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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>L E V I T C U S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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The law of this chapter concerns the lands and estates of the
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Israelites in Canaan, the occupying and transferring of which were to
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be under the divine direction, as well as the management of religious
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worship; for, as the tabernacle was a holy house, so Canaan was a holy
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land; and upon that account, as much as any thing, it was the glory of
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all lands. In token of a peculiar title which God had to this land, and
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a right to dispose of it, he appointed,
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I. That every seventh year should be a year of rest from occupying the
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land, a sabbatical year,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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In this God expected from them extraordinary instances of faith and
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obedience, and they might expect from God extraordinary instances of
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power and goodness in providing for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:18-22">ver. 18-22</A>.
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II. That every fiftieth year should be a year of jubilee, that is,
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1. A year of release of debts and mortgages, and return to the
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possession of their alienated lands,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:8-17">ver. 8-17</A>.
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Particular directions are given,
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(1.) Concerning the sale and redemption of lands,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:23-28">ver. 23-28</A>.
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(2.) Of houses in cities and villages, with a proviso for Levite-cities,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:29-34">ver. 29-34</A>.
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2. A year of release of servants and bond-slaves.
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(1.) Here is inserted a law for the kind usage of poor debtors,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:35-38">ver. 35-38</A>.
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(2.) Then comes the law for the discharge of all Israelites
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that were sold for servants, in the year of jubilee, if they were not
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redeemed before.
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[1.] If they were sold to Israelites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:39-46">ver. 39-46</A>.
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And,
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[2.] If sold to proselytes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:47-55">ver. 47-55</A>.
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All these appointments have something moral and of perpetual obligation
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in them, though in the letter of them they were not only peculiar to
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the Jews, but to them only while they were in Canaan.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Le25_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Sabbatical Year.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
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2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye
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come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a
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sabbath unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt
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prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
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4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the
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land, a sabbath for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: thou shalt neither sow thy field,
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nor prune thy vineyard.
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5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou
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shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed:
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<I>for</I> it is a year of rest unto the land.
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6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee,
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and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant,
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and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
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7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that <I>are</I> in thy land,
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shall all the increase thereof be meat.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The law of Moses laid a great deal of stress upon the sabbath, the
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sanctification of which was the earliest and most ancient of all divine
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institutions, designed for the keeping up of the knowledge and worship
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of the Creator among men; that law not only revived the observance of
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the weekly sabbath, but, for the further advancement of the honour of
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them, added the institution of a sabbatical year: <I>In the seventh
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year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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And hence the Jews collect that vulgar tradition that after the world
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has stood six thousand years (a thousand years being to God as one day)
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it shall cease, and the eternal sabbath shall succeed--a weak
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foundation on which to build the fixing of that day and hour which it
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is God's prerogative to know. This sabbatical year began in September,
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at the end of harvest, the seventh month of their ecclesiastical year:
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and the law was,
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1. That at the seed-time, which immediately followed the end of their
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in-gathering, they should sow no corn in their land, and that they
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should not in the spring dress their vineyards, and consequently that
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they should not expect either harvest or vintage the next year.
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2. That what their ground did produce of itself they should not claim
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any property or use in, otherwise than from hand to mouth, but leave it
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for the poor, servants, strangers, and cattle,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:5-7"><I>v.</I> 5-7</A>.
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It must be a sabbath of rest to the land; they must neither do any work
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about it, nor expect any fruit from it; all annual labours must be
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intermitted in the seventh year, as much as daily labours on the
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seventh day. The Jews say they "began not to reckon for the sabbatical
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year till they had completed the conquest of Canaan, which was in the
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eighth year of Joshua; the seventh year after that was the first
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sabbatical year, and so the fiftieth year was the jubilee." This year
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there was to be a general release of debts
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+15:1,2">Deut. xv. 1, 2</A>),
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and a public reading of the law in the feast
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+31:10,11">Deut. xxxi. 10, 11</A>),
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to make it the more solemn. Now,
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(1.) God would hereby show them that he was their landlord, and that
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they were tenants at will under him. Landlords are wont to stipulate
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with their tenants when they shall break up their ground, how long they
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shall till it, and when they shall let it rest: God would thus give,
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grant, and convey, that good land to them, under such provisos and
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limitations as should let them know that they were not proprietors, but
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dependents on their Lord.
