630 lines
48 KiB
XML
630 lines
48 KiB
XML
<div2 id="Lev.xxvi" n="xxvi" next="Lev.xxvii" prev="Lev.xxv" progress="61.76%" title="Chapter XXV">
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<h2 id="Lev.xxvi-p0.1">L E V I T I C U S</h2>
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<h3 id="Lev.xxvi-p0.2">CHAP. XXV.</h3>
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<p class="intro" id="Lev.xxvi-p1">The law of this chapter concerns the lands and
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estates of the Israelites in Canaan, the occupying and transferring
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of which were to be under the divine direction, as well as the
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management of religious worship; for, as the tabernacle was a holy
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house, so Canaan was a holy land; and upon that account, as much as
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any thing, it was the glory of all lands. In token of a peculiar
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title which God had to this land, and a right to dispose of it, he
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appointed, I. That every seventh year should be a year of rest from
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occupying the land, a sabbatical year, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.1-Lev.25.7" parsed="|Lev|25|1|25|7" passage="Le 25:1-7">ver. 1-7</scripRef>. In this God expected from them
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extraordinary instances of faith and obedience, and they might
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expect from God extraordinary instances of power and goodness in
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providing for them, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.18-Lev.25.22" parsed="|Lev|25|18|25|22" passage="Le 25:18-22">ver.
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18-22</scripRef>. II. That every fiftieth year should be a year of
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jubilee, that is, 1. A year of release of debts and mortgages, and
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return to the possession of their alienated lands, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.8-Lev.25.17" parsed="|Lev|25|8|25|17" passage="Le 25:8-17">ver. 8-17</scripRef>. Particular directions
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are given, (1.) Concerning the sale and redemption of lands,
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<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.23-Lev.25.28" parsed="|Lev|25|23|25|28" passage="Le 25:23-28">ver. 23-28</scripRef>. (2.) Of
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houses in cities and villages, with a proviso for Levite-cities,
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<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.29-Lev.25.34" parsed="|Lev|25|29|25|34" passage="Le 25:29-34">ver. 29-34</scripRef>. 2. A year of
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release of servants and bond-slaves. (1.) Here is inserted a law
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for the kind usage of poor debtors, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.35-Lev.25.38" parsed="|Lev|25|35|25|38" passage="Le 25:35-38">ver. 35-38</scripRef>. (2.) Then comes the law for
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the discharge of all Israelites that were sold for servants, in the
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year of jubilee, if they were not redeemed before. [1.] If they
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were sold to Israelites, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.39-Lev.25.46" parsed="|Lev|25|39|25|46" passage="Le 25:39-46">ver.
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39-46</scripRef>. And, [2.] If sold to proselytes, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.47-Lev.25.55" parsed="|Lev|25|47|25|55" passage="Le 25:47-55">ver. 47-55</scripRef>. All these appointments
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have something moral and of perpetual obligation in them, though in
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the letter of them they were not only peculiar to the Jews, but to
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them only while they were in Canaan.</p>
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<scripCom id="Lev.xxvi-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25" parsed="|Lev|25|0|0|0" passage="Le 25" type="Commentary"/>
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<scripCom id="Lev.xxvi-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.1-Lev.25.7" parsed="|Lev|25|1|25|7" passage="Le 25:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.25.1-Lev.25.7">
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<h4 id="Lev.xxvi-p1.11">The Sabbatical Year. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p1.12">b. c.</span> 1490.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Lev.xxvi-p2">1 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p2.1">Lord</span>
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spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, 2 Speak unto the
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children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land
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which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p2.2">Lord</span>. 3 Six years thou shalt sow
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thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather
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in the fruit thereof; 4 But in the seventh year shall be a
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sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p2.3">Lord</span>: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor
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prune thy vineyard. 5 That which groweth of its own accord
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of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of
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thy vine undressed: <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
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thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired
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servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, 7
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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.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p3">The law of Moses laid a great deal of
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stress upon the sabbath, the sanctification of which was the
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earliest and most ancient of all divine institutions, designed for
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the keeping up of the knowledge and worship of the Creator among
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men; that law not only revived the observance of the weekly
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sabbath, but, for the further advancement of the honour of them,
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added the institution of a sabbatical year: <i>In the seventh year
