Coffee & Devotions

Leviticus 25:23-34

Leviticus 25:23-34

With Bryan Schneider · Sharon RP Church

Published December 19, 2023

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Opening Prayer

Thank the Father for the day and his Word, asking the Holy Spirit to teach and give understanding.

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Scripture Passage

Redemption of Property

23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.

25 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.

29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. 33 And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Le 25:23–34.

A — About

What Is This Passage About?

Because Israel's land ultimately belonged to God, inherited fields could not be sold permanently. A relative could redeem lost property, and otherwise the Jubilee restored it; houses in walled cities followed a different rule, while Levitical property received special protection because it was their God-given possession.

B — Best Verse

Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?

Leviticus 25:28

But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the year of Jubilee. And in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return it to his possession.

Bryan explicitly says verse 28 is underlined, with its Jubilee release double underlined. One child separately chooses verse 23. Verse 28 summarizes both the temporary character of the sale and the promised restoration at Jubilee.

C — Called or Christ

C — Christ Connection

Recognize that you are not your own but belong to the Lord. Jesus redeemed his people not with silver or gold but with his precious blood, so live for his glory with your body, marriage, finances, time, friendships, and entertainment.

Devotional Study

Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.

Well, good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day you and I, we get together. We have a little bit of coffee. We get into God's Word. We get into God's Word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2023, Lord willing, we'll make it from Genesis through?
Leviticus. Leviticus. You guys think we're going to make it? I think so. Okay, it'll be close. We'll see. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll jump into God's Word. Milk. Tea. Okay, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day and we thank you for your word. We pray now that as we read it, that you would help us to understand it. We need you, the Holy Spirit, to be our teacher, so please God, help us. In Jesus' name, amen.
Okay, Leviticus chapter 25. 23. Beginning at verse 23, that's right. Okay, so Nathan, why don't you read verses 23 through 28, so read loudly and clearly, 23 through 28, and I'll read 29 to 34. now here okay okay the land shall not be sold permanently for the land is mine few strangers and some sojourners with me and in all the lands of your possession you shall grant redemption on the way okay so who owns the land god So what are they not allowed to do? They're not allowed to sell it permanently. Even though they might receive it as an inheritance, who truly owns it? God does. So they're not allowed to sell it permanently, forever. Go ahead and read 25 and following. I'll kind of stop you at important points.
If one of your brethren becomes poor and has sold some of his possessions, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it. Then let him count the years since its sale, restore the remainder of the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession." Okay, so if your brethren becomes poor, they sell some of his possession, but then later on a relative comes and they want to redeem it after it's sold, how do they figure out the price for the land?
What's that? The year of Jubilee. That's right. So they figure it out based upon when the year of Jubilee is going to happen. You weren't in here when we talked about the year of Jubilee. So every 50 years, so every 7 times 7 Sabbath years, right? So the 49th into the 50th year. In the 50th year, All the captives are free, the debt is cleared, and the land goes back to its first owners.
Goes back to the clan who it was given to. And so, that means if there's only going to be, let's say, 8 years before it reverts back, you figure out, okay, here's how much it's going to cost to sell it back to the person who wants to redeem it. Okay, so verse 28, go ahead. But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the year of Jubilee. And in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return it to his possession.
Okay. So he can't buy it, right? So the relative wanted to redeem it. They can't redeem it. They don't have enough money. Who gets to own it? The person who bought it. The person who bought it, right? But, how long do they get to own it? As long as Jubilee is involved. Exactly, until the year Jubilee, that's right. Okay, now verse 29 to 34. I was going to read that.
If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold. Within a full year, he may redeem it. So if it's in a walled city, you sell the house, you have a year to be able to buy it back. If it is not redeemed within the space of one full year, then the house in the walled city shall be permanently to him who bought it throughout his generations.
It shall not be released in the year of Jubilee. So you see land is different than a house in a city. Right, so if you have farmland, that's different. Right, every 50 years it goes back. But in a walled city, if you sell something, you have a year to redeem it back. But if you don't redeem it back in the year, can the other family keep it permanently? Oh yeah, they can keep it permanently. But so then if that person sells it, and then they buys it back, it redeems it, it won't go back to them.
Well, the point is just, right, like houses inside walled cities are different than inherited land. Okay. However, the house of villages, which have no wall around them, shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed and they shall be released in the Jubilee. So what do you guys think? Do you think a house like ours in the country?
Would it be according to the laws of the walled city or according to the second law? The second law. The second law, right? So it counts just like it's part of the field, right? Just like it's part of the agricultural manor. So it needs to go back to the family during the jubilee. Mr. Mac, I hate this man, basically. Yep.
Nevertheless, the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee. For the house and the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. So the Levites have a little bit of exception clause.
At any time, they're allowed to do what? Switch back. Yeah, they're allowed to redeem it back. They're allowed to buy it back. And at the Jubilee, even in the walled cities, The store. They get it back, right? Because their cities were given to them by God. So it's a different type of arrangement. Because they didn't get land, they got to take care of the temple. Well, actually they were given land, verse 34. But the field of the common land of their cities may not be sold. So Levi's land around the Levitical cities can't be sold. Why? For it is their perpetual possession. So you are not allowed to buy or sell that land.
Okay, so what do you guys think this is about? Jubilee and what's allowed and what's not. Good, good. What do you guys think is the best verse to summarize this? What do you think? You want to know what I have underlined? I have verse 28, but if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then I have this double underlined, then what he has sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the year of Jubilee, and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possessions. That's what I have underlined. What about 23? 23? The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine? Yeah. I like when the city, when the world cities, when the lyrics, we can't say it. Oh, okay, yeah. Okay, so this is interesting, right? Do we live in Israel? Nope.
So why did we spend our time reading this passage this morning? What does it call us to do? I think it's something to reflect that God is already moved. And so, she buys back and gives us back stuff. That's right. Because also we're permanently lost from us. That's right. He's our Redeemer and He has bought us with the price. Right? Not just with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of His own Son, Jesus Christ. Right? And so, can we be permanently sold? Nope. No. Has He proclaimed the year of Jubilee to us? Yeah. Yeah, He has. He's bought us back. Bought us back from sin and death and the wages of sin. Bought us back from His anger and the punishment for wickedness. And He's bought us back and proclaimed that we are free. Pretty good, huh?
So are we still sojourners right now? Do we, like, have a permanent home here on earth? Nope. Nope. We're sojourners. And so if the land was his because God had redeemed the land. He keeps it. Yep. Who are we? Are we our own? Nope. No, we're the Lord's. He owns us. He's our master. So do we get to do whatever we want with our bodies? Nope. Do we get to do whatever we want with our lives? Nope. Do we get to do whatever we want with our marriage, our finances, our time, our friendships, our entertainment? No, right? We live for His glory. You guys ready to pray? Yeah. Okay.
Lord, we thank you so much that you have redeemed us. Lord, we pray that you would please let us walk in the light of your redemption. We thank you so much that you loved us so much that you would give us your son Jesus Christ as a ransom for our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. May God bless you. May you walk in the joy and freedom that comes knowing that the year of Jubilee is upon us. That Jesus has redeemed your soul. You gonna say bye? Bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue. Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.

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