I think this is the year of Jubilee when all evil is coming to the
surface to Bring in the Kingdom of God to all. Love, Linda Cosentino
Jubilee, Year
of
Year beginning on the Day of Atonement every fiftieth
year and proclaiming a nationwide release for Hebrew
society. The word “jubilee” comes from the Hebrew word
yobel,(“ram’s horn”) for the sounding of the
ram’s horn signalled the Jubilee’s beginning. Another
related Hebrew word is deror (“release,
liberty”).
The key text, Leviticus 25:8-55, describes the
festival’s three basic features. First, as in the
sabbath year ( Lev 25:2-7 ), the land
was to be fallow. The people were not to farm the
land, but were to eat what grew naturally. Both people
and land should enjoy their release.
Second, all Hebrew slaves were to go free. The law
allowed poor people to become slaves to pay their
debts. Owners were to treat their Hebrew slaves
kindly. All slaves were to be freed in the Year of
Jubilee.
Third, the land reverted to its original owner. This
practice ensured that no citizen would remain poor or
a slave forever. A person who sold land to another was
really selling a certain number of crops, so the
number of years before the Jubilee, determined the
sale price. Property within walled cities did not
revert in the Year of Jubilee except for the property
of the Levites, which was always redeemable. A few
other modifications of the normal procedure also
existed. Daughters who inherited land had to marry
within their own tribes in order to keep the land ( Num 36:4 ). The law also
prevented individuals from abusing the reversion
principle. People who vowed a portion of their fields
to the Lord and then sold them to escape their vows
could never get their land back; rather, the ownership
transferred to the priests ( Lev 27:21 ).
The Year of Jubilee contained two important
theological implications. First, the land belonged to
the Lord, who determined its proper use. The people
were to avoid selfish accumulation of land ( Isa5:8 ), for it did not
really belong to them. Second, God’s people were to be
free. Even when one was in slavery, redemption was
possible. In any case, the Year of Jubilee freed all.
Freedom was always the ultimate goal.
Unfortunately, evidence from the Old Testament seems
to indicate that Israel hardly ever celebrated the
sabbath year or the Year of Jubilee. Christ’s quoting
of Isaiah 61:1and the word deror may suggest
that Christ’s ministry provided the ultimate
fulfillment of the jubilee concept ( Luke 4:16-21 ).