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(2.) It was a kindness to their land to let it rest sometimes, and
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would keep it <I>in heart</I> (as our husbandmen express it) for
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posterity, whose satisfaction God would have them to consult, and not
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to use the ground as if it were designed only for one age.
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(3.) When they were thus for a whole year taken off from all country
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business, they would have the more leisure to attend the exercises of
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religion, and to get the knowledge of God and his law.
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(4.) They were hereby taught to be charitable and generous, and not to
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engross all to themselves, but to be willing that others should share
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with them in the gifts of God's bounty, which the earth brought forth
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of itself.
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(5.) They were brought to live in a constant dependence upon the divine
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providence, finding that, as man lives not by bread alone, so he has
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bread, not by his own industry alone, but, if God pleases, by the word
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of blessing from the mouth of God, without any care or pains of man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+4:4">Matt. iv. 4</A>.
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(6.) They were reminded of the easy life man lived in paradise, when he
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ate of every good thing, not, as since, in the sweat of his face.
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Labour and toil came in with sin.
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(7.) They were taught to consider how the poor lived, that did neither
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sow nor reap, even by the blessing of God upon a little.
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(8.) This year of rest typified the spiritual rest which all believers
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enter into through Christ, our true Noah, who giveth us comfort and
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rest <I>concerning our work, and the toil of our hands, because of the
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ground which the Lord hath cursed,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:29">Gen. v. 29</A>.
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Through him we are eased of the burden of worldly care and labour, both
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being sanctified and sweetened to us, and we are enabled and encouraged
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to live by faith. And, as the fruits of this sabbath of the land were
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enjoyed in common, so the salvation wrought out by Christ is a common
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salvation; and this sabbatical year seems to have been revived in the
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Christian church, when the believers had <I>all things common,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:44">Acts ii. 44</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Le25_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le25_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Institution of the Jubilee; the Year of the Jubilee.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee,
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seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of
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years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
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9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on
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the tenth <I>day</I> of the seventh month, in the day of atonement
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shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
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10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty
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throughout <I>all</I> the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it
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shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto
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his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
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11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not
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sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather
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<I>the grapes</I> in it of thy vine undressed.
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12 For it <I>is</I> the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall
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eat the increase thereof out of the field.
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13 In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto
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his possession.
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14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest <I>ought</I>
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of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
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15 According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt
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buy of thy neighbour, <I>and</I> according unto the number of years of
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the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
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16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the
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price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt
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diminish the price of it: for <I>according</I> to the number <I>of the
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years</I> of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
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17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt
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fear thy God: for I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God.
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18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments,
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and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
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19 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your
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fill, and dwell therein in safety.
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20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year?
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behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
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21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year,
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and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
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22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat <I>yet</I> of old fruit
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until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat <I>of</I>
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the old <I>store.</I>
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The general institution of the jubilee,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:8-22"><I>v.</I> 8</A>,
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&c.</P>
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<P>
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1. When it was to be observed: after <I>seven sabbaths of years</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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whether the forty-ninth or fiftieth is a great question among learned
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men: that it should be the seventh sabbatical year, that is, the
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forty-ninth (which by a very common form of speech is called the
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fiftieth), seems to me most probable, and is, I think, made pretty
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clear and the objections removed by that learned chronologer Calvisius;
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but this is not a place for arguing the question. Seven sabbaths of
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weeks were reckoned from the passover to the feast of pentecost (or
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fiftieth day, for so pentecost signifies), and so seven sabbaths of
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years from one jubilee to another, and the seventh is called the
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fiftieth; and all this honour is put upon the sevenths for the sake of
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God's resting the seventh day from the work of creation.</P>
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<P>
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2. How it was to be proclaimed, with sound of trumpet in all parts of
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the country
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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both to give notice to all persons of it, and to express their joy and
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triumph in it; and the word <I>jobel,</I> or <I>jubilee,</I> is
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supposed to signify some particular sound of the trumpet
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distinguishable from any other; for the trumpet that gives an uncertain
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sound is of little service,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+14:8">1 Cor. xiv. 8</A>.