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shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.4" parsed="|Lev|25|4|0|0" passage="Le 25:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. And hence the Jews collect that
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vulgar tradition that after the world has stood six thousand years
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(a thousand years being to God as one day) it shall cease, and the
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eternal sabbath shall succeed—a weak foundation on which to build
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the fixing of that day and hour which it is God's prerogative to
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know. This sabbatical year began in September, at the end of
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harvest, the seventh month of their ecclesiastical year: and the
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law was, 1. That at the seed-time, which immediately followed the
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end of their in-gathering, they should sow no corn in their land,
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and that they should not in the spring dress their vineyards, and
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consequently that they should not expect either harvest or vintage
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the next year. 2. That what their ground did produce of itself they
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should not claim any property or use in, otherwise than from hand
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to mouth, but leave it for the poor, servants, strangers, and
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cattle, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.5-Lev.25.7" parsed="|Lev|25|5|25|7" passage="Le 25:5-7"><i>v.</i> 5-7</scripRef>. It
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must be a sabbath of rest to the land; they must neither do any
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work about it, nor expect any fruit from it; all annual labours
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must be intermitted in the seventh year, as much as daily labours
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on the seventh day. The Jews say they "began not to reckon for the
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sabbatical year till they had completed the conquest of Canaan,
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which was in the eighth year of Joshua; the seventh year after that
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was the first sabbatical year, and so the fiftieth year was the
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jubilee." This year there was to be a general release of debts
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(<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.15.1-Deut.15.2" parsed="|Deut|15|1|15|2" passage="De 15:1,2">Deut. xv. 1, 2</scripRef>), and a
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public reading of the law in the feast (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.31.10-Deut.31.11" parsed="|Deut|31|10|31|11" passage="De 31:10,11">Deut. xxxi. 10, 11</scripRef>), to make it the more
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solemn. Now, (1.) God would hereby show them that he was their
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landlord, and that they were tenants at will under him. Landlords
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are wont to stipulate with their tenants when they shall break up
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their ground, how long they shall till it, and when they shall let
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it rest: God would thus give, grant, and convey, that good land to
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them, under such provisos and limitations as should let them know
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that they were not proprietors, but dependents on their Lord. (2.)
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It was a kindness to their land to let it rest sometimes, and would
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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
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not to use the ground as if it were designed only for one age. (3.)
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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
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of religion, and to get the knowledge of God and his law. (4.) They
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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
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share with them in the gifts of God's bounty, which the earth
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brought forth of itself. (5.) They were brought to live in a
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constant dependence upon the divine providence, finding that, as
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man lives not by bread alone, so he has bread, not by his own
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industry alone, but, if God pleases, by the word of blessing from
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the mouth of God, without any care or pains of man, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.4.4" parsed="|Matt|4|4|0|0" passage="Mt 4:4">Matt. iv. 4</scripRef>. (6.) They were reminded of
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the easy life man lived in paradise, when he ate of every good
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thing, not, as since, in the sweat of his face. Labour and toil
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came in with sin. (7.) They were taught to consider how the poor
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lived, that did neither sow nor reap, even by the blessing of God
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upon a little. (8.) This year of rest typified the spiritual rest
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which all believers enter into through Christ, our true Noah, who
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giveth us comfort and rest <i>concerning our work, and the toil of
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our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed,</i>
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<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.5.29" parsed="|Gen|5|29|0|0" passage="Ge 5:29">Gen. v. 29</scripRef>. Through him we
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are eased of the burden of worldly care and labour, both being
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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
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were enjoyed in common, so the salvation wrought out by Christ is a
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common salvation; and this sabbatical year seems to have been
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revived in the Christian church, when the believers had <i>all
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things common,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.44" parsed="|Acts|2|44|0|0" passage="Ac 2:44">Acts ii.
