The Jubilee Year
This is the fourth in a series on the Jubilee Year of 2025.
The Jubilee was the single most radical societal command God ever gave the people of Israel, an intensification of the Sabbath Year. If carried out properly, it was meant to most perfectly restore those gifts of Eden I’ve mentioned before: God’s forgiveness, total freedom, a family relationship with their Creator, and the fullness of God’s blessing. To do this, the Jubilee proclaimed redemption of debt, release from slavery, return to ancestral land, and rest for the year (Lev. 25:8-55).
God commanded that the Jubilee take place every 7th Sabbath Year (7x7=49 years). On the Day of Atonement that year, when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies with sacrificial lamb’s blood to purge the people of the year’s sinfulness, a trumpet (yobel-“jubilee”) would sound through the land to proclaim that God had redeemed (paid off) Israel’s spiritual debt. Redemption and reconciliation with their fellow man followed: all slavery was ended and debts were forgiven. The Day of Atonement was like a great spiritual exorcism that rid the people of demonic captivity. Once redeemed, God’s forgiveness would flow once more upon the nation of Israel.
As in the Sabbath Year, because all debts were cancelled, indentured servants were released from their bondage and set free. But in addition, any family land sold to pay off debts was released back to the original owner. When Israel first entered the Promised Land, each tribe and family unit was given a portion of the land as their inheritance. While meant to stay in the family forever, hard times often caused families to settle debts by parting with their land. Every jubilee, each plot returned to its original family, so that the cycle of poverty would not crush people forever. The release of the land meant that families could return to reclaim it for themselves. Imagine the joy of caravans of families criss-crossing Israel to take possession of their family’s land once more! As Gerald O’Hara told his daughter Scarlett in Gone With the Wind: “land is the only thing in the world worth workin' for, worth fightin' for, worth dyin' for, because it's the only thing that lasts.” Land preserved individual family life and ultimately the nation of Israel, God’s own family. Finally, as in the Sabbath Year, the people were commanded to rest for the year and rely on the fullness of God's provident generosity. “The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell in it securely” (Lev. 25:19). God promised that the previous year’s yield would cover the people’s needs while they (and the land) rested.
The Jubilee was the single biggest event in any Israelite’s lifetime! It was literally life-changing for many who had longed for financial redemption, for release from slavery, to return to their lands, and to enjoy God’s rest in a full way. Everything else was building toward this year-long exercise in trust in God’s providence and justice toward one’s neighbor. Next week, we’ll explore the jubilee’s impact on Jewish history.
