Parasha Behar 5782

Me

As a most of you know, I am currently working on a master’s degree with The King’s University in their Messianic Jewish Studies program. And while I love to learn, love to read, love to write, I have never really been a huge fan of all of that in the context of school. When I graduated high school I had zero intentions of ever going to college at all… Here I am years later with an bachelor's degree and working towards a master’s with a potential target of going into a doctoral program and ultimately with the hope and goal of teaching on the academic level at some point in the future.

But, even though I am in grad school and pushing 40, there is no greater feeling than when I submit the final assignment for a semester and I know freedom is in sight… I just wrapped up my spring semester about two weeks ago, my kids who are both homeschooled have just finished their school year, and currently everyone around us is focused on the closing out of the 2021-2022 school year.

And here’s the thing, I don’t care how much I have enjoyed the content of the class or how much I have taken away from it or anything along those lines… When spring semester ends and I have turned in my final assignments, there is just something so freeing, so exciting, so refreshing to knowing I’m entering that illustrious summer vacation… Two months or so of no deadlines, no assignments, no discussion posts, no syllabi, no lectures… If I want to read it’s because I want to read… If I want to write it is because I want to write…

Even at my age, I get so exciting at the promise of freedom that the end of the school year brings… It’s an almost euphoric feeling…

We

Do you know the feeling I’m describing? Whether we’re still in school or not, we likely all remember the hope and joy that comes with knowing Summer break is here and the feeling of freedom that comes with it.

Have we ever thought about this idea of freedom in spiritual terms? Because as exhilarating as it is when freedom from classes and Summer break comes, it is nothing compared to the spiritual reality of freedom that Yeshua has provided us.

God

This week we read Parasha Behar, Leviticus 25:1-26:2, and the Parasha is focused entirely on the Shmita which would occur every seven years and the Yovel which would occur ever 50 years. In the beginning of Leviticus 25 we see the Lord tells Moses to speak to Israel that they are to begin the counting of the Shmita and Yovel cycle upon entering the Land.

Adonai commands that for six years the Land is to be worked and harvested, and on the seventh year the Land is to have a Shabbat to Adonai. In this Shmita year B’nei Yisrael is not to work the land at all, and whatever it produces on its own will be food for B’nei Yisrael, their servants, the outsiders dwelling with them, and even their livestock and animals. The Shmita would be a year of complete reliance on HaShem while allowing His Holy Land to rest.

Likewise, the Yovel (or Jubilee year) is also reliant on our ability to count. Just like with Shavuot in which we are commanded to count the Omer for 49 days and on the 50 day celebrate Shavuot, for the Yovel we are to count 49 years, or seven Shmita cycles, then on the 50th year on Yom Kippur proclaim the Yovel and all territory is to return to its tribal possession and all in servitude are set free.

Both the Shmita and the Yovel are to be held Holy and are Moedim (Appointed Days of Adonai) like Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

As we look at Parasha Behar today I want to focus on one of the most important aspects, in my opinion, of the parasha and as we do I want us to keep this principle in mind…

We have been freed from slavery to sin and death and have been made new as servants of Adonai, so let’s walk boldly in our freedom in Messiah!

(Repeat)

Let’s dig into the text together…

Leviticus 25:1–13 TLV

Then Adonai said to Moses on Mount Sinai, “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When you come into the land which I give you, then the land is to keep a Shabbat to Adonai. For six years you may sow your field and for six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits. But in the seventh year there is to be a Shabbat rest for the land—a Shabbat to Adonai. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard. You are not to reap what grows by itself during your harvest nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. It is to be a year of Shabbat rest for the land. Whatever the Shabbat of the land produces will be food for yourself, for your servant, for your maidservant, for your hired worker and for the outsider dwelling among you. Even for your livestock and for the animals that are in your land—all its increase will be enough food. “You are to count off seven Shabbatot of years—seven times seven years, so that the time is seven Shabbatot of years—49 years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur, you are to sound a shofar blast—you are to sound the shofar all throughout your land. You are to make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It is to be a Jubilee to you, when each of you is to return to his own property and each of you is to return to his family. That fiftieth year will be your Jubilee. You are not to sow, or reap that which grows by itself, or gather from the untended vines. Since it is a Jubilee, it is to be holy to you. You will eat from its increase out of the field. “In this Year of Jubilee each of you will return to his property.

