Leviticus 25:39

The Bible says in Leviticus 25:39-54, “And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:[40] But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee:[41] And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.[42] For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
[43] Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.[44] Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.[45] Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.[46] And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.[47] And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:[48] After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:[49] Either 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 able, he may redeem himself.[50] And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold 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 an hired servant shall it be with him.[51] If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.[52] And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.[53] And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.[54] And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him.” The key words in this passage are “bondservant” and “bondmaids.” Both men and women were treated the same: equality. Poverty is what resulted in this servitude. People would sell themselves because of their poverty. As we can see here, the Old Testament times were very harsh in many ways. Once again we see how fortunate we are to live in the times of the New Testament, and once again we see a difference in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament. Just because something is in the Old Testament does not mean that it applies to Christians, especially when it is something that is part of the law. These things written in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy emphasize the law greatly. The words “bondservant” and “bondmaid” have a number of meanings depending upon the context. They can mean “servant” and they can mean “slave.” Slavery was not permitted among the Israelites. They could not enslave one another, and the year of Jubilee was used to make sure that any indentured servants were given their liberty back. Yes, slavery was permitted if the servants were not Israelites. We live in an age where the concept of the brotherhood of man and equality for all is now used to govern our relationships, or at least it should. And so in the Christian era we do not allow slavery of any kind.

One thing to notice about this situation where people sold themselves into servitude and slavery: it had to do with being poor. Poverty is a great evil. The best defense against poverty is a combination of education and training, and then equal opportunity. Part of this is in your hands, and part of it is in the hands of government and industry. Learn and seek training in an area where you have an interest and ability, and in an area that can lead to practical and financial benefits. Then do everything that you can to stay out of debt, and if you do take on any debts, pay them off as soon as possible. The more that you owe, the more that you are a servant to those from whom you have borrowed. Until you are debt free, you are an indentured servant. If you can find a way to be free, then choose freedom. Work in order to reach your year of Jubilee, and then you will have full freedom.

The Bible says in Leviticus 25:55, “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 the LORD your God.” God wants us to be His servants. Jesus came into the world, and He was a servant. Why were you born? You were born to serve the Lord. God did not want the children of Israel to be indentured servants to each other, because He wanted them all to think of themselves as free from man but bond to the Lord. Paul introduced himself in Philippians 1:1 and said, “Paul, and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ…” Paul also wrote in Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ…” We belong to Jesus because He purchased us with His precious blood. We are not our own. We owe Jesus everything.

The Bible says in Leviticus 26:1-4, “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.[2] Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.[3] If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;[4] Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” In verses one and two the Lord mentions two of the Ten Commandments. Verse one says, “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image.” In other words stay away from the false religions and the false gods of the people in society around you. God wants us to serve and love Him. That is why He created us: to return His love. “We love Him because He first loved us.” The best way to avoid false religion and false teaching is to learn that which is true. If you know Jesus as Savior, and read and study the Bible consistently, and listen to good Bible teachings at a Bible-teaching church, then you have a chance to avoid false religion and false teaching. Staying away from idols involves more than rejecting false religion. It involves anything that you love more than God. For some people an idol could be sports, or money, or pleasure, or alcohol, or drugs, or anything that a person seeks and enjoys more than the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse two the Lord refers to the commandment: “Remember the Sabbath Day.” But notice this time that God says, “Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary.” God speaks of “Sabbaths” in the plural. The weekly Sabbath Day was only one of the Sabbaths. Each of the yearly feast celebrations were also Sabbaths. There was also the Sabbath that took place every seven years, and the Jubilee was also a Sabbath. Those who say that they are observing the Sabbath, but who do not observe all of the Sabbaths are breaking this commandment. The law is over. Christians are not under law but under grace. Notice also that this command to observe the “Sabbaths” is given with the command to reverence God’s “sanctuary.” The sanctuary under the law was the tabernacle and then the temple. One of the most important things that took place in relation to reverencing the sanctuary were all of the animal sacrifices. If you are going to obey these commands, then you must observe all of the Sabbaths, and you must have a temple where you perform animal sacrifices. Of course, we do not do these things because they were part of the law, and we who believe in Jesus are not under law, but under grace. Jesus was the last of the sacrifices. Jesus is our Sabbath because we rest in Him and in His finished work on the cross. Once we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, and our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Ghost.

There is a difference between law and grace. Things changed when Jesus died on the cross and established the New Covenant in connection with His blood. Here is another difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament: notice the word “if” in verse three. The old covenant was conditional upon human obedience. The problem is that man did not meet the conditions. Man sinned, and man failed. How much better is the new covenant! Once you believe in Jesus, there are no conditions to the eternal benefits of the new covenant. We have the “sure mercies” of David. Jesus paid it all, and Jesus did it all for us.

The Bible says in Leviticus 26:5-13, “And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.[6] And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.[7] And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.[8] And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.[9] For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.[10] And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.[11] And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.[12] And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.[13] I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.” These verses list a good number of the many good things that would have resulted if the children of Israel had kept their side of the law: to obey God’s commandments. Fortunately, we are not under law but under grace. Our blessings come from believing in Jesus and trusting in Him. The Israelites are told in verse five that their fields would produce abundantly. In verse six they are told that they would have peace and safety from wild animals. In verses seven and eight they were told that they would easily defeat their enemies. In verse nine they were told that God would honor them and that their population would grow. In verse ten they are told that they would never be hungry and would always have plenty of food. The Word of God is our spiritual food. In verses eleven and twelve God tells them that He will always be with them. Of course, all of these promises are the conditional promises of the law. We are under grace and we have no such conditions. For example, Jesus promised His continuing presence with no conditions. He simply promised, “I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

In verse thirteen God makes a great statement that helps to explain what motivates God in His actions among human beings. God said, “I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen…” Egypt was a type of the world. The bringing out of Egypt through crossing on dry land through the Red Sea was a type of salvation. When we trust in Jesus for salvation, He delivers us from the enslavement to the world. God is the author of freedom. He wants people to be free from sin, and free from the false ideas and false religions. God wants people to be free, so that we can use our freedom to serve Him.

Notice that at the end of verse nine God said that He would “establish my covenant with you.” That is the Old Testament covenant: the covenant of the Law. The Old Covenant was always in danger of being broken and thus ended because it required the obedience of the people. How fortunate we are to have an everlasting covenant. Our new covenant through the blood of Christ is not based upon how good we are. It is based upon how good Jesus was, and He lived the life that none of us lived. Jesus lived a good life that always pleased the Father. Through faith in Him, the good deeds of Christ get credited to our account. What a wonderful salvation!

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