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IN GOD WE TRUST! OR
DO WE?
What difference does it make whether or not someone
really believes they are a son or daughter of the King? No, I'm not talking
about being related to Elvis Presley. I'm asking - What difference
does it make whether or not a believer really believes he or she is a child of
the King of kings?
So take a moment and mentally picture the difference
between a believer who knows that his or her photo is in God's wallet and one
who finds it hard to imagine that God ever thinks of them. Or, mentally
picture the difference between someone who knows that God has sent numerous letters
to those he loves and one who has never read any of these "love" letters. Is
there any difference between a mature believer and an infant in Christ? A
believer who really knows they are a child of God:
-
enjoys being at peace with God and others.
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is grateful for all things.
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understands that all good things come from God.
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is generous toward others.
- places
their trust in God in all circumstances.
- treats
other believers as children of God.
-
With this in mind let me remind you that by his
mighty power God compelled Pharaoh to release his grip on Israel. Then
when Pharaoh changed his mind and set out in hot pursuit of his labor force God
divided the Red Sea and the Israelites went through the sea on dry land. But
when the Egyptians with their chariots pursued them the water engulfed them. Not
a single Egyptian in Pharaoh's army survived. When the Israelites saw God's
power exercised on their behalf "they put their trust in him and in Moses
his servant." [See Exodus 14:31]
During the year that followed what has become
known as the "Exodus" God met every need of everybody within Israel. In
the barren desert of Sinai he met their needs every single day. Then,
with their stomachs full, he taught them what it meant to be a nation set apart
for God. In Leviticus he provided a way for them to enter his presence,
and he taught them what it meant to be holy, to live life on his terms. He
even underlined his instructions by immediately and decisively dealing with Nadab,
Abihu, and what's-his-name; the guy who cursed God and didn't live to tell about
it.
Then in Leviticus 25 he gave them the final lesson
on what it meant to be a holy nation. In vv. 1 - 7 we read:
While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD said
to him, 2 "Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you have
entered the land I am giving you as an inheritance, the land itself must observe
a Sabbath to the LORD every seventh year. 3 For six years you may plant
your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, 4 but during
the seventh year the land will enjoy a Sabbath year of rest to the LORD. Do not
plant your crops or prune your vineyards during that entire year. 5 And
don't store away the crops that grow naturally or process the grapes that grow
on your unpruned vines. The land is to have a year of total rest. 6 But
you, your male and female slaves, your hired servants, and any foreigners who
live with you may eat the produce that grows naturally during the Sabbath year. 7
And your livestock and the wild animals will also be allowed to eat of the land's
bounty.
Here the land is personified as if it were tired
and needed rest. And that is exactly what the Israelites were told to do
- in the seventh year they were to give the land "a year of total rest." There
was to be no planting and certainly nothing that resembled an organized harvest. But
anyone, rich or poor, Israelite or foreigner, could glean whatever they desired
from what grew naturally.
As you can imagine, this Sabbath Year piece
of legislation raised a question in everyone's mind. Almost immediately
one person stood up and spoke out on behalf of everyone and asked the question: "Does
this mean we're going to have to eat manna during the 8th year? If you're
going to tell us that we will be eating manna again, we're telling you that we've
had our fill of manna." As he finished his sentence everyone in unison
started chanting "No More Manna, No More Manna, No More Manna!" Granted,
by this time, they had only been eating manna for about a year but I assure you
they were tired of it!
Moses quieted them down and answered the question
that was on everyone's mind. In Leviticus 25:18 - 22 we read:
"If you want to live securely in the land,
keep my laws and obey my regulations. 19 Then the land will yield bumper
crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it. 20 But you might
ask, 'What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant
or harvest crops that year?' 21 The answer is, 'I will order my blessing
for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a bumper crop, enough to
support you for three years. 22 As you plant the seed in the eighth year,
you will still be eating the produce of the previous year. In fact, you will
eat from the old crop until the new harvest comes in the ninth year.'
But despite this assurance, it never happened. Never
is probably an overstatement but it's the message we get from II Chronicles 36:20
- 21. We read:
He (Nebuchadnezzar) carried into exile to Babylon
the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and
his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed
its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy
years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.1
In never happened because most of the Israelites
didn't really believe they were sons and daughters of the King. A.