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44</scripRef>.</p>
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</div><scripCom id="Lev.xxvi-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.8-Lev.25.22" parsed="|Lev|25|8|25|22" passage="Le 25:8-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.25.8-Lev.25.22">
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<h4 id="Lev.xxvi-p3.9">Institution of the Jubilee; the Year of the
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Jubilee. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p3.10">b. c.</span> 1490.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="Lev.xxvi-p4">8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years
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unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven
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sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. 9
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Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the
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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. 10
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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 his
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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. 12 For it
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<i>is</i> the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the
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increase thereof out of the field. 13 In the year of this
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jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. 14
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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
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of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: 16 According to the
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multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and
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according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of
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it: for <i>according</i> to the number <i>of the years</i> of the
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fruits doth he sell unto thee. 17 Ye shall not therefore
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oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I <i>am</i>
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the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p4.1">Lord</span> your God. 18
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Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do
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them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. 19 And the
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land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell
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therein in safety. 20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat
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the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our
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increase: 21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the
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sixth year, 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
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fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat
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<i>of</i> the old <i>store.</i></p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p5">Here is, I. The general institution of the
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jubilee, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.8-Lev.25.22" parsed="|Lev|25|8|25|22" passage="Le 25:8-22"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>,
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&c.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p6">1. When it was to be observed: after
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<i>seven sabbaths of years</i> (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.8" parsed="|Lev|25|8|0|0" passage="Le 25:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), whether the forty-ninth or
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fiftieth is a great question among learned men: that it should be
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the seventh sabbatical year, that is, the forty-ninth (which by a
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very common form of speech is called the fiftieth), seems to me
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most probable, and is, I think, made pretty clear and the
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objections removed by that learned chronologer Calvisius; but this
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is not a place for arguing the question. Seven sabbaths of weeks
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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
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of God's resting the seventh day from the work of creation.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p7">2. How it was to be proclaimed, with sound
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of trumpet in all parts of the country (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.5" parsed="|Lev|25|5|0|0" passage="Le 25:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), both to give notice to all
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persons of it, and to express their joy and triumph in it; and the
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word <i>jobel,</i> or <i>jubilee,</i> is supposed to signify some
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particular sound of the trumpet distinguishable from any other; for
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the trumpet that gives an uncertain sound is of little service,
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<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.14.8" parsed="|1Cor|14|8|0|0" passage="1Co 14:8">1 Cor. xiv. 8</scripRef>. The trumpet
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was sounded in the close of the day of atonement; thence the
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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
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voice of <i>joy and gladness,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.11.8" parsed="|Ps|11|8|0|0" passage="Ps 11:8">Ps.
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xi. 8</scripRef>. When their peace was made with God, then liberty
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was proclaimed; for the removal of guilt is necessary to make way
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for the entrance of all true comfort, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Rom.5.1-Rom.5.2" parsed="|Rom|5|1|5|2" passage="Ro 5:1,2">Rom. v. 1, 2</scripRef>. In allusion to this solemn
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proclamation of the jubilee, it was foretold concerning our Lord
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Jesus that he should <i>preach the acceptable year of the Lord,</i>
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<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.2" parsed="|Isa|61|2|0|0" passage="Isa 61:2">Isa. lxi. 2</scripRef>. He sent his
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apostles to proclaim it with the trumpet of the everlasting gospel,
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which they were to preach to every creature. And it stands still
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foretold that at the last day the trumpet shall sound, which shall
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release the dead out of the bondage of the grave, and restore us to
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our possessions.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p8">3. What was to be done in that year
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extraordinary; besides the common rest of the land, which was
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observed every sabbatical year (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.11-Lev.25.12" parsed="|Lev|25|11|25|12" passage="Le 25:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11, 12</scripRef>), and the release of
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personal debts (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.15.2-Deut.15.3" parsed="|Deut|15|2|15|3" passage="De 15:2,3">Deut. xv. 2,
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3</scripRef>), there was to be the legal restoration of every
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Israelite to all the property, and all the liberty, which had been
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alienated from him since the last jubilee; so that never was any
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people so secured in their liberty and property (those glories of a
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people) as Israel was. Effectual care was taken that while they
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kept close to God these should not only not be taken from them by
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the violence of others, but not thrown away by their own folly.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p9">(1.) The property which every man had in
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his dividend of the land of Canaan could not be alienated any
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longer than till the year of jubilee, and then he or his should
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return to it, and have a title to it as undisputed, and the
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possession of it as undisturbed, as ever (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.10 Bible:Lev.25.13" parsed="|Lev|25|10|0|0;|Lev|25|13|0|0" passage="Le 25:10,13"><i>v.</i> 10, 13</scripRef>): "<i>You shall return
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every man to his possession;</i> so that if a man had sold or
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mortgaged his estate, or any part of it, it should then return to
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him or his heirs, free of all charge and encumbrance. Now this was
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no wrong to the purchaser, because the year of jubilee was fixed,
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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
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his heirs, upon condition that he should never sell or alienate
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them, the grant is good, but the condition is void and repugnant:
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<i>Iniquum est ingenuis hominibus</i> (say the lawyers) <i>non esse
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liberam rerum suarum alienationem—It is unjust to prevent free men
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from alienating their own possessions.</i> Yet it is agreed in the
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books that if the king grant lands to a man in fee upon condition
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he shall not alienate, the condition is good. Now God would show
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his people Israel that their land was his, and they were his
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tenants; and therefore he ties them up that they shall not have
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power to sell, but only to make leases for any term of years, not
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going beyond the next jubilee. By this means it was provided, [1.]