The Lord specifically commands the land to rest during the Shmita, and more so calls it a Shabbat year for the Land. This means the Shmita year is just as important for Israel’s observance and obedience as is the weekly Shabbat or any of the other Moedim. Yet, we know that Israel failed to actually honor the Shmita year as required by Torah for 490 years after coming into the Land. Jeremiah prophesies 70 years of captivity for B’nei Yisrael in Babylon to allow Eretz Yisrael the 70 years of Shmita rest it was not given by B’nei Yisrael. And we see Jeremiah’s prophecy fulfilled in 2 Chronicles 36: 15-21

2 Chronicles 36:15–21 TLV

Adonai, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through His messengers again and again, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of Adonai rose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the House of their Temple. He had no pity on young man or virgin, elderly or infirm—He gave them all into his hand. All the vessels of the House of God, large and small, and the treasures of the House of Adonai, as well as the treasures of the king and his officers were all brought to Babylon. They burned the House of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces with fire and destroyed everything of value. He exiled to Babylon those who had escaped the sword and they became slaves to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia— in fulfillment of the word of Adonai by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid back her Shabbat rests—for as long as it lay desolate—the Shabbat rest was kept till 70 years were complete.

But the Shmita and the Yovel go hand and hand together. The Shmita is not only a year of rest (or sabbatical) for the land, it is also a year of freedom for those indentured. In fact, we read in Exodus 21 that when an Israelite sells themselves for servitude they are to work for six years then on the seventh be set free, this is the Shmita. Exodus 21 continues on to say if the servant decides he doesn’t want to be free because he loves his master then an awl is to be pierced through his ear and he will remain on with his master.

But the Shmita is also the counting mechanism necessary to bring us to the proclamation of the Yovel, the year of Jubilee, which is an even greater year of freedom and release.

In the Yovel all ancestral land that has been sold is to be returned to the tribe to whom it belongs. Along with that, all Israelites who have fallen upon hard financial times and had to become indentured servants to other Israelites are to be set completely free on the Yovel, this even includes those who chose to stay on with their masters at the Shmitah and have had an awl pierced through their ear. All Israelites are to go free, all Israelite land is to be released back into its tribal inheritance.

And the Yovel is super-important, not just because it is a year of freedom and restoration, but because all pricing and negotiation of land sale in Eretz Yisrael (which because of the divine instruction for the Yovel is really more like a lease) is based off of how far away the next Yovel is. In other words, if you find yourself in a difficult spot financially and have to sell your land to another Israelite, you can only charge him for the land a value fair to the number of harvests he can work the land, because ultimately that land is coming back to you or your tribe at the next Yovel.

In fact, Adonai specifically says Leviticus 25:23-24

Leviticus 25:23–24 TLV

“Moreover, the land is not to be sold permanently, because the land is Mine. For you are sojourners with Me. For any land you possess, you are to provide for redemption of the land.

Now, verse 23 is extremely important, and especially the last sentence. Lets look at these two verses again, Leviticus 25:23-24

Leviticus 25:23–24 TLV

“Moreover, the land is not to be sold permanently, because the land is Mine. For you are sojourners with Me. For any land you possess, you are to provide for redemption of the land.

One of the biggest aspects of the purpose of the Shmita and Yovel are that they serve as a reminder to Israel for all our days that we are Gerim V’toshavim (sojourners and settlers) in the Promised Land. The most important aspect of why God is bringing Israel into the Promised Land is because it is His Promised Land, it is the Land in which He has chosen to have His Presence reside among His creation. Israel’s security in the Promised Land comes from residing in God’s Presence in God’s Land. We must never forget that we were set free from slavery in Egypt so that we could live in the Presence of God, so that we could take up sanctuary in His midst.