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The trumpet was sounded in the close of the day of atonement; thence
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the jubilee commenced, and very fitly; when they had been humbling and
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afflicting their souls for sin, then they were made to hear this voice
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of <I>joy and gladness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+11:8">Ps. xi. 8</A>.
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When their peace was made with God, then liberty was proclaimed; for
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the removal of guilt is necessary to make way for the entrance of all
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true comfort,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+5:1,2">Rom. v. 1, 2</A>.
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In allusion to this solemn proclamation of the jubilee, it was foretold
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concerning our Lord Jesus that he should <I>preach the acceptable year
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of the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:2">Isa. lxi. 2</A>.
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He sent his apostles to proclaim it with the trumpet of the everlasting
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gospel, which they were to preach to every creature. And it stands
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still foretold that at the last day the trumpet shall sound, which
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shall release the dead out of the bondage of the grave, and restore us
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to our possessions.</P>
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<P>
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3. What was to be done in that year extraordinary; besides the common
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rest of the land, which was observed every sabbatical year
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>),
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and the release of personal debts
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+15:2,3">Deut. xv. 2, 3</A>),
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there was to be the legal restoration of every Israelite to all the
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property, and all the liberty, which had been alienated from him since
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the last jubilee; so that never was any people so secured in their
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liberty and property (those glories of a people) as Israel was.
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Effectual care was taken that while they kept close to God these should
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not only not be taken from them by the violence of others, but not
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thrown away by their own folly.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) The property which every man had in his dividend of the land of
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Canaan could not be alienated any longer than till the year of jubilee,
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and then he or his should return to it, and have a title to it as
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undisputed, and the possession of it as undisturbed, as ever
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:10,13"><I>v.</I> 10, 13</A>):
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"<I>You shall return every man to his possession;</I> so that if a man
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had sold or mortgaged his estate, or any part of it, it should then
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return to him or his heirs, free of all charge and encumbrance. Now
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this was no wrong to the purchaser, because the year of jubilee was
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fixed, and every man knew when it would come, and made his bargain
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accordingly. By our law indeed, if lands be granted to a man and his
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heirs, upon condition that he should never sell or alienate them, the
|
|
grant is good, but the condition is void and repugnant: <I>Iniquum est
|
|
ingenuis hominibus</I> (say the lawyers) <I>non esse liberam rerum
|
|
suarum alienationem--It is unjust to prevent free men from alienating
|
|
their own possessions.</I> Yet it is agreed in the books that if the
|
|
king grant lands to a man in fee upon condition he shall not alienate,
|
|
the condition is good. Now God would show his people Israel that their
|
|
land was his, and they were his tenants; and therefore he ties them up
|
|
that they shall not have power to sell, but only to make leases for any
|
|
term of years, not going beyond the next jubilee. By this means it was
|
|
provided,
|
|
|
|
[1.] That their genealogies should be carefully preserved, which would
|
|
be of use for clearing our Saviour's pedigree.
|
|
|
|
[2.] That the distinction of tribes should be kept up; for, though a
|
|
man might purchase lands in another tribe, yet he could not retain them
|
|
longer than till the year of jubilee, and then they would revert of
|
|
course.
|
|
|
|
[3.] That none should grow exorbitantly rich, by laying <I>house to
|
|
house, and field to field</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+5:8">Isa. v. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
but should rather apply themselves to the cultivating of what they had
|
|
than the enlarging of their possessions. The wisdom of the Roman
|
|
commonwealth sometimes provided that no man should be master of above
|
|
500 acres.
|
|
|
|
[4.] That no family should be sunk and ruined, and condemned to
|
|
perpetual poverty. This particular care God took for the support of
|
|
the honour of that people, and the preserving, not only of that good
|
|
land to the nation in general, but of every man's share to his family
|
|
in particular, for a perpetual inheritance, that it might the better
|
|
typify that good part which shall <I>never be taken away</I> from those
|
|
that have it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The liberty which every man was born to, if it were sold or
|
|
forfeited, should likewise return at the year of jubilee: <I>You shall
|
|
return every man to his family,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that were sold into other families thereby became strangers to
|
|
their own; but in this year of redemption they were to return. This was
|
|
typical of our redemption by Christ from the slavery of sin and Satan,
|
|
and our restoration to the glorious liberty of the children of God.
