Someone remarked to the director of a mental institution, “I imagine all the people in here are ‘beside’ themselves.” “No, you’re wrong,” the director replied. “They’re shut in here, not because they’re ‘beside’ themselves, but because they’re ‘inside’ themselves. They think of nothing else but self!”
Question: What is fallen men’s favourite person? Answer: Self!
Question: What is sinner’s favourite past-time? Answer: Look after self!
If you are a Christian, then God is carrying out Project Kill-Self (KS) in you! Today, we will look at how God would (even) set up a very unique institution in Old Testament Israel, to teach His people this lesson. We are looking at The Year of Jubilee (see Deuteronomy 25). What’s the Jubilee institution?
The Year of Jubilee occurs every 50 years in the life of Israel. Two concepts are fundamental to this institution: liberty and return. Every 50 years, liberty is proclaimed to those under the burden of debts and in bondage. Every 50 years, return of your land is practiced – returned to you, land that you have sold away due to poverty.
Here’s how it worked out in details:
[1] Israelite A has fallen on hard times — If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession ….. (Deut 25:25). He sells some of his land to Israelite B. When he has the means, he can redeem the land back from Israelite B. Or Relative A may step in to redeem the land for Israelite A, so that the land remains in the possession of Clan A. In this case, Relative A owns the land, not Israelite A.
[2] Israelite A’s plight worsens! (Deut 25:35). He sells more portions of his land to Israelite B. Or he may borrow money from Israelite B. Relative A can step in to help, if he has the means.
[3a] Israelite A experiences economic collapse! (Deut 25:39). He has no more land to sell, and he has nothing left to use as a pledge for loans. Now he sells himself to Israelite B to be his hired servant.
[3b] Israelite A sells himself as a slave to Foreigner X instead. (Deut 25:47). In this case, Relative A or Relative B or . . . . should step in and redeem Israelite A. When this is done, then Israelite A becomes the hired servant of the relative who redeems him – State [3a].
All the above scenarios remain until the Year of Jubilee. On the 50th year, Israelite A will experience liberty in the sense that he will be a free man, no longer a servant. He will also have all his land returned to him! In short, every 50 years, things are “equalised”; Israelite A and his family gets to have a fresh start!
While we can imagine the joy of Israelite A, Israelite B or Relative A may have very different reactions! Why did Israelite A may fall from poor to very poor to economic collapse? It could be because he was lazy, because he was foolish, because …… In a word, it was his fault!
Israelite B has worked hard, was careful and prudent in financial matters. Surely it’s not fair that what he has gained/accumulated via his prudence be taken away and restored to Israelite A!
Wouldn’t Relative A say the same? “Why, I put out the money, I step in to help! Surely the land must remain with me. Why should it go back to Israelite A? He could squander it again!”
From Isaiah 5 and Jeremiah 34, it would appear that the Israelites don’t like to keep the Year of Jubilee! If they can ignore/forget it, they will! Why? If you are an Israelite living in the Old Testament, what would be your reaction to this institution?
“We do not have friends; we have interests,” said General Charles De Gaulle while President of France. What did he mean? Simply that France’s relationships with other nations could only be decided around her “interests”—commercial advantage or disadvantage. That’s precisely how God does not His people to live! When we approach life from the standpoint of “interests”, what we are basically doing ultimately is to live for self! But God’s people must live for Him!!
The Jubilee Institution, among other aims, aimed at ‘self’ in the Israelite. You must not order and operate based solely on “what’s in it for me, what’s good for me?” You have to learn to be others-oriented. Why bother?
Hear the reasons God gave:
25:17 – Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
25:37 – I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
25:55 – For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
In a word, you are to do this because I am your God! I went out to deliver you from the house of bondage so that you can enjoy this liberty today! I went forth to bring you into Canaan so that you have returned to the land that I promised to give to your forefathers! Because of what you have experienced, this is how you should treat your fellow brothers!!
This tying of Jubilee to Exodus is significant, especially when we remember the words and actions of Jesus in Luke 4:16-21. He read from the prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD and then said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is the Ultimate Fulfillment of Jubilee! While we cannot be sure that it was Israelite A’s fault to be in such dire straits, we can be 100% certain that it is our fault that we are in misery and under damnation. We have rebelled and sinned against God and we deserve His wrath! But Jesus came and proclaimed liberty to us, at great costs to Himself! He came and restored us to God, and even made us sons and daughters of the Most High! What Jesus did is the perfect demonstration of what self-less means!!
He will now work in us (His disciples) to kill our self-will, our tendency to live for our self-interest and self-glory. “… and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” He will pursue Project KS in us until His goal for us has been achieved. What must we do?
Align yourself with what your Saviour is doing in you. Act contrary to your self-interest. Be others-oriented. Say ‘No’ to self-centeredness. Have you written down the two things you can do to “co-operate” with God in Project KS? Have you started to work on them?
WEI En Yi