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That their genealogies should be carefully preserved, which would
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be of use for clearing our Saviour's pedigree. [2.] That the
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distinction of tribes should be kept up; for, though a man might
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purchase lands in another tribe, yet he could not retain them
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longer than till the year of jubilee, and then they would revert of
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course. [3.] That none should grow exorbitantly rich, by laying
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<i>house to house, and field to field</i> (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.5.8" parsed="|Isa|5|8|0|0" passage="Isa 5:8">Isa. v. 8</scripRef>), but should rather apply themselves
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to the cultivating of what they had than the enlarging of their
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possessions. The wisdom of the Roman commonwealth sometimes
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provided that no man should be master of above 500 acres. [4.] That
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no family should be sunk and ruined, and condemned to perpetual
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poverty. This particular care God took for the support of the
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honour of that people, and the preserving, not only of that good
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land to the nation in general, but of every man's share to his
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family in particular, for a perpetual inheritance, that it might
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the better typify that good part which shall <i>never be taken
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away</i> from those that have it.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p10">(2.) The liberty which every man was born
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to, if it were sold or forfeited, should likewise return at the
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year of jubilee: <i>You shall return every man to his family,</i>
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<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.10" parsed="|Lev|25|10|0|0" passage="Le 25:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Those that
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were sold into other families thereby became strangers to their
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own; but in this year of redemption they were to return. This was
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typical of our redemption by Christ from the slavery of sin and
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Satan, and our restoration to the glorious liberty of the children
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of God. Some compute that the very year in which Christ died was a
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year of jubilee, and the last that ever was kept. But, however that
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be, we are sure it is the Son that <i>makes us free,</i> and then
|
||
we are <i>free indeed.</i></p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p11">II. A law upon this occasion against
|
||
oppression in buying and selling of land; neither the buyer nor the
|
||
seller must overreach, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.14-Lev.25.17" parsed="|Lev|25|14|25|17" passage="Le 25:14-17"><i>v.</i>
|
||
14-17</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.15" parsed="|Lev|25|15|0|0" passage="Le 25:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:1Thess.4.6" parsed="|1Thess|4|6|0|0" passage="1Th 4:6">1 Thess. iv. 6</scripRef>. Perhaps Nehemiah
|
||
refers to this very law (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Neh.5.15" parsed="|Neh|5|15|0|0" passage="Ne 5:15"><i>ch.</i> v.
|
||
15</scripRef>), 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 class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p12">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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.18" parsed="|Lev|25|18|0|0" passage="Le 25:18"><i>v.</i>
|
||
18</scripRef>, and again, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.19" parsed="|Lev|25|19|0|0" passage="Le 25:19"><i>v.</i>
|
||
19</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.21" parsed="|Lev|25|21|0|0" passage="Le 25:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.131.15" parsed="|Ps|131|15|0|0" passage="Ps 131:15">Ps. cxxxi.
