. That longed-for note was designed to wake up the nation from the very centre of its moral being, to stir the deepest depths of the soul, and to send a shining river of divine and ineffable joy through the length and breadth of the land. "In the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Not a corner was to remain unvisited by "the joyful sound." The aspect of the jubilee was as wide as the aspect of the atonement on which the jubilee was based.

"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee to you; and ye shall return every man to his possession, and ye shall return every man to his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be to you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy to you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man to his possession." (Ver. 8-13) All estates and conditions of the people were permitted to feel the hallowed and refreshing influence of this most noble institution. The exile returned; the captive was emancipated; the debtor set free; each family opened its bosom to receive once more its long-lost members; each inheritance received back its exiled owner. The sound of the trumpet was the welcome and soul-stirring signal for the captive to escape; for the slave to cast aside the chains of his bondage; for the manslayer to return to his home; for the ruined and poverty-stricken to rise to the possession of their forfeited inheritance. No sooner had the trumpet's thrice-welcome sound fallen upon the ear, than the mighty tide of blessing rose majestically, and sent its refreshing undulations into the most remote corners of Jehovah's highly-favoured land.

"And if thou sell ought to thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another: according to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according to the number of years of the fruits he shall sell to thee. According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell to thee. Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am "the Lord your God." (Ver. 14-17) The year of jubilee reminded both buyer and seller that the land belonged to Jehovah, and was not to be sold. "The fruits" might be sold, but that was all — Jehovah could never give up the land to any one. It is important to get this point well fixed in the mind. It may open up a very extensive line of truth. If the land of Canaan is not to be sold — if Jehovah declares it to be His for ever, then for whom does He want it? Who is to hold under Him? Those to whom He gave it by an everlasting covenant, that they might have it in possession as long as the moon endures — even to all generations.

Deeply impressive as the sabbath year is in ushering in this chapter, more outward and imposing and thorough-going is the jubilee when seven sabbaths of years were fulfilled, or forty-nine years. This therefore is next introduced in a general way with details to the end of the chapter.

" 8 And thou shalt count to thee seven sabbaths of years, seven years seven times; and the days of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to thee forty and nine years. 9 And thou shalt cause a sound of the trumpet to go forth in the seventh month on the tenth [day] of the month; on the day of atonement shall ye sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And ye shall hallow the year of the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land to all the inhabitants thereof: a jubilee shall it be to you, and ye shall return [every] man to his possession, and ye shall return [every] man to his family. 11 A jubilee this fiftieth year [shall] be to you: ye shall not sow, nor reap its after-growth, nor gather one of its separations. 12 For it [is] the jubilee; it shall be holy to you; out of the field ye shall eat its produce. 13 In this year of jubilee shall ye return [every] man to his possession" (8-13).

To say, "The time draweth nigh," before any trouble could come, would be deceit, as we have seen; but now when the day of vengeance is at its height, to say "Your redemption draweth nigh," would be holy and seasonable comfort to the faithful. And, in like manner, the prophets connect "the day of vengeance" with the "year of My redeemed," as the Lord here does. Isa. 63:4. Judgment on the apostate nation, deliverance and joy to the remnant, are both to be looked for. For though the Lord make a full end of all nations, yet will He not make a full end of Israel. The promised "times of the restitution of all things" will surely follow the threatened "times of the Gentiles." And those promised times of restitution, called here by the Lord "your redemption," will be the true Jewish or earthly jubilee, which pre-eminently was the time of restitution or redemption. See Lev. 25.

In Israel the land and the people both belonged to the Lord; and in the year of jubilee He dealt with them as His own. For forty-nine years He allowed confusion to prevail. Lands might be sold, and the people themselves go to the creditor. But this was to be only for a season, for God's claim was paramount; and every fiftieth year He would assert it. Israelite might traffic with Israelite, and corrupt the primitive order, or God's world, making the whole system man's world; but all this corruption and disturbance was to have an end, and this end came in the returning year of jubilee. Then the Lord arose, as it were, to act on His own principles, and assert His own rights; to undo all the mischief which man's trafficking had introduced, and to replant the land and the people according to their beginnings under His own hand. His hand was then uppermost, and His order and purpose would show themselves openly. And what joy it is to see this, that the moment we get things again under God's hand, the moment we find ourselves in His world, it is a jubilee we are keeping, a season of joy, a time for the restoration of grace, a time for making a happy return, every one to his family, and every one to his possession.

How blessed (to speak according to the figure or symbol of this ordinance) thus to have the Lord the Landlord of the earth again. "Happy are the people that are in such a case." And this jubilee was introduced by the day of atonement. Lev. 25:9. That was the day that was to open the millennial age. For it is nothing but the work of the Lamb of God that can lead to any joy or deliverance among us. The precious blood is all our title. And thus it is that the jubilee and redemption are connected; so that when the Lord here says, "Your redemption draweth nigh," it was as looking out to this jubilee of Israel and the earth. The jubilee was God's redemption of His land and people. Supposing that no kinsman could be found able or willing to do this previously, God Himself, in the fiftieth year, would exercise both His rights and His resources in behalf of His oppressed land and bondaged people. And thus this jubilee was "the year of My redeemed" (as spake the Lord by the prophet), or, the season of "redemption," towards which the eyes of the expectant, suffering remnant are here directed by their blessed Master.