|
|
Some compute that the very year in which Christ died was a year of
|
|
jubilee, and the last that ever was kept. But, however that be, we are
|
|
sure it is the Son that <I>makes us free,</I> and then we are <I>free
|
|
indeed.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A law upon this occasion against oppression in buying and selling
|
|
of land; neither the buyer nor the seller must overreach,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:14-17"><I>v.</I> 14-17</A>.
|
|
|
|
In short, the buyer must not give less, nor the seller take more, than
|
|
the just value of the thing, considered as necessarily returning at the
|
|
year of jubilee. It must be settled what the clear yearly value of the
|
|
land was, and then how many years' purchase it was worth till the year
|
|
of jubilee. But they must reckon only <I>the years of the fruits</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore must discount for the sabbatical years. It is easy to
|
|
observe that the nearer the jubilee was the less must the value of the
|
|
land be. <I>According to the fewness of the years thou shalt diminish
|
|
the price.</I> But we do not find it so easy practically to infer
|
|
thence that the nearer the world comes to its period the less value we
|
|
should put upon the things of it: because <I>the time is short,</I> and
|
|
the <I>fashion of the world passeth away,</I> let those that <I>buy be
|
|
as though they possessed not.</I> One would put little value on an old
|
|
house, that is ready to drop down. All bargains ought to be made by
|
|
this rule, <I>You shall not oppress one another,</I> nor take advantage
|
|
of one another's ignorance or necessity, <I>but thou shalt fear thy
|
|
God.</I> Note, The fear of God reigning in the heart would effectually
|
|
restrain us from doing any wrong to our neighbour in word or deed; for,
|
|
though man be not, God is <I>the avenger</I> of those that <I>go beyond
|
|
or defraud</I> their brethren,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+4:6">1 Thess. iv. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
Perhaps Nehemiah refers to this very law
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+5:15"><I>ch.</I> v. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
where he tells us that he did not oppress those he had under his power,
|
|
<I>because of the fear of God.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Assurance given them that they should be no losers, but great
|
|
gainers, by observing these years of rest. It is promised,
|
|
|
|
1. That they should be safe: <I>You shall dwell in the land in
|
|
safety,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>,
|
|
|
|
and again,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
The word signifies both outward safety and inward security and
|
|
confidence of spirit, that they should be quiet both from evil and from
|
|
the fear of evil.
|
|
|
|
2. That they should be rich: <I>You shall eat your fill.</I> Note, If
|
|
we be careful to do our duty, we may cheerfully trust God with our
|
|
comfort.
|
|
|
|
3. That they should not want food convenient that year in which they
|
|
did neither sow nor reap: <I>I will command my blessing in the sixth
|
|
year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was,
|
|
|
|
(1.) A standing miracle, that, whereas at other times one year did but
|
|
serve to bring in another, the productions of the sixth year should
|
|
serve to bring in the ninth. Note, The blessing of God upon our
|
|
provision will make a little go a great way, and <I>satisfy</I> even
|
|
<I>the poor with bread,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+131:15">Ps. cxxxi. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) A lasting memorial of the manna which was given double on the
|
|
sixth day for two days.
|
|
|
|
(3.) It was intended for an encouragement to all God's people, in all
|
|
ages, to trust him in the way of duty, and to cast their care upon him.
|
|
There is nothing lost by faith and self-denial in our obedience.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_38"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land <I>is</I> mine;
|
|
for ye <I>are</I> strangers and sojourners with me.
|
|
24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a
|
|
redemption for the land.
|
|
25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away <I>some</I> of
|
|
his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then
|
|
shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
|
|
26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able
|
|
to redeem it;
|
|
27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and
|
|
restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may
|
|
return unto his possession.
|
|
28 But if he be not able to restore <I>it</I> to him, then that
|
|
which is 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.
|
|
29 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; <I>within</I> a
|
|
full year may he redeem it.
|
|
30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year,
|
|
then the house that <I>is</I> in the walled city shall be established
|
|
for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it
|
|
shall not go out in the jubilee.
