Chances are that if you are an American, you're familiar with the Liberty Bell; and you may even be aware that it was that bell that rang out on July 8, 1776, calling citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. But you may not be so familiar with the quote cast on its side; or at least, what it refers to.
The Pennsylvania Assembly commissioned the bell to be made in 1751, to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Pennsylvania constitution. On the side of the bell was cast a portion of Leviticus 25:10--"Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." Now, there were two reasons that this was put on the side of the bell; the first was that their constitution outlined some of the freedoms and liberties that Christians would have under the civil government. The second was that this was the 50th anniversary, and the verse just prior to the one quoted on the bell spoke of how the "fiftieth year" was to be hallowed. "What better way to pay homage to [William] Penn, [the writer of their constitution,] and hallow the 50th year than with a bell proclaiming liberty?" (www.ushistory.org)
But what did the Bible mean by this 50th year stuff? And what liberty was really meant in that quote from Scripture? For those answers, we'll look a little more closely at our text this morning--Leviticus 25.
When we think of the sabbath, we likely think only of the weekly sabbath that the Jews observed. Of course, we recognize that this was a day in which the Jews were not to work. By setting aside the seventh day of the week for them to rest, God was having them remember how He had created everything that there is in the first six days, and in the seventh day, He rested (Ex 20:11). But really, God gave much more than a weekly observance--He gave a system of sabbaths, and our text outlines some of this.
In the first seven verses, we see a description of a sabbath year. For six years, the Israelites would behave just as any other farmers would--they would sow grain, they would care for the crop, and they would reap; but in the seventh year, they were not to do any of that. They were to let the land rest--they would let it lie fallow. Now, you might think that they would starve that year, then, but we read in verses 20-22 that God would provide enough for that year as well as the next two years, so that they would have enough to last throughout the sabbath year, as well as to be able to start the cycle again afterward. You see, God had many reasons for what He had the Israelites do--some things were to remember what He had done, such as the weekly Sabbath. Letting the land lie fallow in the seventh year was also beneficial to the land, since they didn't use artificial fertilizers at the time, or crop rotation. This was also a way in which the Israelites could be tested--they would have to place great trust in God, that he would provide for them in the seventh and eighth years. In everything God did though, it was for their benefit; and as we read in Deut 6:24, they were to keep the statues He gave for their good always.
But beginning in verse eight, we read of another sabbath that seems, at least to us, stranger than even the sabbath year--and it was called the year of Jubilee. The Jubilee was more than just a memorial of God having rested; it looked forward to something that God would do in the future--it was a figure for something that was to come.
Every seven sabbath years--which is to say, every 49 years--the following year was to be a special anniversary. During that 50th year, they would neither sow nor reap just as in an ordinary sabbath year. But what made it very special was that it was a year of release, of liberty. Any land that had been sold during the previous years would be returned to its original owner. It may be that the owner had been foolish, or had done poorly in his business; it may be that just as a result of time and chance he had to sell it to pay his debts, but whatever the circumstances, at the year of Jubilee, it would return to him. If an Israelite had become poor for some reason--again, whether through his own fault or otherwise--and sold himself into slavery to pay his debt (which was not uncommon), when the Jubilee came, he was freed.
There were many benefits from such a strange law: for instance, there would be no large accumulations of land where only a few were landholders, and the rest were tenants--and so it preserved equality among the people. It also prevented anyone from being born into absolute poverty, since the family inheritance couldn't be forever lost. And none of the Israelites would lose his freedom forever--no matter what he had done, or what had happened that put him in that position.
But again, the Jubilee was more than just a memorial of God having rested; it looked forward to something that God would do in the future--it was a shadow of things to come.
The book of Isaiah has many prophecies that dealt with the coming of the Christ--also known as the Messiah. In fact, the prophecies found there are clearer and more explicit than in any other Old Testament book. There, God warned that He was going to use the Babylonians to destroy the kingdom of Judah, even though Babylon had not yet risen to power. Yet, even in the midst of these warnings, we read of the Messiah--and of the salvation that would come through Him. One of these prophecies is found in chapter 61:1,2. "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable [or the acceptable] year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn..." God goes on to say that what had been lost would be restored. In fact, when we read that He is "to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord", it appears that the Jubilee is being used as a figure for how that which was lost would then be returned. Yet, this passage isn't merely speaking of a return of the remnant to Jerusalem. Actually, we find that this passage is quoted in the New Testament by Jesus Himself--and He applies it to Himself.