|
||
15</scripRef>. (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>
|
||
</div><scripCom id="Lev.xxvi-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.23-Lev.25.38" parsed="|Lev|25|23|25|38" passage="Le 25:23-38" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.25.23-Lev.25.38">
|
||
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xxvi-p13">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 <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p13.1">Lord</span> 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.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p14">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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.23" parsed="|Lev|25|23|0|0" passage="Le 25:23"><i>v.</i>
|
||
23</scripRef>. (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, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.21.3" parsed="|1Kgs|21|3|0|0" passage="1Ki 21:3">1 Kings xxi. 3</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.24 Bible:Lev.25.26 Bible:Lev.25.27" parsed="|Lev|25|24|0|0;|Lev|25|26|0|0;|Lev|25|27|0|0" passage="Le 25:24,26,27"><i>v.</i> 24, 26, 27</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.25" parsed="|Lev|25|25|0|0" passage="Le 25:25"><i>v.</i>
|
||
25</scripRef>): <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 (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Num.5.8 Bible:Ruth.3.9" parsed="|Num|5|8|0|0;|Ruth|3|9|0|0" passage="Nu 5:8,Ru 3:9">Num. v. 8; Ruth iii. 9</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Ruth.4.6-Ruth.4.7" parsed="|Ruth|4|6|4|7" passage="Ru 4:6,7">Ruth iv. 6,
|
||
7</scripRef>); 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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.19.25" parsed="|Job|19|25|0|0" passage="Job 19:25">Job xix. 25</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.8" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.28" parsed="|Lev|25|28|0|0" passage="Le 25:28"><i>v.</i>
|
||
28</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.9" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.29-Lev.25.30" parsed="|Lev|25|29|25|30" passage="Le 25:29,30"><i>v.</i> 29, 30</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.10" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.32-Lev.25.33" parsed="|Lev|25|32|25|33" passage="Le 25:32,33"><i>v.</i> 32, 33</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.11" osisRef="Bible:Num.35.4-Num.35.5" parsed="|Num|35|4|35|5" passage="Nu 35:4,5">Num. xxxv. 4,
|
||
5</scripRef>) 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,
|
||
<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.12" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.34" parsed="|Lev|25|34|0|0" passage="Le 25:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>. Even the
|
||
Egyptians took care to preserve the <i>land of the priests,</i>
|
||
<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p14.13" osisRef="Bible:Gen.47.22" parsed="|Gen|47|22|0|0" passage="Ge 47:22">Gen. xlvii. 22</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p15">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 class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p16">1. The poor must be relieved, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.35" parsed="|Lev|25|35|0|0" passage="Le 25:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Mal.2.10" parsed="|Mal|2|10|0|0" passage="Mal 2:10">Mal. ii. 10</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p17">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, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.36-Lev.25.37" parsed="|Lev|25|36|25|37" passage="Le 25:36,37"><i>v.</i> 36, 37</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.38" parsed="|Lev|25|38|0|0" passage="Le 25:38"><i>v.</i> 38</scripRef>.
|
||
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>
|
||
</div><scripCom id="Lev.xxvi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.39-Lev.25.55" parsed="|Lev|25|39|25|55" passage="Le 25:39-55" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Lev.25.39-Lev.25.55">
|
||
<h4 id="Lev.xxvi-p17.4">Oppression of Brethren
|
||
Forbidden. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p17.5">b. c.</span> 1490.)</h4>
|
||
<p class="passage" id="Lev.xxvi-p18">39 And if thy brother <i>that dwelleth</i> by
|
||
thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel
|
||
him to serve as a bondservant: 40 <i>But</i> as an hired
|
||
servant, <i>and</i> as a sojourner, he shall be with thee,
|
||
<i>and</i> shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee: 41 And
|
||
<i>then</i> shall he depart from thee, <i>both</i> 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
|
||
<i>are</i> 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, <i>shall
|
||
be</i> 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 <i>are</i> 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 <i>them for</i> 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 <i>that dwelleth</i>
|
||
by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger <i>or</i>
|
||
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 <i>any</i> 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 <i>there be</i> yet many years <i>behind,</i>
|
||
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, <i>and</i> according unto his years shall he give him