|
|
31 But the houses of the villages which have no wall round
|
|
about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they
|
|
may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee.
|
|
32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, <I>and</I> the houses
|
|
of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any
|
|
time.
|
|
33 And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that
|
|
was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in <I>the
|
|
year of</I> jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites
|
|
<I>are</I> their possession among the children of Israel.
|
|
34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be
|
|
sold; for it <I>is</I> their perpetual possession.
|
|
35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with
|
|
thee; then thou shalt relieve him: <I>yea, though he be</I> a
|
|
stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
|
|
36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God;
|
|
that thy brother may live with thee.
|
|
37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him
|
|
thy victuals for increase.
|
|
38 I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God, which brought you forth out of the
|
|
land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, <I>and</I> to be your
|
|
God.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. A law concerning the real estates of the Israelites in the land of
|
|
Canaan, and the transferring of them.
|
|
|
|
1. No land should be sold for ever from the family to whose lot it fell
|
|
in the division of the land. And the reason given is, <I>The land is
|
|
mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) God having a particular propriety in this land, he would by this
|
|
restraint keep them sensible of it. The possessions of good people,
|
|
who, having given up themselves to God, have therewith given up all
|
|
they have to him, are in a particular manner at his disposal, and his
|
|
disposal of them must be submitted to.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They being <I>strangers and sojourners with him</I> in that land,
|
|
and having his tabernacle among them, to alienate their part of that
|
|
land would be in effect to cut themselves off from their fellowship and
|
|
communion with God, of which that was a token and symbol, for which
|
|
reason Naboth would rather incur the wrath of a king than part with the
|
|
inheritance of his fathers,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+21:3">1 Kings xxi. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. If a man was constrained through poverty to sell his land for the
|
|
subsistence of his family, yet, if afterwards he was able, he might
|
|
redeem it before the year of jubilee
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:24,26,27"><I>v.</I> 24, 26, 27</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the price must be settled according to the number of years since
|
|
the sale and before the jubilee.
|
|
|
|
3. If the person himself was not able to redeem it, his next kinsman
|
|
might
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The redeemer thereof, he that is near unto him, shall come and shall
|
|
redeem,</I> so it might be read. The kinsman is called <I>Goel,</I> the
|
|
redeemer
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+5:8,Ru+3:9">Num. v. 8; Ruth iii. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
to whom belonged the right of redeeming the land. And this typified
|
|
Christ, who assumed our nature, that he might be our <I>kinsman,</I>
|
|
bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, and, being the only kinsman we
|
|
have that is able to do it, to him belonged the right of redemption. As
|
|
for all our other kinsmen, their shoe must be plucked off
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+4:6,7">Ruth iv. 6, 7</A>);
|
|
|
|
they cannot redeem. But Christ can and hath redeemed the inheritance
|
|
which we by sin had forfeited and alienated, and made a new settlement
|
|
of it upon all that by faith become allied to him. We know that this
|
|
<I>Redeemer liveth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+19:25">Job xix. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
And some make this duty of the kinsman to signify the brotherly love
|
|
that should be among Christians, inclining them to recover those that
|
|
are fallen, and to restore them with the spirit of meekness.
|
|
|
|
4. If the land was not redeemed before the year of jubilee, then it
|
|
should return of course to him that had sold or mortgaged it: <I>In the
|
|
jubilee it shall go out,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was a figure of the free grace of God towards us in Christ, by
|
|
which, and not by any price or merit of our own, we are restored to the
|
|
favour of God, and become entitled to paradise, from which our first
|
|
parents, and we in them, were expelled for disobedience.
|
|
|
|
5. A difference was made between houses in walled cities, and lands in
|
|
the country, or houses in country villages. Houses in walled cities
|
|
were more the fruits of their own industry than land in the country,
|
|
which was the immediate gift of God's bounty; and therefore, if a man
|
|
sold a house in a city, he might redeem it any time within a year after
|
|
the sale, but otherwise it was confirmed to the purchaser for ever, and
|
|
should not return, no, not at the year of the jubilee,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:29,30"><I>v.</I> 29, 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
This provision was made to encourage strangers and proselytes to come
|
|
and settle among them. Though they could not purchase land in Canaan
|
|
to them and their heirs, yet they might purchase houses in walled
|
|
cities, which would be most convenient for those who were supposed to
|
|
live by trade. But country houses could be disposed of no otherwise
|
|
than as lands might.
