It' Time To Celebrate"

IT'S A CELEBRATION; JESUS CHRIST

 

Leviticus 25:8-12,25,35,36,39,40, 47.48,55

 

GOD COMMANDS MAN TO TAKE A BREAK

V:8. "And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years."

A. The sabbath was commanded by God to be a day of rest. He created the universe in

     six days and He rested on the seventh day.

    1. He established a sabbath year of rest for the land and the animals.

        a. The Israelites were commanded to work the land for six years and rest on the

             seventh year.

    2. God does not only care about the welfare of man, but the welfare of all that provides

        for the comfort of man.

        a. God cares about the animals.

        b. God cares about the ground.

        c. God cares about the welfare of everything that supplies the comfort of man.

   3. The comfort of man requires time for praise and reflection.

       a. The comfort of man requires time for rest and relaxation.

   4. God planned a special year of celebration after 49 years.

      a. Men need a special dedicated time to celebrate the Lord.

      b. Celebration brings families together for fellowship and worship. 

V:9. "Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all

your land."

A. Jubile=teruwah= acclamation of joy

    1. atonement= kippur= act of reconciliation

    2. The Jews were to start their preparation for the year of jubilee five months prior.

        a. As we get near to the time of celebration, we ought to get prepared for the

            excitement.

        b. Everybody was to be reminded of the time of celebration.

        c. The trumpet was used to sound the alert that praise time was near.

        d. The trumpet was used to awake men from their work routine to celebration.

        e. Every once in a while, we need to get out of the work routine and get into the

            celebration mode.

 B. The year of jubilee was the year of liberty when God restored property and family

      to their original conditions.

     1. Men were released from all debts and obligation to other men.

     2. God has released us from the debt of sin.

         a. Salvation is liberty from the pits of hell. Luke 4:18

         b. Jesus Christ is the atonement for our sin.

         c. Jesus death on the cross reconciled believers to the Father.  

        d. Every Sunday is a day of jubilee for the believer.

GOD PROVIDES LIBERTY

V:10. "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family."

 A. God knows that left to ourselves, we will destroy the blessing He has given us.

     1. God will not leave us in our sins.

     2. He reconciles us back into fellowship.

     3. Real liberty is found only in fellowship with Father.

     4. God may let us suffer the consequences of our sin before He bring us back to

         himself.

B. The year of jubilee was to be hallowed.

    1. Hallow= qadash= to be clean, keep holy.

    2. The year of jubilee was to be a year of reflection on the goodness of the Lord.

    3. Sunday is the day we ought to give God the glory.

    4. Sunday is the day we ought to praise and honor God.

C. The year of jubilee was the year when God returned the Israelites to there starting

     point.

    1. Property that was lost was returned to the original family.

    2. Man's debt was forgiven.

V:11. "A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed."

A. Trusting requires us to look beyond the normal and believe the impossible.

    1. The Jews were required to take a year off from farming and eat whatever   

        grew in the ground on it's own.

    2. This required them to trust God to provide all of their needs.

B. Faith in Jesus requires us to trust God for all we need.

    1. God is able to provide.

    2. God is willing to provide.

    3. God will provide for those He loves.

V:12. "For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field."

A. God expects everyone to be considerate of his brothers.

    1. Don't be greedy.

    2. Collect only what you need.

    3. Don't store up anything.

B. The Jews were expected to trust God completely.

    1. Anything less than complete trust is doubt.

    2. Anything less than complete trust is unpleasing to God.

C. When we completely trust God, there is no fear about anything.

     1. When we completely trust God, we expect God to make a way out

          of no way.

     2. When we completely trust God our tomorrows are filled with joy.

 D. If you hold your day as holy, then you know that God is in control.

     1. When you know God is in control, you will fear nothing.

BLESSING FOR THE POOR

V:25. " If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold."

 A. God makes provisions for our future circumstances.

      1.God knows beforehand what problems we will face, so He sets up rules,

          regulations and laws to protect us.

      2. At  the time this command was given to the Israelites, no one was poor.

          a. God knew that in the course of time, some would become poor.

          b. God put in place a plan of recovery for His people.

