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The name Jubilee has a couple of possible derivations. It's either from the Hebrew term Yobel meaning a blast on the trumpet (the Jubilee year was announced by the blowing of a Shofar - a ram's horn - during Yom Kippur); or else it is from the Latin Jubilo - meaning shout.
Either indicates a celebration of enormous importance and joy. English words like "enjoy" and "Jublilation" come from the same root.
We saw yesterday how the Sabbath years were part of the way God built the principles of Rest, Reliance and Rejoicing into the life of his people Israel.
But the Jubilee, the 50th Year had another important function. In addition to the above, it was also about Release and Restoration.
Because in the Jubilee year, it wasn't just the land and the farmers that were released from having to do any work - anyone who was indentured as a slave was also released.
We tend to think of slavery today in absolute terms. Someone who is completely owned by another for life, and has no possible means of escape. Slavery in ancient Israel, and in much of the ancient world was practised in a very different way - more like the practice of bonded labour, where you effectively sign up with an employer for a period of time. In Israel, this time period was intended to be calculated from the Jubilee that came round every 50 years.
So if I got into debt or some kind of economic trouble, I could "sign up" as a slave, knowing that when I heard the blast of the trumpet that marks the start of Jubilee, my contract is over and I am free to go.
This release from slavery mirrors God's great saving act in Israel's history in Egypt. He put an end to their slavery and released them for a life of freedom under his loving rule.
Fast forward 1500 years to a hillside outside Jerusalem, and we see what the Exodus and the Jubliee year is really pointing to. God's ultimate act of salvation, as the Lord Jesus dies to set us free from the penalty of sin, so that we can live a life of freedom under his loving rule.
Jubilee is about celebrating the reign of the British Sovereign, Elizabeth. During here reign the UK has known a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity. But the Jubilee ultimately urges us to celebrate the reign of the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus whose brings peace with God and whose service is perfect freedom.
Call back tomorrow for some thoughts on Restoration...
Bunting? Check!
Cucumber sandwiches? Check!
Union Jack hat and Umbrella? Check!
Britain is preparing for a big party that will kick off a summer of celebration, starting with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration this coming weekend, and culminating in the Olympics in August. We're all looking forward to having a fantastic Summer of Fun - and the good weather has arrived just in time!
But behind it all the excitement, the niggling worry about how we will afford it all in this time of economic austerity never quite goes away.
Which is a little how the people of God must have felt about the original Jubilee celebrations commanded by God in Leviticus 25.
As part of his instructions to his redeemed people, the Lord ordained that the weekly pattern of 6-days work one-day rest was to be repeated with years. So people were to sow their fields and reap a regular harvest for six years, but the seventh year was also to be a sabbath year. They were to let their fields lie fallow - to plant nothing. They were to live from the things that grew naturally in the fields, and from crops stored from previous harvests.
But in addition to this there was another Mega-sabbath to be kept. After seven of these sabbath years - 49 years - they were to celebrate a special year of Jubilee on the 50th year.
These seven-year farming sabbaths model good land management in ancient cultures. Leaving land fallow allows it to "recover" and remain fruitful over time. When land is overworked it's productive value drops over time.
But it wasn't pragmatics that drove the Sabbath rule - they had a spiritual purpose. It was to teach them that there is more to life than work, work, work. It was to teach them to trust God for provision. It was to reflect the character and nature of God as a worker who rested and rejoiced in his handiwork.
Every time a sabbath year came round, no doubt they would be looking forward to having a "sabbatical". It was a chance to rest and to celebrate. But what would they eat? What would they live off? As well as planning for it with the storage of crops, they would also have to rely on God's provision to see them through the year. In order to be obedient to God's law, they needed to trust that He would supply their needs. They needed to trust in Jehovah Jireh - The Lord our Provider (See Genesis 22 v 14)
But in addition to Rest, Reliance and Rejoicing, the Jubilee was designed to model and show one other really important thing.
Call back into the blog tomorrow to discover what that is...
Have you ever been asked this question? On one level, it’s asking something very simple – have you responded to the Gospel by turning from your sins and putting your trust in Christ?
But as you dig into the way the Bible talks about salvation in general, it becomes less easy to answer. Because in general, the Bible speaks of three tenses to salvation. Past present and future. It is, at one and the same time, a past event, something with is currently going on in me, and something which I am waiting to receive in the New Creation.... continue reading
I'm David. I do Sales, Marketing, PR and Social Media at TGBC and pretty much whatever else I'm asked to do! I also organise the Friday Blog offers so if you have any suggestions please comment below and we'll see what we can do for a one-off offer.
After over 5 years of running the 11-13 year old youth group at church I now help lead a Sunday School for 5 year olds, which is a change of pace. It's a constant reminder to work hard at explaining the gospel to people at different ages and stages. It's such a joy to see gospel truths being grasped.
My main hobby at the moment is golf although I do enjoy a bit of boxing and am contemplating whether I should take up Mixed Martial Arts (don't tell my mum!!). I get bored very easily so I have to keep learning and doing new things.
My favourite passage in the Bible is Psalm 23. 'The Lord is MY Shepherd' has kept me going through many trials in my life.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8
God made us. We are made to know God ourselves, and we are made to show God to others. When we see that, we see what great value we have as human beings. It's not our achievements or intelligence or economic usefulness that gives us worth — it is being made by God.
Two great offers on Discipleship Explored.
This morning we posted a video with Barry Cooper, the writer and presenter of Discipleship Explored. In it he explains why he wrote it and how churches can use it. If you don't know much about the course or are looking for a discipleship course watch the video here and find out more.
For those that want to have a look at how it all works you can get 20% off a Sample Pack which includes one of each of the components to run the course. These can be bought from our UK, US, and Australian websites.
For one week only, you can get an amazing 50% off the course handbooks. Simply use the code de50 at checkout to redeem this offer.
We hope this deepens discipleship in your churches.
Offer expires 01/06/2012
Barry Cooper, author and presenter of Discipleship Explored, talks about the thinking behind the course and why Philippians is such a great book to study on the theme of discipleship.
My name is Brodi and I am the newest member to the The Good Book Company team. I am a recent graduate from Patrick Henry College where I majored in government and political theory. I enjoyed my studies very much and still like to read philosophy and theology. A hobby of mine is painting miniatures for historical dioramas and gaming. My favorite scale to paint is 15mm because they are small enough to paint a lot of them in a short amount of time. I think my favorite part of it all is studying the history of the various periods or themes that I'm painting.
So, I have just finished my first full week here at The Good Book Company. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to work with fellow Christians in spreading God’s Word. Furthermore, I love reading books. Imagine how excited I am to sit at my desk with an entire shelf of books right next to me. I look forward to reading all these books!... continue reading
