Leviticus 25 – Be God’s compassionate people

Leviticus 25 contains three broad groupings. The first category, in verses 1-22, deals with the sabbath year. Since the dawn of creation, God had instituted the seventh day as a day of rest. This later became referred to as the seventh day. On that day, no work was to be done. It was a day set apart for one to rest and to connect with God. The concept of the Sabbath year is an extension of the Sabbath day. On the seventh year, a landowner must give his land a rest. In other words, he could cultivate his land for six years but in the seventh year, he must let the land rest. Nothing was to be sown on that land for that year. It’s God’s way of allowing and ensuring time for the land to renew itself. The second category covered in verses 23-38 deals with the redemption of the property in the year of Jubilee. Family property that had been used as surety would be returned to the owner in the 50^th year. God wanted to ensure that land ownership would be widely distributed. He was preventing the wealth of the nation from being accumulated by a few. Hence, the land would be returned to an owner in the year after a cycle of seven sabbath years. This year is known as the year of Jubilee. The third category described in verses 39-55 deals with the redemption of a slave in the year of Jubilee.  

In Leviticus 25 we glean principles concerning justice, fairness, social equality, mercy, and compassion. God would not have his people taking advantage of others. His people must be compassionate to ensure that his fellow brothers do not live in wants. A person who lost what he had because of his inability to settle the debt he had incurred would become debt-free in the year of Jubilee. The system was to free a person so that they would not forever be in debt. In all the instructions given in this chapter, the primary purpose of God is to build in His people a heart of mercy and compassion. As we follow the principles set out in this chapter, we learn not to exploit people in the times of their dire needs. It also teaches us to hold lightly to what we own here on earth, for our true treasure is in heaven. Everything we own on this side of life is destructible. The true indestructible treasures are those we laid in heaven. So, let us heed the word of God and lay up treasures in heaven!