Leviticus 25:18-34 NKJV
18 ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.
20 ‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.
23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.
25 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.
29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. 33 And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.
Today’s section of Leviticus 25 begins with God’s command for the people to observe His statutes, keep His judgments, and perform them. God made two promises to those who observed these statutes. First, the land would be so productive that the Israelites would be secure and have more than enough to eat. Second, God allayed their understandable fears about making ends meet in the Sabbatical Years. He personally promised then that He would bless them so richly and provide such a bumper harvest for them on the sixth year so that they would not just have enough to last until the eighth year, but into the ninth year as well as they sow new crops and wait for them to come to fruition. He therefore called on them to trust in His provision for them by observing the Sabbatical Years. Simply stated, God says, “Do what I say, and all will be well. Believe Me and trust in My care for you.” The unspoken truth is also obvious: Disobey Me, and you will suffer.
In the second part of the speech, God elaborated on what He had said in 25:10b about the return of the Israelites to their patrimony by instituting the right of redemption for the land and its tenants. The particular cases of redemption were introduced by a general decree from God in 25:23-24. The right of redemption was based on God’s ownership of the land. It was His royal estate. This meant that the Israelites too belonged to God as His royal servants. They, then, were not landowners. Rather, they resided on the land at His discretion, as if they were resident aliens. So, since both the land and the people belonged to God, He decreed that the people should provide for the redemption of the land. The cases that follow show that this has two sides to it. On the one hand, all leased land returned to its original holders. On the other hand, all landholders returned to their landholdings.
By God-given faith we believe God’s Word and promises, particularly the promise of eternal life in Christ. We disobey to our eternal peril but obey (believe) to our eternal blessing.
Let us pray: Thank You, Lord, for your promises and blessings; through Christ our Lord. Amen