|
||
again the price of his redemption. 53 <i>And</i> as a yearly
|
||
hired servant shall he be with him: <i>and the other</i> shall not
|
||
rule with rigour over him in thy sight. 54 And if he be not
|
||
redeemed in these <i>years,</i> then he shall go out in the year of
|
||
jubilee, <i>both</i> he, and his children with him. 55 For
|
||
unto me the children of Israel <i>are</i> servants; they <i>are</i>
|
||
my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I
|
||
<i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Lev.xxvi-p18.1">Lord</span> your God.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p19">We have here the laws concerning servitude,
|
||
designed to preserve the honour of the Jewish nation as a free
|
||
people, and rescued by a divine power out of the house of bondage,
|
||
into the glorious liberty of God's sons, his first-born. Now the
|
||
law is,</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p20">I. That a native Israelite should never be
|
||
made a bondman for perpetuity. If he was sold for debt, or for a
|
||
crime, by the house of judgment, he was to serve but six years, and
|
||
to go out the seventh; this was appointed, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.21.2" parsed="|Exod|21|2|0|0" passage="Ex 21:2">Exod. xxi. 2</scripRef>. But if he sold himself through
|
||
extreme poverty, having nothing at all left him to preserve his
|
||
life, and if it was to one of his own nation that he sold himself,
|
||
in such a case it is here provided, 1. That he should not <i>serve
|
||
as a bond-servant</i> (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.39" parsed="|Lev|25|39|0|0" passage="Le 25:39"><i>v.</i>
|
||
39</scripRef>), nor be <i>sold with the sale of a bondman</i>
|
||
(<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.42" parsed="|Lev|25|42|0|0" passage="Le 25:42"><i>v.</i> 42</scripRef>); that is,
|
||
"it must not be looked upon that his master that bought him had as
|
||
absolute a property in him as in a captive taken in war, that might
|
||
be used, sold, and bequeathed, at pleasure, as much as a man's
|
||
cattle; no, he shall serve thee as a <i>hired servant,</i> whom the
|
||
master has the use of only, but not a despotic power over." And the
|
||
reason is, <i>They are my servants,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.42" parsed="|Lev|25|42|0|0" passage="Le 25:42"><i>v.</i> 42</scripRef>. God does not make his servants
|
||
slaves, and therefore their brethren must not. God had redeemed
|
||
them out of Egypt, and therefore they must never be exposed to sale
|
||
as bondmen. The apostle applies this spiritually (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.7.23" parsed="|1Cor|7|23|0|0" passage="1Co 7:23">1 Cor. vii. 23</scripRef>), <i>You are bought
|
||
with a price, be not the servants of men,</i> that is, "of the
|
||
lusts of men, no, nor of your own lusts;" for, having <i>become the
|
||
servants of God,</i> we must not <i>let sin reign in our mortal
|
||
bodies,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Rom.6.12 Bible:Rom.6.22" parsed="|Rom|6|12|0|0;|Rom|6|22|0|0" passage="Ro 6:12,22">Rom. vi. 12,
|
||
22</scripRef>. 2. That while he did serve he should not be ruled
|
||
with rigour, as the Israelites were in Egypt, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.7" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.43" parsed="|Lev|25|43|0|0" passage="Le 25:43"><i>v.</i> 43</scripRef>. Both his work and his usage
|
||
must be such as were fitting for a son of Abraham. Masters are
|
||
still required to <i>give to their servants that which is just and
|
||
equal,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.8" osisRef="Bible:Col.4.1" parsed="|Col|4|1|0|0" passage="Col 4:1">Col. iv. 1</scripRef>. They
|
||
may be used, but must not be abused. Those masters that are always
|
||
hectoring and domineering over their servants, taunting them and
|
||
trampling upon them, that are unreasonable in exacting work and
|
||
giving rebukes, and that rule them with a high hand, forget that
|
||
their Master is in heaven; and what will they do when he rises up?
|
||
as holy Job reasons with himself, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.9" osisRef="Bible:Job.31.13-Job.31.14" parsed="|Job|31|13|31|14" passage="Job 31:13,14">Job xxxi. 13, 14</scripRef>. 3. That at the year of
|
||
jubilee he should <i>go out free,</i> he <i>and his children,</i>
|
||
and should <i>return to his own family,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.10" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.41" parsed="|Lev|25|41|0|0" passage="Le 25:41"><i>v.</i> 41</scripRef>. This typified our redemption
|
||
from the service of sin and Satan by the grace of God in Christ,
|
||
whose <i>truth makes us free,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.11" osisRef="Bible:John.7.32" parsed="|John|7|32|0|0" passage="Joh 7:32">John
|
||
vii. 32</scripRef>. The Jewish writers say that, for ten days
|
||
before the jubilee-trumpet sounded, the servants that were to be
|
||
discharged by it did express their great joy by feasting, and
|
||
wearing garlands on their heads: it is therefore called the
|
||
<i>joyful sound,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p20.12" osisRef="Bible:Ps.89.15" parsed="|Ps|89|15|0|0" passage="Ps 89:15">Ps. lxxxix.