|
|
|
|
6. A clause is added in favour of the Levites, by way of exception from
|
|
these rules.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Dwelling houses in the cities of the Levites might be redeemed at
|
|
any time, and, if not redeemed, should revert in the year of jubilee
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:32,33"><I>v.</I> 32, 33</A>),
|
|
|
|
because the Levites had no other possessions than cities and their
|
|
suburbs, and God would show that the Levites were his peculiar care;
|
|
and it was for the interest of the public that they should not be
|
|
impoverished, or wormed out of their inheritances.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The fields adjoining to their cities
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+35:4,5">Num. xxxv. 4, 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
might not be sold at any time, for they belonged, not to particular
|
|
Levites, but to the city of the Levites, as a corporation, who could
|
|
not alienate without a wrong to their tribe; therefore, if any of those
|
|
fields were sold, the bargain was void,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>.
|
|
|
|
Even the Egyptians took care to preserve the <I>land of the
|
|
priests,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:22">Gen. xlvii. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
And there is no less reason for the taking of the maintenance of the
|
|
gospel ministry under the special protection of Christian
|
|
governments.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A law for the relief of the poor, and the tender usage of poor
|
|
debtors, and these are of more general and perpetual obligation than
|
|
the former.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The poor must be relieved,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Our brother's poverty and distress supposed: <I>If thy brother be
|
|
waxen poor;</I> not only thy brother by nation as a Jew, but thy
|
|
brother by nature as a man, for it follows, <I>though he be a stranger
|
|
or a sojourner.</I> All men are to be looked upon and treated as
|
|
brethren, for <I>we have all one Father,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:10">Mal. ii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though he is poor, yet still he is thy brother, and is to be loved and
|
|
owned as a brother. Poverty does not destroy the relation. Though a son
|
|
of Abraham, yet he may wax poor and fall into decay. Note, Poverty and
|
|
decay are great grievances, and very common: <I>The poor you have
|
|
always with you.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Our duty enjoined: <I>Thou shalt relieve him.</I> By sympathy,
|
|
pitying the poor; by service, doing for them; and by supply, giving to
|
|
them according to their necessity and thy ability.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Poor debtors must not be oppressed: <I>If thy brother be waxen
|
|
poor,</I> and have occasion to borrow money of thee for the necessary
|
|
support of his family, <I>take thou no usury of him,</I> either for
|
|
money or victuals,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:36,37"><I>v.</I> 36, 37</A>.
|
|
|
|
And thus far this law binds still, but could never be thought binding
|
|
where money is borrowed for purchase of lands, trade, or other
|
|
improvements; for there it is reasonable that the lender share with the
|
|
borrower in the profit. The law here is plainly intended for the relief
|
|
of the poor, to whom it is sometimes as great a charity to lend freely
|
|
as to give. Observe the arguments here used against extortion.
|
|
|
|
(1.) God patronizes the poor: "<I>Fear thy God,</I> who will reckon
|
|
with thee for all injuries done to the poor: thou fearest not them, but
|
|
fear him."
|
|
|
|
(2.) Relieve the poor, <I>that they may live with thee,</I> and some
|
|
way or other they may be serviceable to thee. The rich can as ill spare
|
|
the hands of the poor as the poor can the purses of the rich.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The same argument is used to enforce this precept that prefaces
|
|
all the ten commandments: <I>I am the Lord your God which brought you
|
|
out of Egypt,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:38"><I>v.</I> 38</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It becomes those that have received mercy to show mercy. If God
|
|
has been gracious to us, we ought not to be rigorous with our
|
|
brethren.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_39"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_40"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_41"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Le25_42"> </A>
|
|
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Oppression of Brethren Forbidden.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>39 And if thy brother <I>that dwelleth</I> by thee be waxen poor,
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and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a
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bondservant:
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40 <I>But</I> as an hired servant, <I>and</I> as a sojourner, he shall be
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with thee, <I>and</I> shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee:
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41 And <I>then</I> shall he depart from thee, <I>both</I> he and his
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children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto
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the possession of his fathers shall he return.