 B. It is God's desire that the family unity be preserved.

     1. The 12 tribes of Israel would stay in tact throughout time.

     2. God love for us is not dependant on our obedience to Him.

 C. God makes the family members responsible for maintaining the family.

     1. God gives family members the resources to maintain the family unity.

     2. The family unit can fall apart unless other family members step in and help.

     3. Some things God gives us should be handed down to the next generation.

V:35 "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you."

A. God commands us to help others who are not members of our immediate family.

   1. A community that stands together grows stronger.

   2. We have all been helped along the way.

   3. What ever we have God has made it possible through  others.

   4. We have a job because God opened the door for us to get it.

   5. We have our health because God supplied it.

   6. Since we cannot claim to have gained anything without the help of others,

       we ought to help those in need.

B. A brother in need is our opportunity to express our gratefulness to God for

     His goodness.

   1. God has made us our brothers keeper.

   2. What ever we do for someone in need, we do for God. Mat 25:40, 45

   3. When we help someone in need, we store blessings in heaven for ourselves.

        Mat 19:21

V:36. " Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you."

A. If you loan a family member money, do not charge interest on the loan.

    1. All that we have is a loan from the Lord.

       a. We have never had to pay interest on God's blessings.

       b. God's blessings are continuous.

B. We have a right to expect repayment of a loan.

    1. When we open our hearts, we have to leave the repayment to the Lord.

    2. There are times when repayment will not come from the person you made the

         loan too.

C. Your loan to a family member may help them stay well.

    1. Because you love the Lord, you help without worry about being paid back.

    2. Notice the text says "fear God", which means  to trust Him with your income.

V.39. "If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave."

A. When someone obligates himself to you because a loan or your help, be careful to  

     treat him with respect.

   1. A person in need is not your opportunity to abuse him.

      a. A poor person does not have the means to repay you other than by his labor.

      b. You gain more from a person by being kind than by being mean.

      c A kind word is always encouraging. 

   2. We are all obligated to God because of the gift of His Son for our sins.

V:40. " He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. "

A. The Jews were commanded to treat those indebted to them with respect.

    1. The debt was to be forgiven in the 50th year, the year of Liberty.

    2. The Lord had a plan to restore man to right fellowship with his family.

    3. The Lord had a plan to keep man in the family.

B. All believers have a year of Liberty.

    2. We were liberated by the Lord Jesus Christ from our sins.

    3. We live continuously in the year of Liberty.

    4. The Lord keeps us in the family by the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Eph 4:30

        a. Jesus said, "What the Father has given me, I lose none." John 6:39

V:47. "If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan.

A. Notice the "IF". God did not free Israel from Egypt to become a slave again.

    1. God promised success to Israel, if they obeyed His commands.

    2. The "IF" indicates that God knows that man is incapable of keeping His commands.

    3. The "IF" indicates that because of man's disobedience, strangers will get rich.

    4. The "IF" indicates that God will allow man to suffer the consequences of his

        disobedience.

 B. The "IF" indicates that God has a plan to redeem man from his sins.

    1. The GOOD NEWS is that we are in God's plan of redemption.

V:48. " He retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him."

A. God grew the nation of Israel into a nation to serve Him.

    1. He will not allow Israel to be destroyed.

    2. God promised Abraham that his seed would bless all the nations of the earth.

        Gen. 18:18

    3. God promised David that his kingdom would have no end. 2 Sam 7:16

B. The nation of Israel may suffer, but in the end all Israel will be saved. Rom 11:26

    1. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior was given the authority to redeem all mankind.

        Rom 5:18

    2. All believers are the redeemed of the Lord. Ti 2:13-14, Gal 4:4-5

V:55. " For the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought

 out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. "

 A. The Lord keeps His promises.

    1. The Lord's promises are not dependant on our goodness.

    2. The Lord blesses us even in our sins.

 B. The best thing man can do is to make the Lord his God.

    1. Man would do well to serve the Lord.

    2. Man would do well to trust the Lord.

    3. Man would do well to love the Lord.

    4. There is no greater love than the love of the Lord.