Proclaim Liberty

Proclaim Liberty There is a large bell in Philadelphia that we call the Liberty Bell. On it are the words of Leviticus 25:10: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof". Instead of a bell, Israel was to use a ram's horn to proclaim liberty. What is this liberty, and how does it relate to us? Listen to Leviticus 25:8-12: Count off seven sabbaths of years - seven times seven years - so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. This year of Jubilee was part of the larger Sabbath system. Best known is the weekly Sabbath day, the seventh day of each week set apart for rest and worship. But there were also Sabbath years. Every seventh year, the land was to be left fallow to rest it. Then after seven Sabbath years, forty-nine total years, the fiftieth year was to be a Year of Jubilee. Jubilee was announced by the sounding of the shofar, a trumpet made of a hollow ram's horn. These were to be sounded everywhere to proclaim liberty. The Hebrew word for jubilee was so connected with this that it became another word for the ram's horn as a trumpet. The trumpets were not sounded on just any day of the fiftieth year. They were to be heard on the Day of Atonement, the only fast day required of Israel. On this sacred day, an annual sacrifice was offered to atone for the sins of Israel. Thus, the liberty proclaimed depended on this atonement. This teaches that unless our sin is dealt with, we cannot have true liberty! The Year of Jubilee had three practical purposes. First, it provided personal liberty for all Israelites. Poverty can result from many circumstances. But God's people were not to be made slaves. Temporary servitude was allowed but must end at the Jubilee. The trumpet proclaimed this personal liberty for all. But secondly, all family property was to be restored to the original families. The land belonged to God and had been divided fairly among the people. To stay out of poverty, each family needed its share of the land for farming. By restoring property as people are released from servitude, sustainable freedom was available to all. And third, Jubilee taught a simple life of faith in God. In an agricultural economy, they were to rest from working in the fields two years in a row. Two years without crops calls for a simple lifestyle. God was asking His people to trust in Him for provision, to live by faith. There are universal spiritual implications of Jubilee, beginning with lessons about poverty. Poverty is often, though not always, a fruit of sin. Thus, a time of discipline in servitude to another person can be healthy training for effective living. But such discipline is not enough. The sin still needs to be atoned for; thus, freedom is given on the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 25 also teaches that no one should be exploited due to their poverty. Another implication is that God provides a complete liberty. This freedom is founded on atonement for our sins. We are freed from our guilt by His grace. But God simultaneously enabled a life of freedom by providing resources adequate to live in freedom. They were restored to their land to have a sustainable fresh start. One failure of the end of slavery in America was the lack of provision for the newly freed slaves. God did not make that mistake with His plan for Israel. Finally, freedom received through atonement is sustained as we live a simple life of faith in God, just as Israel was expected to do. But Jubilee was just for Israel. How does it apply to those of us who are Gentiles? The answer begins with a prophesy of Isaiah. Hear Isaiah 61:1, 2a: The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor... Isaiah prophecies of one who will proclaim freedom. The words "proclaim freedom" are the same words used in Leviticus 25:10. This is a technical expression referring to Jubilee. The Holy Spirit will anoint someone to proclaim Jubilee. He will preach good news to the poor, freedom with restoration. He will proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, the ultimate Jubilee. But who? And when? In Luke chapter 4, Jesus returns to His hometown and is asked to speak in the synagogue. He chooses to read the passage from Isaiah we just read. He then says that this prophecy was being fulfilled in their hearing. Jesus is the Christ which means anointed one. The Spirit of the Lord was upon Him. Jesus went on to provide the ultimate atonement for all man's sins on the cross. He fulfilled the Day of Atonement for all people making true liberty available to all. Jesus has proclaimed spiritual liberty, the ultimate Jubilee. He gives liberty from slavery to sin. As God's people we are free from sin's dominion. He restores spiritual possessions that had been lost through sin. We are reconciled to God and adopted as His children. And He calls us to a simple life of faith, resting in Jesus. We rely on Jesus, not on our works, for salvation. We rely on Jesus, not on my efforts, to meet my needs, though I willingly do what He gives me to do. Let us sound the shofar. I do not mean literally. Most of us do not have one, and I know from experience that they are hard to sound. I mean, let us proclaim that Jesus brings liberty from sin. Let us proclaim it throughout the land, to all mankind. Let us proclaim it not only to Israel but to all people. Jubilee is a promise of freedom. Jesus has made a complete and perfect atonement that cleanses us from all our sin. He gives us freedom from sin's dominion and restoration to full fellowship with God received by simple faith in Jesus. Let us live by faith in this freedom. Jubilee is also a call to action. Blow your trumpet. Get the world's attention. Consecrate your time to serve God. Proclaim liberty so that everyone hears the good news of freedom in Jesus. Let us call on God to restore true liberty and freedom to America!