I love @joyfultoons, this one got me into Leviticus 25:1-55 where the Sabbath year and year of Jubilee are discussed in regards to the scripture referenced. Some principle truths that people still employ is letting land rest, allowing the soil to replenish. This is accomplished through crop rotation. But when it comes to the year of Jubilee I saw some interesting discrepancies between what the Bible teaches and how we live today.
Obedience to God’s commands may seem confining as a cage. But in His commands we find peace, security & true freedom pic.twitter.com/CbOJupsN6b
Obedience to God’s commands may seem confining as a cage. But in His commands we find peace, security & true freedom pic.twitter.com/CbOJupsN6b
— Michael Waters (@JoyfulToons) July 10, 2016The Year of Jubilee is essentially every 50 years land is given back to the ancestors and freedom is proclaimed throughout the land for all who live there (Lev 25:8-13). It speaks of agreements around buying and selling, defining fair market value. Lev 25:17 jumps out at me as it says "Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other." This is the first discrepancy I noticed between how we live today and what the Bible teaches.
- Show your fear of God
- (by) Not taking advantage of each other
Promise #1: Next comes the conditional promise, "If you want to live securely in the land, (then) follow my decrees and obey my regulations. (Then Promise) Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it (Lev 25:18-19). This is the second discrepancy I noticed, as we live with dollar cost averaging and climbing "latter of success" - God says followers who obey Him will live securely.
- If you want to live securely in the land
- Follow my decrees and obey my regulations
- Land will yield large crops, you'll eat your fill and live securely in it.
- Principle: God blesses "land benefiting the obedient
Promise #2: But you might ask, "what will we eat during the Sabbath year and year of Jubilee?" it's a good question. God actually answers that question in Lev 25:21-22, saying in essence "Be assured (confident/certain), I'll send my blessing (God's sanction/support/endorsement, God's favor, protection, grace) that brings benefits, gratitude, advantage, help so abundantly that you can live from it for the next 3 years". This is the third discrepancy I noticed. Most people I know put their confidence in themselves and count there blessings and abundance as from their own labor/output. The Bible teaches that these are from God for His purposes and he gives and takes away (Job 1:21). In his article titled What God Gives When He Takes Away Jon Bloom says, "What we really love and trust aren't truly seen until we are tested by loss...core error of Prosperity theology: prosperity obscures, rather than reveals, how much fallen humans love God."
So what is God trying to tell me today?
- Don't take advantage of people, rather show fear of the Lord - by obeying his commandments. Love people as He first loved us (John 15:9-12)
- God brings the surplus and ability to follow and obey him
- Peace, security and freedom come from obeying God