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42 For they <I>are</I> my servants, which I brought forth out of the
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land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
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43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy
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God.
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44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have,
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<I>shall be</I> of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall
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ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
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45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn
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among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that <I>are</I>
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with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your
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possession.
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46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children
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after you, to inherit <I>them for</I> a possession; they shall be your
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bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel,
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ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
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47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy
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brother <I>that dwelleth</I> by him wax poor, and sell himself unto
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the stranger <I>or</I> sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the
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stranger's family:
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48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his
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brethren may redeem him:
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49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or
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<I>any</I> that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him;
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or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
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50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year
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that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of
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his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according
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to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
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51 If <I>there be</I> yet many years <I>behind,</I> according unto them
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he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money
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that he was bought for.
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52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee,
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then he shall count with him, <I>and</I> according unto his years
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shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
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53 <I>And</I> as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: <I>and
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the other</I> shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
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54 And if he be not redeemed in these <I>years,</I> then he shall go
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out in the year of jubilee, <I>both</I> he, and his children with him.
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55 For unto me the children of Israel <I>are</I> servants; they
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<I>are</I> my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt:
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I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the laws concerning servitude, designed to preserve the
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honour of the Jewish nation as a free people, and rescued by a divine
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power out of the house of bondage, into the glorious liberty of God's
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sons, his first-born. Now the law is,</P>
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<P>
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I. That a native Israelite should never be made a bondman for
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perpetuity. If he was sold for debt, or for a crime, by the house of
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judgment, he was to serve but six years, and to go out the seventh;
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this was appointed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+21:2">Exod. xxi. 2</A>.
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But if he sold himself through extreme poverty, having nothing at all
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left him to preserve his life, and if it was to one of his own nation
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that he sold himself, in such a case it is here provided,
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1. That he should not <I>serve as a bond-servant</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:39"><I>v.</I> 39</A>),
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nor be <I>sold with the sale of a bondman</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:42"><I>v.</I> 42</A>);
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that is, "it must not be looked upon that his master that bought him
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had as absolute a property in him as in a captive taken in war, that
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might be used, sold, and bequeathed, at pleasure, as much as a man's
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cattle; no, he shall serve thee as a <I>hired servant,</I> whom the
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master has the use of only, but not a despotic power over." And the
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reason is, <I>They are my servants,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:42"><I>v.</I> 42</A>.
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God does not make his servants slaves, and therefore their brethren
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must not. God had redeemed them out of Egypt, and therefore they must
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never be exposed to sale as bondmen. The apostle applies this
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spiritually
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:23">1 Cor. vii. 23</A>),
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<I>You are bought with a price, be not the servants of men,</I> that
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is, "of the lusts of men, no, nor of your own lusts;" for, having
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<I>become the servants of God,</I> we must not <I>let sin reign in our
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mortal bodies,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+6:12,22">Rom. vi. 12, 22</A>.
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2. That while he did serve he should not be ruled with rigour, as the
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Israelites were in Egypt,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:43"><I>v.</I> 43</A>.
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Both his work and his usage must be such as were fitting for a son of
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Abraham. Masters are still required to <I>give to their servants that
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which is just and equal,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+4:1">Col. iv. 1</A>.
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They may be used, but must not be abused. Those masters that are always
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hectoring and domineering over their servants, taunting them and
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trampling upon them, that are unreasonable in exacting work and giving
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rebukes, and that rule them with a high hand, forget that their Master
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is in heaven; and what will they do when he rises up? as holy Job
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reasons with himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:13,14">Job xxxi. 13, 14</A>.
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3. That at the year of jubilee he should <I>go out free,</I> he <I>and
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his children,</I> and should <I>return to his own family,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:41"><I>v.</I> 41</A>.
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This typified our redemption from the service of sin and Satan by the
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grace of God in Christ, whose <I>truth makes us free,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:32">John vii. 32</A>.
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The Jewish writers say that, for ten days before the jubilee-trumpet
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sounded, the servants that were to be discharged by it did express
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|
their great joy by feasting, and wearing garlands on their heads: it is
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|
therefore called the <I>joyful sound,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:15">Ps. lxxxix. 15</A>.