A joyful sound it must have been. But this institution really furnished them with nothing new. It only restored liberty to the slave, and the land to its original owner. Restoration was its special feature, just that which suited a failing people, who by some means or other, really the fruit of sin, had lost either personal liberty, or their ancestral possessions. Israel were the Lord's servants (25:55), so He thus legislated for them. The land was His (23), so perpetual alienation from its owner by any human claim Jehovah would not allow. How speaking will all this surely be to them in the future, when reaping the full blessing of restoration to that from which they have justly been driven because of their disobedience, and realising the goodness of Jehovah to those who could neither ensure their personal liberty, nor the safe keeping of their patrimonial estate.

Nowhere but in Israel was there such a provision made, for it was not man's thought, but God's. What a sight it must have been, the land in the Sabbatical year lying everywhere fallow, no sound of husbandry heard, the plough and the harrow laid by, no seed sown, nor field irrigated, the sixth year's crop having been unusually abundant, providing sufficient for three years (20-22), so the wants of the population were amply provided for, and there was no shortcoming for man or beast. Who would have thought of this? Who could promise this? Who could fulfil such a promise, but one? He to whom the land belonged, the Lord Jehovah, the Creator. At the recurrence of the Jubilee this must have been still more marked, for no want, no stint was experienced by any living thing.

The Sabbatic year (25:1-7) 2. The jubilee (25:8-12) 3. The jubilee and the land (25:13-28) 4. The jubilee and the dwelling houses (25:29-34) 5. The jubilee, the poor and the bondmen (25:35-55)

This is the great restoration chapter in Leviticus. All is connected preeminently with Israel's land. The application, which has been made, that this chapter foreshadows a universal restitution of all things, including the wicked dead and Satan as well, is unscriptural. If such a restitution were true the Bible would contradict itself. The Sabbatic year could only be kept after Israel came into the land. "When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord." And Jehovah uttered these words from Mount Sinai and not from the tabernacle (Lev. 1:1). Every seventh year, the land which belongs to Jehovah, and which was not to be sold, had to enjoy complete rest. See what gracious promises Jehovah had given in connection with the Sabbatic year (25:20-22). Jehovah was the Lord of the land, the owner of the land, and Israel received the land as a gift; they were the tenants. Beautifully the Lord said: "Ye are strangers and sojourners with Me." When Israel sinned and broke the laws of Jehovah, when they did not give the land its rest, the Lord drove the people out of the land. Read here 26:32-35. "And I will bring the land into desolation and your enemies which dwelt therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the nations, and will draw out a sword after you, and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her Sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it." This prediction has been fulfilled. Israel is scattered among the nations of the earth and the land is desolate, a witness for the Word of God. Jehovah in giving the law concerning the Sabbatic year, gave to His people a picture of that coming rest, and the assurance of joy and blessing. But they failed.

The year of jubilee shows clearly the restoration which is in store for Israel and Israel's land. It points once more to the millennial times of blessing and glory. How blessedly is that coming age of restoration and of glory seen in the year of jubilee! Without entering into details we give a few of the divine statements. What did the jubilee year mean to Israel? Liberty was proclaimed; every man returned to his possession; every man to his family; all wrongs were righted and the redemption of the bondmen took place. Seven times the word "return" is used; and oftener the word "redeem." It was the time of returning, the blessed time of restoration and redemption.

And how was this year of jubilee ushered in? By the sound of the trumpet of the jubilee on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement. This great year of returning and redemption began with the day of atonement. Most likely after the high priest had returned from his holy office work and sprinkling of blood; after he had put the sins of the people upon the scapegoat and that sacrificial animal bearing upon its head Israel's sin had vanished in the wilderness, the trumpet sounded. What all this means we have seen in the annotations of the "day of atonement" chapter. The year of jubilee begins, when our Lord comes back from the Holiest and appears in the midst of His people. And this time of restoration, blessing and glory is not confined to Israel's land. It means more than the promised blessings for that land. We have the year of jubilee in Romans 8:19-23.

*If no kinsman were found able or willing to redeem the inheritance, it returned to the heir in the jubilee. The Lord of Israel thus kept in His own hand the means of restoring all things. He acted as Lord of the soil, and said the Land was His. (Lev. 25:23) He created as it were a tenantry for forty-nine years, in the fiftieth year resuming the land, and then settling it anew on His family according to His own mind. And so with this earth, of which the land of Israel was the sample; man may take it into his own hand for a time, and by his covetousness on the one hand, or idle habits on the other, disturb God's order in it. But a day is coming, the promised and expected jubilee, the time of the restitution of all things, and then the earth shall be brought back to God again, and He will resettle it on His family according to His own holy and righteous principles. I might here observe that sacrifices may be allowed among the Jews in the kingdom, to keep in memory the blood of the Lamb which was the price and purchase of the kingdom.