|
||
15</scripRef>. And we are thus to rejoice in the liberty we have by
|
||
Christ.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p21">II. That they might purchase bondmen of the
|
||
heathen nations that were round about them, or of those strangers
|
||
that sojourned among them (except of those seven nations that were
|
||
to be destroyed); and might claim a dominion over them, and entail
|
||
them upon their families as an inheritance, for the year of jubilee
|
||
should give no discharge to them, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.44 Bible:Lev.25.46" parsed="|Lev|25|44|0|0;|Lev|25|46|0|0" passage="Le 25:44,46"><i>v.</i> 44, 46</scripRef>. Thus in our English
|
||
plantations the <i>negroes</i> only are used as slaves; how much to
|
||
the credit of Christianity I shall not say. Now, 1. This authority
|
||
which they had over the bondmen whom they purchased from the
|
||
neighbouring nations was in pursuance of the blessing of Jacob,
|
||
<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.27.29" parsed="|Gen|27|29|0|0" passage="Ge 27:29">Gen. xxvii. 29</scripRef>, <i>Let
|
||
people serve thee.</i> 2. It prefigured the bringing in of the
|
||
Gentiles to the service of Christ and his church. <i>Ask of me, and
|
||
I will give thee the heathen for thy inheritance,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.8" parsed="|Ps|2|8|0|0" passage="Ps 2:8">Ps. ii. 8</scripRef>. And it is promised
|
||
(<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.5" parsed="|Isa|61|5|0|0" passage="Isa 61:5">Isa. lxi. 5</scripRef>), <i>Strangers
|
||
shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall
|
||
be your vine-dressers;</i> see <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.26-Rev.2.27" parsed="|Rev|2|26|2|27" passage="Re 2:26,27">Rev.
|
||
ii. 26, 27</scripRef>. <i>The upright shall have the dominion in
|
||
the morning,</i> <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|14|0|0" passage="Ps 49:14">Ps. xlix.
|
||
14</scripRef>. 3. It intimates that none shall have the benefit of
|
||
the gospel jubilee but those only that are Israelites indeed, and
|
||
the children of Abraham by faith: as for those that continue
|
||
heathenish, they continue bondmen. See this turned upon the
|
||
unbelieving Jews themselves, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p21.7" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.25" parsed="|Gal|4|25|0|0" passage="Ga 4:25">Gal. iv.
|
||
25</scripRef>, 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 doctors say, "It is the property of mercy,
|
||
and way of wisdom, that a man should be compassionate, and not make
|
||
his yoke heavy upon any servant that he has."</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="Lev.xxvi-p22">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 in some respects greater. 1.
|
||
That he should not serve as a bondman, but as a hired servant, and
|
||
not to be <i>ruled with rigour</i> (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.53" parsed="|Lev|25|53|0|0" passage="Le 25:53"><i>v.</i> 53</scripRef>), <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 cognizance of it,
|
||
and redress his grievances, though the injured servant did not
|
||
himself complain. Also he was to go free at the year of jubilee,
|
||
<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.54" parsed="|Lev|25|54|0|0" passage="Le 25:54"><i>v.</i> 54</scripRef>. Though the
|
||
sons of strangers might serve them for ever, yet the sons of 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 seventh year of release, but in the jubilee only. 2. That he
|
||
should have this further advantage that he might be redeemed again
|
||
before the year of jubilee, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.48-Lev.25.49" parsed="|Lev|25|48|25|49" passage="Le 25:48,49"><i>v.</i> 48, 49</scripRef>. He that had sold himself
|
||
to an Israelite might, if ever he was able, redeem himself, but his
|
||
relations had no right to redeem him. "But if a man sold himself to
|
||
a stranger," the Jews say, "his relations were urged to redeem him;
|
||
if they did not, it was fit that he should be redeemed at the
|
||
public charge," which we find done, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:Neh.5.8" parsed="|Neh|5|8|0|0" passage="Ne 5:8">Neh.
|
||
v. 8</scripRef>. The price of his ransom was to be computed
|
||
according to the prospect of the year of jubilee (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.5" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.50-Lev.25.52" parsed="|Lev|25|50|25|52" passage="Le 25:50-52"><i>v.</i> 50-52</scripRef>), as in the
|
||
redemption of land, <scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.6" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.15-Lev.25.16" parsed="|Lev|25|15|25|16" passage="Le 25:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15,
|
||
16</scripRef>. The learned bishop Patrick quotes one of the Jewish
|
||
rabbin for an evangelical exposition of that appointment (<scripRef id="Lev.xxvi-p22.7" osisRef="Bible:Lev.25.48" parsed="|Lev|25|48|0|0" passage="Le 25:48"><i>v.</i> 48</scripRef>), <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 notion
|
||
there were those that <i>looked for redemption in
|
||
Jerusalem.</i></p>
|
||
</div></div2> |