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And we are thus to rejoice in the liberty we have by Christ.</P>
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<P>
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II. That they might purchase bondmen of the heathen nations that were
|
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round about them, or of those strangers that sojourned among them
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(except of those seven nations that were to be destroyed); and might
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claim a dominion over them, and entail them upon their families as an
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inheritance, for the year of jubilee should give no discharge to them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:44,46"><I>v.</I> 44, 46</A>.
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Thus in our English plantations the <I>negroes</I> only are used as
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slaves; how much to the credit of Christianity I shall not say. Now,
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|
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1. This authority which they had over the bondmen whom they purchased
|
|
from the neighbouring nations was in pursuance of the blessing of
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Jacob,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+27:29">Gen. xxvii. 29</A>,
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<I>Let people serve thee.</I>
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2. It prefigured the bringing in of the Gentiles to the service of
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Christ and his church. <I>Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen
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for thy inheritance,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:8">Ps. ii. 8</A>.
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And it is promised
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:5">Isa. lxi. 5</A>),
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<I>Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the
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alien shall be your vine-dressers;</I> see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+2:26,27">Rev. ii. 26, 27</A>.
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<I>The upright shall have the dominion in the morning,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14">Ps. xlix. 14</A>.
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3. It intimates that none shall have the benefit of the gospel jubilee
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but those only that are Israelites indeed, and the children of Abraham
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|
by faith: as for those that continue heathenish, they continue bondmen.
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See this turned upon the unbelieving Jews themselves,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:25">Gal. iv. 25</A>,
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where Jerusalem, when she had rejected Christ, is said to be <I>in
|
|
bondage with her children.</I> Let me only add here that, though they
|
|
are not forbidden to rule their bondmen with rigour, yet the Jewish
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doctors say, "It is the property of mercy, and way of wisdom, that a
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|
man should be compassionate, and not make his yoke heavy upon any
|
|
servant that he has."</P>
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<P>
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|
III. That if an Israelite sold himself for a servant to a wealthy
|
|
proselyte that sojourned among them care should be taken that he should
|
|
have the same advantages as if he had sold himself to an Israelite, and
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in some respects greater.
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1. That he should not serve as a bondman, but as a hired servant, and
|
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not to be <I>ruled with rigour</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:53"><I>v.</I> 53</A>),
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<I>in thy sight,</I> which intimated that the Jewish magistrates should
|
|
particularly have an eye to him, and, if he were abused, should take
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cognizance of it, and redress his grievances, though the injured
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servant did not himself complain. Also he was to go free at the year of
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jubilee,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:54"><I>v.</I> 54</A>.
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Though the sons of strangers might serve them for ever, yet the sons of
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Israel might not serve strangers for ever; yet the servant here, having
|
|
made himself a slave by his own act and deed, should not go out in the
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seventh year of release, but in the jubilee only.
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2. That he should have this further advantage that he might be redeemed
|
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again before the year of jubilee,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:48,49"><I>v.</I> 48, 49</A>.
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He that had sold himself to an Israelite might, if ever he was able,
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redeem himself, but his relations had no right to redeem him. "But if a
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man sold himself to a stranger," the Jews say, "his relations were
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urged to redeem him; if they did not, it was fit that he should be
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redeemed at the public charge," which we find done,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+5:8">Neh. v. 8</A>.
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The price of his ransom was to be computed according to the prospect of
|
|
the year of jubilee
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:50-52"><I>v.</I> 50-52</A>),
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as in the redemption of land,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
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The learned bishop Patrick quotes one of the Jewish rabbin for an
|
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evangelical exposition of that appointment
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:48"><I>v.</I> 48</A>),
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<I>One of his brethren shall redeem him.</I> "This Redeemer," says the
|
|
rabbi, "<I>is the Messiah, the Son of David.</I>" They expected this
|
|
Messiah to be their Redeemer out of their captivity, and to restore
|
|
them to their own land again; but we welcome him as the Redeemer who
|
|
shall come to Zion, and shall <I>turn away ungodliness from Jacob,</I>
|
|
for he shall <I>save his people from their sins;</I> and under this
|
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notion there were those that <I>looked for redemption in
|
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Jerusalem.</I></P>
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