Imagine if today’s reading were written directly to you and me in 2025: Every 50 years would be declared a year of jubilee and debts would be forgiven—personal debts, credit card bills, student loans, medical debt, etc: a full economic reset. And not just that, but all of the land would get a reset as well—no tilling, planting, collecting—just a year of rest and healing for the land. All would be forgiven, enslaved people would be set free (yes, there are still enslaved people today), and everyone would experience a geographical reset as we would go back to our “family property.” But wait—whose “property” is the land here in the US and how far back do I need to go in my 23 & Me results to find out which ancestral land I should return to?
Okay, so it’s a bit confusing how this might work in 2025. But now imagine reading this passage as an ancient Israelite—this is good news! You could trust that at least once in your lifetime, you would experience a full reset. All would be made new. You could start over.
Studying up on Leviticus 25 and the year of jubilee in order to write this devotional has been inspiring. A few years ago I started practicing a weekly sabbath and I quickly found all of the rhythms of my life shifting in response. Sabbath gives me a little weekly foretaste of what human beings were created into on the 7th day of creation and what we have to look forward to in the future as we rest in the eternal presence of God.
What I’ve learned these past few weeks is that the year of jubilee is like a super sabbath. The rest, forgiveness, and redemption are super-sized. By allowing the land to rest, we are declaring divine ownership—it all belongs to God anyways. By pressing “reset” on our relationships, we are providing everyone an opportunity to start anew. The year of jubilee is a declaration of redemption and freedom. It’s the opposite of exile. It is a whole year of Eden. It is a foretaste of the kingdom of God. It is a way of practicing in the present what we believe about the future—that all will be forgiven, relationships will be reset, that all will be made new.
For reflection:
- 2025 has been officially declared a year of jubilee for Christians all around the world. How can you live out the call to jubilee in your life this year? How would your relationships change?
- Read the book of Philemon (it’s short!). How does what you have learned about Jubilee impact your understanding of this book?
by Liz Carver
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