Matthew Henry Commentary Leviticus 25
Matthew Henry Commentary
Leviticus 25
Matthew Henry Commentary
Leviticus 25
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, 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 Jehovah. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruits thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto Jehovah: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather: it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for thy stranger, who sojourn with thee. And for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food." — Leviticus 25:1-7 (ASV)
All labor was to cease in the seventh year, just as daily labor on the seventh day. These statutes tell us to beware of covetousness, for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
We are to exercise willing dependence on God's providence for our support, to consider ourselves the Lord's tenants or stewards, and to use our possessions accordingly.
This year of rest typified the spiritual rest that all believers enter into through Christ. Through Him we are eased of the burden of worldly care and labor, both being sanctified and sweetened to us; and we are enabled and encouraged to live by faith.
"And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years. Then shalt thou send abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye send abroad the trumpet throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout 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. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather [the grapes] in it of the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In this year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbor, or buy of thy neighbor`s hand, ye shall not wrong one another. According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, [and] according unto the number of years of the crops he shall sell unto thee. According to the multitude of the years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of the years thou shalt diminish the price of it; for the number of the crops doth he sell unto thee. And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am Jehovah your God. Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield its fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase; then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for the three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the fruits, the old store; until the ninth year, until its fruits come in, ye shall eat the old store." — Leviticus 25:8-22 (ASV)
The word “jubilee” signifies an especially animated sound of the silver trumpets. This sound was to be made on the evening of the great day of atonement, for the proclamation of gospel liberty and salvation results from the sacrifice of the Redeemer. It was provided that the lands should not be sold away from their families. They could only be disposed of, as it were, by leases until the year of jubilee, and then returned to the owner or his heir.
This tended to preserve their tribes and families distinct until the coming of the Messiah. The liberty every man was born to, if sold or forfeited, should return at the year of jubilee. This was typical of redemption by Christ from the slavery of sin and Satan, and of being brought again to the liberty of the children of God. All bargains ought to be made by this rule: Ye shall not oppress one another“not taking advantage of one another's ignorance or necessity”but thou shalt fear thy God. The fear of God reigning in the heart would restrain from doing wrong to our neighbor in word or deed.
Assurance was given that they would be great gainers by observing these years of rest. If we are careful to do our duty, we may trust God with our comfort. This was a miracle for an encouragement to all who neither sowed nor reaped. This was a miracle for an encouragement to all God's people, in all ages, to trust Him in the way of duty. There is nothing lost by faith and self-denial in obedience.
Some asked, What shall we eat the seventh year? Thus many Christians anticipate evils, questioning what they should do, and fearing to proceed in the way of duty. But we have no right to anticipate evils so as to distress ourselves about them. To carnal minds we may appear to act absurdly, but the path of duty is always the path of safety.
"And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; 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. If thy brother be waxed poor, and sell some of his possession, then shall his kinsman that is next unto him come, and shall redeem that which his brother hath sold. And if a man have no one to redeem it, and he be waxed rich and find sufficient to redeem it; then let him reckon the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; and he shall return unto his possession. But if he be not able to get it back for himself, then that which he hath sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; for a full year shall he have the right of redemption. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be made sure in perpetuity to him that bought it, throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee. But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be reckoned with the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if one of the Levites redeem, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession." — Leviticus 25:23-34 (ASV)
If the land were not redeemed before the year of jubilee, it then returned to him who sold or mortgaged it. This was a figure of the free grace of God in Christ; by which, and not by any price or merit of our own, we are restored to the favour of God.
Houses in walled cities were more the fruits of their own industry than land in the country, which was the direct gift of God's bounty; therefore, if a man sold a house in a city, he might redeem it only within a year after the sale. This encouraged strangers and proselytes to come and settle among them.
"And if thy brother be waxed poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: [as] a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee. Take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase. I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, [and] to be your God." — Leviticus 25:35-38 (ASV)
Poverty and decay are great grievances, and very common; you have the poor always with you. You are to relieve him: by sympathy, pitying the poor; by service, doing for them; and by supply, giving to them according to their necessity and your ability.
Poor debtors must not be oppressed. Observe the arguments here used against extortion: Fear thy God. Relieve the poor, that they may live with thee; for they may be serviceable to you.
The rich can hardly do without the poor, just as the poor can hardly do without the rich. It is fitting for those who have received mercy to show mercy.
"And if thy brother be waxed poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee; thou shalt not make him to serve as a bond-servant. As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee; he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee: then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shalt have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them shall ye take your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor. And if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxed rich, and thy brother be waxed poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger [or] sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the stranger`s family; after that he is sold he may be redeemed: one of his brethren may redeem him; or his uncle, or his uncle`s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be waxed rich, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he sold himself to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him. If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his years shall he give back the price of his redemption. As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he be not redeemed by these [means], then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him. For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God." — Leviticus 25:39-55 (ASV)
A native Israelite, if sold for debt or for a crime, was to serve only six years and to go out free in the seventh. If he sold himself because of poverty, both his work and his treatment must be fitting for a son of Abraham. Masters are required to give their servants what is just and equal (Colossians 4:1). At the year of jubilee, the servant was to go out free, he and his children, and was to return to his own family.
This typified redemption from the service of sin and Satan, by the grace of God in Christ, whose truth makes us free (John 8:32). We cannot ransom our fellow sinners, but we can point out Christ to them; meanwhile, by his grace, our lives can adorn his gospel, express our love, show our gratitude, and glorify his holy name.
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