We read in Luke 4:16 beginning, that Jesus "...came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 'THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.' And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [They were waiting to hear what He had to say!] And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'" You see, Jesus said that the year of the Jubilee had finally come--and liberty was being proclaimed throughout the land. But this time, the release was far more wonderful than physical land or slaves.
When Jesus said He had come to "PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES" and "TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED", He was speaking of freedom from sin. Paul spoke in Rom 6:16 of how we became slaves to sin: "Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?" When we first committed sin--when we made the decision to disobey God and please ourselves--it was in that moment that we made the decision to become slaves of sin. We had separated ourselves from God. But in the same way that when the year of Jubilee came, those who had become slaves would be released and debts were forgiven, so also Christ Jesus will do for us. In Heb 10:17,18 we read, "'AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.' Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.'" Through Jesus, God will grant complete forgiveness--He will completely release us from our past sins.
Also, just as with the Jubilee, He will forgive us regardless of how we came to be in the situation we find ourselves. There are many lists of various sins that we can find in the scripture--for instance, 1 Cor 5, Gal 5, and 1 Tim 1; yet all of those sins can be forgiven. It doesn't matter if we have had sexual relations outside of marriage, if we've worshiped other gods, or if we were homosexuals; it doesn't matter if we've been liars, cheated folks out of their money, or been outright thieves; all that can be forgiven. Paul wrote in 1 Cor 6:11 that we can be washed; we can be set apart to God; we can be justified--in the name of Christ.
Another similarity that we find between the liberty Jesus offers and the Jubilee is that it is offered without merit. When the time of the Jubilee came, those Israelites who were slaves were freed without their having earned their freedom. They were granted forgiveness of whatever debt they had. As we read in Eph 2:8,9, "...by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it [that salvation] is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Paul said that we are saved by grace--the idea of an unearned favor. Salvation is a gift from God--it's not something that we can earn.
Yet, just as there are some similarities between the coming of Jesus Christ and the year of Jubilee, there are some differences. One of the greatest is that we needn't wait to be freed from our servitude. Those who had sold themselves into physical bondage at that time had to wait until the year rolled around that should be released--when the appropriate time came, they were free; but it's not so for us. We can be freed from our debt at any time--just ask the Philippian jailer. In Acts 16, after having seen the behavior of Paul and Silas while they were imprisoned, around midnight a great earthquake opened the jailhouse so that everyone could escape--but no one did, apparently because of Paul and Silas. So the jailer, knowing that his life would have been forfeit if any had escaped, begged them to tell him what he needed to do to be saved--he wanted to know the secret to the joy they shared, even in the midst of trial. And so they told him: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." There was no need to wait; he could have that peace of mind right then--and remember, that in this case, it was around midnight.
That brings us to another difference between what we find in Christ and in the Jubilee--the Israelite who had become a slave had merely to wait for the time to roll around, and he would be set free. Now, while there is nothing that we can do to earn, or merit, the salvation that is freely offered, yet we must be obedient to Jesus' will. We can't sit around and wait for His salvation! The same was true of the Jailer; we find in Acts 16:33 that, "...he took them that very hour of the night [around midnight,] and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household." You see, it's in baptism that we are placed into Christ. Paul wrote in Gal 3:26,27, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." A true faith in Jesus will cause us to be obedient to Him--whatever the day, whatever the hour, even midnight--and according to Acts 22:16, it is in that act of obedience that our sins are washed away. It is in baptism that we are "clothed with Christ".
I suppose there is one last comparison to make. It is interesting, but as strangely wonderful as that law was--the law of the Jubilee year--there is no evidence that the children of Israel ever observed it. It may be that they did; there are a very few possible references made in some of the Old Testament. But if they did not, it would not be terribly surprising; the Israelites had always shown a lack of trust in God--they always had a problem with unbelief. Interestingly, Josephus, a Jewish historian from just after the time of Christ, referred frequently to the sabbatic year, but never once to the year of Jubilee (ISBE--Jubilee). The same thing is true of many people today; the freedom that Christ offers is available to all, to anyone who asks--but so many will never accept it. Oh, they may try to take it from Him on their own terms, but they will never have it--unless they come to Him in humble obedience.
On July 8, 1776, citizens were called to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence--a document that cried out that those united colonies were now "free and independent states". They were free and independent of the British crown. In many ways, it seems appropriate that they would ring a bell with a quote from Leviticus 25 cast in it's side on that occasion. In reality, though, the liberty that bell rang out then is rather pale in comparison to the real liberty that was foreshadowed in the Jubilee; that great liberty--that freedom and independence from sin--that is found only in Jesus Christ.
