Proclaim Liberty

I. Through God’s Presence & Provision (Lev. 24:1-9)

Provision

The light and bread served as practical means of provision.

The light allowed the priests to minister before God.

The bread was one of God’s many ways of providing for His priests.

Presence

God’s presence was necessary for His people’s existence.

Exodus 33 follows the golden calf incident. God tells Moses in no uncertain terms that He cannot dwell among these people.

Exodus 33:3 NASB95

3 “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

Obstinate — stubbornly adhering to an attitude or course of action

Moses intercedes

Exodus 33:13–16 NASB95

13 “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”

Psalm 16:11 NASB95

11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

The oil was symbolic of God’s presence.

Psalm 119:105 NASB95

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

The lampstand and the table of showbread was symbolic of God’s presence among His people.

Leviticus 1:1 NASB95

1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,

Christ’s Presence Among His Church

The Holy Spirit (or faith) is necessary for the perseverance of God’s people.

Matthew 25:1–13 NASB95

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Just as God was present in the midst of His people, Christ is present in the midst of His church.

Revelation 1:12–13 NASB95

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.

Revelation 1:20 NASB95

20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

II. Through God’s Justice (Lev. 24:10-23)

Liberty and Justice Go Together

I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The punishment must be proportionate to the crime.

Blaspheme the Name — death by stoning

Murder — capital punishment

Take an animal’s life — replace the animal

Injuries/Wrongs

Fitting to the crime. This section is demonstrating restraint.

Whatever a man does, must be done to him (vv. 19-20).

Lex talionis — law of equivalent retaliation

Genesis 4:23–24 NASB95

23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Only in the case of murder was equivalent compensation not acceptable. The only acceptable punishment was death.

Genesis 9:5–6 NASB95

5 “Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

Lex Talionis and the NT

Matthew 5:21 NASB95

21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’

Matthew 5:27–32 NASB95

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:38–42 NASB95

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

III. For the Land (Lev. 25:1-22)

The main purpose of chapter 25 is to prevent the utter ruin of debtors.

Proverbs 22:7 NASB95

7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

Sabbath Year

Every seven years, the land must be allowed to rest (vv. 1-7)

Spiritually, this indicated faith, trust, and dependence upon God for His provision.

Practically, this allows the land to restore nutrients, prevent soil depletion, and maintain long-term productivity.

During this year, everyone picked and gathered whatever they could find (v. 6)

Jubilee Year

Seven cycles of sabbath years — the 50th year is the year of Jubilee.

There would be two consecutive sabbath years back-to-back (49 & 50, vv. 10-12)

Land was sold in proportion to the number of years left until Jubilee.

The closer, the cheaper.

The Israelites were not to rip each other off (v. 17)

The Lord would provide above and beyond to ensure the people were taken care of at the Jubilee (vv. 20-22)

The Babylonian Captivity

Jeremiah 29:10 NASB95

10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

2 Chronicles 36:20–21 NASB95

20 Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

NT Sabbath Year

Romans 8:19–23 NASB95

19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

Revelation 21:1 NASB95

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

IV. For the Debtor (Lev. 25:23-55)

Law of the Land

The land belonged to God and had been allotted to the nation (Josh. 13). Therefore, they were not allowed to sell in permanently.

At most, the land could be effectively rented for 49 years (i.e., until the Jubilee).

The land was to be:

Allowed to be redeemed (v. 24)

Redeemed by a kinsman redeemer (v. 25)

Redeemed by the man (v. 26)

Calculated in price based on the number of years until Jubilee [v. 27] (i.e., the shorter, the cheaper).

The Jubilee was last resort (v. 28)

Special cases:

Houses in walled cities could be redeemed for one year and then were sold permanently (vv. 29-30).

This is likely because there was no “land” associated with the house.

Houses of villages are treated normally (v. 31).

The Levites were given no land, thus their houses have permanent right to redemption (vv. 32-34).

Treatment of Debtors

They had to be treated well (both native and foreigner alike).

They were not to be charged interest.

Those who had sold themselves into “slavery.”

Unlike what comes to mind when we think of slavery, slavery here was essentially working off a debt. (e.g., like prison).

The individual would serve until the year of Jubilee.

The year of jubilee did not apply to foreign slaves (vv. 44-46). However, they could still not be treated harshly.

NT Jubilee Year

Luke 4:16–19 NASB95

16 And He 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. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 “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, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

In Isaiah 61:1, from which Jesus was quoting, the word used for “release” is the same word found in Lev. 25:10.

Acts 3:19–21 NASB95

19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.