2. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
3. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
7. And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
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.
9. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee 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.
10. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
Leviticus 25:1-10 KJV
In the same way that God gave man six days to work, and then a sabbath day of rest, He also gave the land a rest from normal planting and harvesting. Six years were given for normal agricultural use, with the seventh year set aside as a sabbath of rest.
This practice allowed the land to replenish nutrients in the soil as it lay fallow for a year. But more than that, it was a recognition that all we have comes from God. He owns all, and we are stewards of what He entrusts us with. Something like this would demand faith.
God would be faithful to provide enough in the sixth year to last through the seventh and eighth years until that harvest came in.
20. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
21. Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
22. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
Leviticus 25:29-22 KJV
This is reminiscent of the wilderness experience, when they relied upon the manna that God sent down every morning. They were to take enough for each day, but the day before the sabbath they were to take enough for two days. Therefore they would not have to gather on the sabbath (Exodus 16:23-25).
After seven sets of seven year periods, or forty-nine years, the trumpet was to be blown on the tenth day of the seventh month of Tishri, the day of atonement. A fiftieth year of jubilee was hallowed. This fiftieth year was technically still the forty-ninth year not a consecutive one. This line of thought is referred to as inclusive numbering. A similar concept to that of Jesus' resurrection after three days. Placed in the tomb Friday before sundown, in the tomb all of Saturday, risen early Sunday morning. I have also seen it explained as the fiftieth year is also the same as year one in the beginning of the next seven year sabbath cycle. At any rate the seven year numbering remains the same. Seven cycles of years equal forty-nine years, ten jubilee cycles equal 490 years.
During this year of Jubilee, land leased out to others reverted back to the ancestral line of ownership. Individuals who due to unfortunate circumstances were now in servitude to another were released and could return home. The year of Jubilee was a time for the releasing of debt. The law carefully lays out a system meant to take care of the poor, or one who had encountered hardship. People had to be honest and fair with one another. The valuation of a sale of land, or the redemption of one who had sold himself into servitude was based on the number of years unto the Jubilee. Again, this was a system meant to take care of someone in need. To take advantage of someone in their hardship was forbidden. (Leviticus 25:13-55).
The land was central to this. Released slaves returned to their own clans and ancestral possession. Land sold (this is probably more like a lease agreement) was restored to its ancestral line of ownership. One could not "buy up" land for the sake of owning more property. This is soundly condemned in Isaiah 5:8-10, where we read of individuals joining "house to house and adding field to field."
The LORD, speaking of this in the passage we are looking at, has this to say,
The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
Leviticus 25:23-24 KJV
Although the land spoken of here is that which was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an eternal inheritance, the LORD God was still owner, and had the sole right to determine what was done with it. This piece of land has been the center of controversy for thousands of years, and it will all come to a head during the final week of Daniel's prophecy.
This concept of release finds a deeper meaning in the writings of the prophets. Moving beyond a system mandated to ensure Israel's stability as an agrarian society, we read of a time of Spiritual transformation. A time of redemption from all enemies, physical, material, and spiritual.
1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath annointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2.To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God...
Isaiah 61:1-2
The day is coming when this will find it's literal fulfillment in the Millennial age. Not only will the scattered Jewish remnant be set free at the second coming of their Messiah, but they will find spiritual freedom as well. Everlasting righteousness will be brought in on a national level, and the nation will now fulfill their calling to be a light to the Gentiles,
2. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
3. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
4. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be called married.
Isaiah 62:2-4 KJV
And ultimately the return to the land, never to be uprooted again,
25. Therefore this saith the Lord God; Now I will bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and be jealous for my holy name;
26. After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
27. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
28. Then shall the know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
29. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 39:25-29 KJV
This is the ultimate Jubilee, at the end of seventy sabbath cycles. 490 years to bring about the salvation of a nation.
The law prescribed blessing for obedience and judgement for disobedience. Yet in the midst of exile on account of sin there was room for repentance and mercy,
32. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
33. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
35. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when you dwelt upon it.
Leviticus 26:32-35 KJV
Israel spent seventy years as exiles in Babylon. One year for each of the seventh year sabbaths they neglected. That was 490 years of disobedience (2 Chronicles 36:21). Now, they will face 490 years again, this time the intent is to bring about restoration, the final Jubilee, when Jesus Christ dwells among them as their God forever.
39. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
40. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespass against me, and that also they have walked contrary to me.
41. And that I also have walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Leviticus 26:39-41 KJV
To sum this up, Daniel's prophecy of seventy weeks is calibrated to the ancient cycle of seven year periods: six to work the land with a seventh year of rest. In this prophecy we have three periods of time mentioned. Seven weeks or 49 years. Then sixty-two weeks ending with the arrival of the Messiah. Now we are at 483 years. There have been sixty-nine cycles to this point. Then there is a week of seven years yet to come culminating with the salvation of national Israel and the establishment of the Messianic kingdom.
The term used to describe the seventh year of rest in this cycle is Shemitah. I hesitated to use this term, as there are some who teach that the Shemitah is a warning of God's judgement against America.
Now I believe that America is no doubt a candidate for God's judgement. One does not need to look far to see that we are on a slippery slope of immoral practice in this country. That said however, the Shemitah was part of a covenant between God and Israel. No other nation on earth is in a covenant with God. We are not expected to observe the yearly cycles that Israel as a nation were commanded to observe.
The Seventy Weeks of Daniel are markers of time based upon the Shemitah cycles that are intended for Israel's final redemption. Gabriel was sent to Daniel to explain what would happen to his people. This is who this decree is for, the nation of Israel (Daniel 9:31-24).
Again, while America is going down a dangerous path, we should not look at this as a sign for us as a nation. All nations in a sense will be affected by Daniel's final week, as it will contain the great tribulation and the return of Christ. However, to try to determine what years are Shemitah years, and then look for disasters that have occured in America during these years stretches this prophecy farther than God intended, and gets our eyes off of what we should really be focusing on as Christians. Things like this don't go away. Instead, they generate hype and sell books.
In the next part to these posts I plan to examine the events that were foretold, namely, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah.
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