So if we are to remain in the Promised Land we are to do so by vigilantly remaining in the Presence of God. In order to do that we must remain faithful to His Word, faithful to observe and obey all that He has spoken in His Torah.

And another way to look at this, in order to keep things in perspective, is that Israel was set free from slavery in Egypt to become bondservants of Adonai. So God calls us not to take advantage of one another, not to treat those who are financially downtrodden in our midst as though they are of less value, in fact, even when an Israelite sells himself to another Israelite, they are to be treated with respect and dignity. They are not to be treated as property, but rather as a member of the family, more so, as the child of the one whom they are now serving.

Why? Because we were redeemed from slavery in Egypt to be made bondservants of Adonai, and this is exactly how He treats us, as His own sons and daughters and we are all equal in His eyes—no one is of lesser or more importance.

Leviticus 25:55 TLV

For Bnei-Yisrael are My servants—My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.

Why is no portion of the Promised Land to be sold in perpetuity? Because it is HaShem’s and we are Gerim V’toshavim (sojourners and settlers) with Him. And why is no Israelite to be sold to another in perpetuity? Because B’nei Yisrael are HaShem’s and we were brought out of land of Egypt to be His servants and for Him to be our God.

Now this is an important concept, and I want us to make sure we grasp it carefully… We are Adonai’s servants, whether in Eretz Yisrael or scattered in the Diaspora, we are sojourners with Adonai. As followers of Messiah, both Jew and Gentile, this concept becomes all the more important and comes to greater clarity with regards to the greater spiritual concept Adonai was trying to reveal through Moses to Israel in the Torah.

We have been freed from slavery to sin and death and have been made new as servants of Adonai, let’s walk boldly in our freedom in Messiah!

Let’s take a look at Yeshua’s own words in His home synagogue in Natzeret as He returns from being filled with Ruach HaKodesh when immersed by Yochanan HaMatbil and after fasting and being tempted by the adversary in the wilderness for 40 days. He returns to His home synagogue and is called to make Aliyah and read from the Sefer Yesha’yahu (Isaiah)…

Luke 4:14–20 TLV

Yeshua returned in the power of the Ruach to the Galilee, and news about Him went out through all the surrounding region. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone was praising Him. And He came to Natzeret, where He had been raised. As was His custom, He went into the synagogue on Shabbat, and He got up to read. When the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Ruach Adonai is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of Adonai’s favor.” He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were focused on Him.

As Yeshua comes back from the wilderness and official begins His ministry He kicks things off by unapologetically announcing exactly what the first coming of Mashiach was all about. He reads from Isaiah, “The Ruach Adonai is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of Adonai’s favor.”

Yeshua announces He has come to declare a spiritual Yovel, a spiritual Jubilee. And with exception of sight for the blind, each and every thing Yeshua declares here is in direct connection to Parasha Behar and the imagery of freedom and redemption found in the Shmita and Yovel—Good News to the poor, release to the captives, set free the oppressed, proclaim the year of Adonai’s favor.

Then, with every eye focused on Him, Yeshua tells all in attendance…

Luke 4:21 TLV

Then He began to tell them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.”

The entire ministry of Yeshua, from His immersion by Yochanan HaMatbil to His death on the Cross, to His resurrection and ultimate ascension into the Olam Habah, to the empowering indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh has been for the distinct purpose of proclaiming Good News to the poor and setting free those in captivity and bondage. What is this Good News? That there is now access to life eternal in the Name of Yeshua, there is now freedom from the bondage of slavery to sin in the Blood of Yeshua, and there is now power to walk in righteousness because of the indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh.

Much like the first Passover when God set Israel free from slavery in Egypt, we have been set free from the bondage of sin. And why?

Leviticus 25:55 TLV

For Bnei-Yisrael are My servants—My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.

We have been freed from slavery to sin and death and have been made new as servants of Adonai, let’s walk boldly in our freedom in Messiah!

