The Year of Jubilee

Introduction

The most unusual observance that God commanded the Israelites through Moses was the keeping of the year of jubilee. For most people this celebration occurred only once in their life time, and for many not even that, as it occurred only once every 50 years.

At this year of jubilee all Israelites who had sold themselves into slavery were set free, and all land that had been sold reverted to its original owner. This meant that no Israelite could ever be in permanent slavery; nor could any Israelite permanently lose his inheritance.

The English word jubilee comes from the Hebrew word yobel meaning a trumpet or ram’s horn. These rams’ horns were blown on the Day of Atonement to announce the start of the year of jubilee. The word jubilee should not be confused with the word jubilation which comes from a Latin word meaning to rejoice. The year of jubilee was no doubt a time of great jubilation, but the similarities of the two words are (at least humanly speaking) a coincidence.

To understand the year of jubilee more clearly we must first review the concept of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath

Sabbath observance was part of the ceremonial law that God gave Israel through Moses. Normally we think of the Sabbath as a day of the week, but its meaning in scripture is much wider. Its teaching applies not only to the seventh day of the week, but also to the 7 festivals of Israel’s calendar and to periods of 7 years and 7 times 7 years. Such is its importance that, unlike any other part of the ceremonial law, its keeping is even one of the 10 commandments.

The words of the fourth commandment are: ‘Six days shall you labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.’

The ancient Israelites understood the Sabbath as a literal day of the week, the seventh day which corresponds to our Saturday. On that day they strictly refrained from all work. This was a sign and covenant between them and Yahweh their God, which separated them from the tribes who surrounded them.

In Exodus 31: 15 God prescribed the death penalty for anyone who broke the Sabbath. ‘For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.’

In Deuteronomy 5, where the commandments are repeated, we find this addition to the fourth commandment: ‘Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.’

During their wanderings in the desert the Israelites observed the Sabbath strictly. They found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath and brought him to Moses. God told Moses that he should be put to death, and they stoned him. (Num 15: 32-36.)

God said that the Sabbath was to be a holy day. This simply means a day that is set apart or different from other days. It was set apart as a day of rest.

Why do we find this ceremonial commandment to keep the sabbath numbered among the 10 commandments? It is the longest of all the commandments and is even placed before all the moral commandments such as ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Do not steal’? I suggest 3 reasons:

• The sabbath embodies the gospel. Central to the whole gospel message is the fact that God gave. Man did not earn. We have earned or deserved nothing. God freely gave his only son to save us from our sin.

• The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Slaves are not given days off! The whole idea was absolutely new and revolutionary.

• The sabbath, as we will now see, is the foundation of all other Hebrew festivals.

I have written a separate article on the Sabbath . http://www.growthingod.org.uk/sabbath.htm

Annual Festivals

The idea of a sabbath rest is the foundation of all the other celebrations of the old covenant. When we look at the festivals we find that no unnecessary work must be done on any of them.

Pentecost is the Greek name for the Hebrew (shavuot) or Festival of Weeks. This is how it is described in Lev 23: 15, 16: ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.’ We see then that this festival was a sabbath of sabbaths.

The sabbath is a special day. That is what the word holy means - set apart or special. The seventh sabbath is a special day among special days.

For comparison, what do we mean by the King of kings? A king is a unique and special person, above all his subjects. The King of kings is a unique and special person among kings. He is so special that before him even kings are as ordinary people and bow before him.

What do we mean by the holy of holies? The holy place is a place that is set apart and special and different from ordinary places. The holy of holies is special and set apart even when compared with the holy place.

So also then a sabbath of sabbaths is special and set apart even when compared with the sabbath. Pentecost or shavuot was a sabbath of sabbaths, special and holy even among sabbaths.

The seventh day of the week or sabbath was a special day, and we also find that the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar was a special month. In it there were 3 festivals and 4 extra sabbath days. The first day of the seventh month was the Festival of Trumpets. This was also a sabbath. Likewise the tenth day of the seventh month was a sabbath. This was the great Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur was followed on the fifteenth day of the seventh month by the 8 day Festival of Booths or Tabernacles. The first and last days of this festival were also sabbaths.

We see then that not only was the seventh day of the week a special day, but also that the seventh month was a special month containing 3 festivals and 4 extra sabbath days.

I have written a separate article on the The Festivals of Israel http://www.growthingod.org.uk/festival.htm

Next Part Sabbatical Years