Chapter 25

1 The sabbath of the seventh year. 8 The jubile in the fiftieth year. 14 Of oppression. 18 A blessing of obedience. 23 The redemption of land. 29 Of houses. 35 Compassion of the poor. 39 The usage of bondmen. 47 The redemption of servants.

2. The land keep a sabbath. The weekly Sabbath was made for man; now God announces a “sabbath” rest for the land also. All work on the land was to cease, and the land was to rest. What grew of itself might be used by anyone, rich or poor, including the stranger.

8. Seven sabbaths of years. That is, after 49 years. At the close of the Day of Atonement the trumpet was to be blown and the year of jubilee proclaimed.

10. The fiftieth year. Opinion has long differed as to whether the jubilee was the year following the sabbatical 49th, resulting in two successive cropless years, or whether the 50th year, counted inclusively, was the same as the 49th. One prevailing Jewish opinion is that the former was true under the first temple, and the latter afterwards. Verses 8–11 and the analogy of the Pentecost reckoning (ch. 23:15, 16), seem to imply a separate jubilee year, but vs. 20–22 are ambiguous. The only sabbatical years mentioned in history are after the exile, and they are not referred to as jubilees.

We have no historical proof of how, or whether, Israel followed these instructions before the captivity. There is little doubt that after the captivity the Jews observed at least the seventh year and that God did bless them. The best evidence of this observance is the fact that Alexander the Great, and later Julius Caesar, exempted the Jews from paying taxes in sabbatical years, on the ground that they would have no income that year (Josephus Antiquities xi. 8. 6; xiv. 10. 6).

15. Number of years. No man could sell land in perpetuity, but only until the year of jubilee. In that year all land returned to its original owner. This was no hardship to the man who had bought the property and now had to return it, for he had purchased it with a clear understanding that he must return it in the year of jubilee. Thus, if a man sold his property five years before the year of jubilee, he would not receive much for it; for there would be but a few harvests till that year.

20. What shall we eat? How could Israel subsist for an entire year, possibly two, without working their fields and garnering any harvest? God had foreseen this.

23. The land is mine. Though God had given the land of Palestine to His people, He still held title to it. The Israelites were stewards, not owners.

The sabbatical year and the year of jubilee were unique institutions without parallel in any other religion. What other religion than that of Jehovah would dare command its followers to abstain from work one year in seven and promise them God’s blessing and protection so that in the sixth year the land would yield enough for two years? Would not the failure of their God in giving them such a phenomenal increase be the undoing of their religion? Should God fail to provide, after one such experience the people would nevermore worship Jehovah.

It was at the close of the Day of Atonement in Tishri (v. 9) that the trumpets were blown and liberty was proclaimed. What a happy moment this must have been for those who had been in servitude and who had that day received atonement for their sins, and were now set at liberty. They could go home to begin life anew.

24. A redemption for the land. All property would automatically revert to the original owner in the year of jubilee, but it might be redeemed at any time by the owner, or by one of his kinsmen, upon payment of that which was due. The amount due was to be reckoned by the number of harvests between the time of redemption and the year of jubilee. The one who had bought the property paid for it according to the number of harvests until the year of jubilee—omitting of course the sabbatical years, when there was no harvest—and he was to be repaid accordingly. This provision enabled a man to recover his property at any time.

25. Thy brother be waxen poor. This legislation favored the poor and encouraged him to work for the recovery of his property. God sought to prevent some people from becoming very rich and others very poor. Had God’s original plan forthe land and for servitude been followed, extremes of poverty and wealth would have been unknown.

29. A dwelling house. Here the situation was entirely different, and a different rule applied. According to the ordinary rules of redemption, the purchaser of city property could have been dispossessed at any time. But such property could be “redeemed” only during the first year after it was sold. If it had not been redeemed within that time the buyer could retain it permanently. Inasmuch as the house had not been sold with the year of jubilee in mind, this was an outright sale, and thus not redeemable.

31. Houses of the villages. These were counted as belonging to “the fields,” and could therefore be redeemed at any time, and would return to the original owner in the year of jubilee. The Levites, however, were exempt from this provision. Their property could be redeemed at any time and would in any event revert to the owners in the year of release. The fields in the suburbs of their cities were common property, and could never be sold.

35. If thy brother. A brother, a stranger, or a sojourner in need was to be relieved. One who was comfortably situated must not take usury from a poor brother, nor make a profit on food sold to him (see on Ex. 22:25). Thus again is shown God’s care for the poor. God had delivered Israel from Egypt and was about to take them into the land of Canaan. As they had been the recipients of so much kindness, God wanted them to be kind to the unfortunate (see Matt. 10:8). Only thus could they receive God’s approval.

39. Serve as a bondservant. An Israelite who had been sold to serve another was not to be treated as a slave but as a hired servant. He was not to be treated harshly, and was to be released in the year of jubilee. It was not necessary for a servant to await the year of jubilee to be redeemed. The law provided for his release after any six years of service, if he so desired (see Ex. 21:1–6).

47. Sell himself unto the stranger. An Israelite who had become poor and sold himself into servitude could redeem himself, if able, or be redeemed, even from a non-Israelite. The price paid varied according to the years remaining until the year of release, for in that year he would automatically go out free. Thus the price paid for a servant and the price paid for his redemption were both reckoned in terms of the length of service before the year of liberty.

Ellen G. White comments

4 FE 323

4, 5 Ed 43; PP 531

5 PP 531

8-11PP 533

8-13Ed 43

10 MH 185

14 MH 188

17 DA 555

21, 22 PP 531

23 PP 534

23-28MH 184

25 DA 327

35 MH 186

35-37DA 555; PP 532; 1T 534

40 PP 533

47-49DA 327