What I Noticed Today (Leviticus 24-25)
Leviticus 24
Leviticus 24 reviews ceremonial regulations regarding the tabernacle oil and the bread, and the punishment for blasphemy.
In verses 1-9, the Lord gives Moses regulations for the Israelites regarding the olive oil used to light the tabernacle lamps and the showbread for the table:
- The oil for the lamps was made from olives, and they were to be kept burning at all times.
- Aaron is to tend the lamp continually from evening until morning outside the veil of the testimony.
Note: There were no windows in the tabernacle, so the only light was supplied by the oil lamps.
- The bread for the tabernacle was to be baked fresh daily.
- Twelve loaves, one for each of the tribes, were to be placed on the table in two rows of six each. Only the priests were allowed to eat the bread. As they placed fresh bread every Sabbath, they were to eat the old bread in a holy place.
Note: These loaves were a reminder God fed the nation both spiritually and physically.
In verses 10-16, a case of blasphemy occurred among the Israelites:
- The son of an Egyptian father and Israelite mother got in a fight with another Israelite man. The son cursed and blasphemed the Name of God.
- They brought the son to Moses and held him in custody until the Lord’s decision was made clear.
- The Lord said the son was to be taken outside the camp and stoned by the entire Israelite community because he had cursed and blasphemed the name of God.
In verses 17-22, additional guidelines for proportionate justice are given:
- If a man kills another man, he must be put to death.
- Whoever kills an animal must make restitution for the animal.
- If a man injures another man, the same injuries shall be inflicted on him.
- The same laws apply to a native as well as a foreign-born resident who lives among you.
Note: The punishment for blasphemy was death. The parents were not held responsible for the behavior of their son. Each person bore the responsibility for their own sin.
Note: Justice, as outlined in this chapter, is both equal and proportional. Visitors were to be treated just like the Israelites, with no preferential treatment. Additionally, proportionate justice, as described in the many phrases like “eye for an eye” is not to be taken literally, but figuratively. It means the punishment should be proportional to the crime, up to and including capital punishment.
Leviticus 25
Leviticus 25 describes the treatment of the land during the Sabbath year and the year of Jubilee (the 50th year).
In verses 1-7, the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, giving him instructions for a Sabbath year for the land:
- Just as the people were to rest on the Sabbath every seven days, the land was to be allowed to rest every seventh year.
- Every seventh year they were not to plant crops or tend the vineyards but allow the land to rest.
- Whatever the land produces, you may eat.
Note: The land, the animals, and the people were to rest. God promised that the harvest the year before would be enough to hold them over through the year of rest until the harvest of the following year. This required great faith!
In verses 8-55, the Lord provides Moses instructions regarding the year of Jubilee. The instructions regulated the observance of the Jubilee, the redemption of the land, and the redemption of slaves.
In verses 8-22, Moses receives instructions from the Lord regarding the observance of the Jubilee:
- Count 49 years from the time you enter the land. On the tenth day of the seventh month (the Day of Atonement), blow a trumpet, consecrate the year, and proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants.
- The fiftieth year will be your year of Jubilee. You will return to your property and to your clan. You are not to plant crops but are to eat only what grows on its own. It is holy to you.
- You are to return the property to the original owner. If you make a purchase of property, its price is to be based on the number of years since the last Jubilee. A higher price if there are many years until the next Jubilee, a lower price if fewer years.
- You must keep My statutes and ordinances and carefully observe them. If you do, then you will live securely in the land, you will have enough to eat, and be satisfied.
- I will cause My blessing in the sixth year to bring enough for you to eat from it until the ninth year when the crop comes in.
In verses 23-38, Moses receives instructions from the Lord regarding the redemption of property during the Jubilee:
- The land is not to be permanently sold because it is Mine (God’s).
- You are to allow redemption of the land. If a brother becomes destitute and sells part of his land, his nearest relative may come and redeem what was sold. If the man has no redeemer but prospers, he may calculate the price and redeem the land. If the man does not have enough to redeem the land it will remain in the name of the purchaser until the Year of Jubilee, and then it will be returned to him.
- If a man sells a house in a walled city, then his right of redemption lasts one year. After that, the property is permanently transferred to the new owner. But houses in unwalled cities are to be considered like open fields and are to be released in the year of Jubilee.
- Houses in Levitical cities may always be redeemed and must be released in the year of Jubilee. The open pastureland around a Levitical city may not be sold, it is their permanent possession.
- If a brother among you becomes destitute, you must support him as a foreigner or temporary resident. You may not profit from him or charge him interest.
In verses 39-55, Moses receives instructions from the Lord regarding the redemption of slaves during the Jubilee:
- If a brother becomes destitute and sells himself to you, you must not submit him to slave labor. He must be allowed to stay with you as a hired hand.
- He may work for you until the year of Jubilee. Then he and his family are to be released so they may return to their clan and property.
- They are not to be sold as slaves.
- You are not to rule over them harshly.
- You may purchase slaves from the nations around you. You may leave them to your sons and daughters as an inheritance.
- If a brother becomes destitute and sells himself to a foreigner living among you, he may be redeemed. Any close relative may redeem him, or he may redeem himself. His redemption price will be determined by the number of years remaining until the year of Jubilee. A foreign owner is not to rule over him harshly. He and his family are to be released in the year of Jubilee.
- The Israelites are My slaves that I brought out of Egypt.
Note: The law of the kinsman-redeemer is established in this chapter (seen in practice in the book of Ruth). The land and the people were to be redeemed by their nearest relative. Even the poor who might sell themselves into slavery were allowed to be redeemed and would be freed in the year of Jubilee.
Note: In chapter 25, we see very clearly that the land and the people in it belong to the Lord. He expected the Israelites to treat the land, each other, and even visitors in the manner He prescribed.
Some additional thoughts for consideration:
- As good as our justice system is today, it is flawed because it is administered by fallible humans. Justice is sometimes, but not always, equal or proportionate.
- Wouldn’t life be better if we could all live remembering that the land and everything in it belongs to the Lord and that He is merely letting us use it for a few years while we are here on earth?!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