J. Heschel put it this way, "The greatest sin of man is to forget that he
is a prince." Well, in my mind, this is the sin committed by the Israelites
after they entered the land. Forgetting they were children of God, forgetting
they belonged to the God who brought them out of Egypt and into a land flowing
with milk and honey they figured that if they wanted to eat they had to work
the land year-in and year-out. In short, they didn't trust their Heavenly
Father enough to meet their needs and so they kept right on working.
Quite frankly, you and I can't say that we would
have trusted God enough to give the land its rest. We can't say we would've
trusted God because we live in a culture that believes in The Little Engine That
Could more than it believes the Word of God. And like it or not, we're
affected by this can-do culture in which we live.
In his book Waking from the American Dream Donald
W. McCullough put it this way:
In this land of opportunity go-getters get provided
they have enough go. There may be difficulties, but those who stay in the
race win the trophy; when the going gets tough, as they say in the locker room,
the tough get going. This tune is so familiar it bounces off our eardrums
like muzak in the supermarket - hardly noticed, simply part of the background. We
all know why the goodies made it to the boys and girls on the other side of the
mountain: at least one little engine had the guts, the red-blooded, stars-and-stripes-forever,
can-do spirit to say, "I think I can." I didn't read my daughter
just another story; I baptized her into the American Jordan.
Whew! For at least one year out of seven
the Israelites were given the opportunity to relax and enjoy the fulfillment
of being children of God. But it didn't happen and it doesn't happen in
our culture either unless we just happened to take a cue from this chapter and
schedule a sabbatical to simply enjoy serving God and being one of his children.
The rest of the chapter deals with the other side
of the coin. Namely, it deals with treating others with the dignity children
of God deserve. In vv. 8 - 17 we read:
"In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath
years, seven years times seven, adding up to forty-nine years in all. 9
Then on the Day of Atonement of the fiftieth year, blow the trumpets loud and
long throughout the land. 10 This year will be set apart as holy, a time
to proclaim release for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you,
when each of you returns to the lands that belonged to your ancestors and rejoins
your clan. 11 Yes, the fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During
that year, do not plant any seeds or store away any of the crops that grow naturally,
and do not process the grapes that grow on your unpruned vines. 12 It will
be a jubilee year for you, and you must observe it as a special and holy time.
You may, however, eat the produce that grows naturally in the fields that year. 13
In the Year of Jubilee each of you must return to the lands that belonged to
your ancestors.
"When you make an agreement with a neighbor
to buy or sell property, you must never take advantage of each other. 15
When you buy land from your neighbor, the price of the land should be based on
the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller will charge you only for
the crop years left until the next Year of Jubilee. 16 The more the years,
the higher the price; the fewer the years, the lower the price. After all, the
person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests. 17
Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I, the LORD, am
your God.2
Then dropping down to vv. 25 - 28 we read:
If any of your Israelite relatives go bankrupt
and are forced to sell some inherited land, then a close relative, a kinsman
redeemer, may buy it back for them. 26 If there is no one to redeem the
land but the person who sold it manages to get enough money to buy it back, 27
then that person has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price
of the land will be based on the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee.
After buying it back, the original owner may then return to the land. 28
But if the original owner cannot afford to redeem it, then it will belong to
the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land will
be returned to the original owner.3
The Jubilee Year essentially allowed everyone
to go back to square one and start over. It restored people and property
to their rightful conditions. It was a time when those who had failed to
make the best economic decisions were given a second chance and those who had
benefited from making good economic decisions released what they had gained for
the sake of their brothers and sisters. But most of all it was a reminder
that our struggles in this world as well as our possessions are but for a season.
1 There is a hint, in II Kings 19:29, that during the time
of Hezekiah the land enjoyed at least one year of rest. Also during the
days of Nehemiah the people, in Nehemiah 10:31, agreed to give the land it's
rest. But in general it never happened.
2 This chapter is a great place to glean a few word problems. For
example - A piece of land is sold to your countryman during the 7th year
since the last Jubilee. At the time, its market value was 430
shekels. Thirteen years later a kinsman of the original owner chose to
redeem the land. What was the market value at the time of redemption?
3 There were a number of exceptions to this piece
of legislation that needed to be clarified. For example, if a home within
a walled city was sold it could be redeemed within one year. If
it was not redeemed within one year, however, it belonged to the buyer and
he didn't have to worry about giving it back during the Jubilee Year.
LEVITICUS - GOD'S GUIDEBOOK TO WORSHIP 6/25/06 1
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