In the Torah Parasha based devotional book Walk Leviticus Dr. Jeffrey Feinberg paraphrases Rashi’s take on Parasha Behar and the reality that a time might come where an Israelite might have to sell his property and himself in order to survive. The progression to this point isn’t a spontaneous reality, it is a compounding problem that leaves the person in detriment. Rashi notes:

”The descent spirals from loss of moveable property (such as livestock, to the forced sale of ancestral lands, loss of one’s house, debt, servanthood, and selling of oneself to other Israelites or to a non-Jew whose family serves idols. An Israelite must be impoverished before Torah permits Him to sell ancestral lands.”

And in the same sense, one doesn’t fall into destitute with regards to sin in one clean swoop… It is a process that spirals from one poor decision to another, till ultimately we find ourselves trapped in bondage to the ways of this world and to the adversary.

But in Messiah Yeshua we have freedom available to us. He has come to break the chains that keep us bound to our mistakes, our poor decisions, our misjudgments, our wronging others, and anything else holding us down.

In the same sense that and Israelite might find themselves in a situation where they may need to sale ancestral land or be a bondservant to another Israelite, yet on the Shmita and no matter what ultimately in the Yovel, they would be set free and restored completely, we have all fallen short of the glory and have found ourselves in bad situations and poor decisions leading to worse and worse… Yet Yeshua offered His life that we could be made free, that we could be restored and renewed completely.

But Leviticus 25:55 is the catch to our freedom:

Leviticus 25:55 TLV

For Bnei-Yisrael are My servants—My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.

We were made free from slavery in Egypt, and we are made free from slavery to sin and the enemy in order to be faithful slaves, servants of Adonai Eloheinu.

Paul says in Romans 6:16-18

Romans 6:16–18 TLV

Do you not know that to whatever you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to what you obey—whether to sin resulting in death, or to obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching under which you were placed; and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.

And he continues this thought with verse 22

Romans 6:22–23 TLV

But now, having been set free from sin and having become enslaved to God, you have your fruit resulting in holiness. And the outcome is eternal life. For sin’s payment is death, but God’s gracious gift is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

When we find freedom in Salvation in Messiah Yeshua we are trading slavery to this world, slavery to the enemy, slaver to sin and death for slavery to righteousness, slavery to Messiah Yeshua, slavery to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… And may we cleave to the truth of our Salvation, redemption and restoration, the joy of our freedom from sin and bond-service to the Kingdom of Messiah.

We have been freed from slavery to sin and death and have been made new as servants of Adonai, let’s walk boldly in our freedom in Messiah!

You

Have you experienced true freedom in Messiah Yeshua? Am I’m talking true, unbridled freedom in Messiah… This concept is far different than what the world around us, and maybe even some in the Body of Messiah would think it to be… Because Yeshua has not provided us Salvation, washed clean our sins, and broken the chains of the enemy in your life so that you can continue to walk in sin and enslavement to the world around you… He hasn’t made freedom available to you so you can become one thing when you’re in your congregation and another when you’re in the world…

He has broken the chains of bondage the enemy has kept you bound by so that you can become a bondservant of the Lord. He has provided restoration and Salvation so that you can become more like Yeshua, so that you can emulate the Sh’lichim (emmissaries), so that you can walk out your discipleship to Yeshua. He has made freedom freely available so that you would share that freedom with the world around you, making talmidim of all nations.

Are you truly walking in the freedom of Messiah? If not, what is holding you back? Or what are you clinging to that the Lord wants to free you from? Is your identity still wrapped up in being a slave to sin and death, a slave to this world? Or have you truly found your new identity as a servant of Yeshua HaMashiach?

We

If our worship team will make their way back up to the stage. (Unmute Worship Team)

Paul reminds us that the choice is ours… Who are we going to choose to serve? To whom are we going to be enslaved…?

Romans 6:16–18 TLV

Do you not know that to whatever you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to what you obey—whether to sin resulting in death, or to obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching under which you were placed; and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.

You and I have been bought by the Blood of the Lamb, redeemed from slavery to sin and death, and in our freedom from sin we have been made servants of righteousness, servants of HaShem. As Joshua encouraged Israel in Joshua 24— “choose this day whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will worship, we will serve, we will cleave to Adonai!”