Message 58
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Scripture Reading: Lev. 25:35-55
In this message we shall cover some further matters related to the jubilee.
Leviticus 25:35-38 speaks of the way to sustain a brother who had become poor.
A brother of the Israelites becoming poor and unable to support himself (v. 35a) signifies a believing brother becoming poor and unable to take care of himself. From the type here we are told how to take care of such a brother.
“If your brother beside you becomes poor and is unable to support himself, then you shall sustain him as you would an alien or a sojourner, so that he may live with you. Do not take interest from him or increase, but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not give him your money at interest, nor give him your food for gain” (vv. 35-37). This signifies that we should help the brother who becomes weak in spirit without taking any advantage of him.
In the church life it is possible to take advantage of a brother while we are helping him. We may take advantage of a brother not only in one way and in one aspect but in a number of ways and in a number of aspects. We should not do this, for we should never take advantage of a brother who is weak. Instead, we should take care of him in love so that he may live before the Lord as we do. We should live by Christ, in Christ, and with Christ, and our brother should live this way with us.
Leviticus 25:39-55 concerns a brother who had sold himself to another brother.
“If your brother beside you becomes poor and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave. He shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of jubilee” (vv. 39-40). This signifies that if a brother becomes poor spiritually and is in debt to you, you should not consider him as your slave but as a helper to you until a revival comes to him. In this point we interpret jubilee as a kind of spiritual revival.
In the church life a certain saint may be in debt to you spiritually speaking. Because a saint may owe you something, it is easy for you to consider this one to be your slave. We may have such a feeling in our heart, and our attitude and spirit may express the feeling that the one indebted to us is our slave. This is wrong. No matter how much a saint may owe us spiritually, we should consider that one not as a slave nor even as a servant but as a helper until he is revived by the grace of God. Then this one who has been under our care will be fully recovered. In a number of cases, certain brothers rendered spiritual help to a weaker one, but this kind of help eventually became an offense to the one who was helped. The more a saint was helped, the more he was offended. From this we see that it is possible for our spiritual care of others to cause offense. If our spirit and attitude are wrong, if we consider ourselves superior to the ones we are helping and look down on them, if we regard them as lowly slaves or servants, our help and care will, in the long run, result in offense. This should be a warning to us. Whenever we are helping or caring for a weaker brother, we need to respect him. Even in gospel preaching we should not consider ourselves superior to those to whom we preach. Likewise, in home meetings and in small group meetings, we should never regard ourselves as leaders and think that we are higher than or superior to the ones we are helping. Such an attitude offends others.
In helping others we should have the attitude that we are their servants. In 2 Corinthians 4:5 Paul says, “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” Paul was an apostle and he had God’s oracle, yet he did not behave as one superior to those whom he served. It is altogether wrong to have a superior attitude. Concerning this, we need to learn of the Lord. When He came as our Savior, He came to serve us as a slave. He was God’s Slave serving God’s redeemed ones. This is our example. If we keep this in mind, we shall be able to help the brothers properly for the long run.
“Then he shall go out from you, he and his sons with him, and go back to his own family, and return to the possession of his fathers” (v. 41). This signifies that at the time of revival the brother who is in debt to you spiritually will be released from you.
Actually, we may not be able to help a younger brother or a weaker brother very much, but we may help him to remain in the church until the jubilee, a time of revival, comes to him. This revival brings in God’s sufficient and adequate grace to meet the brother’s need.
We should always remember that what we can do for others really does not mean very much. At most, we can help to maintain a situation. Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made to grow; so that neither is the one who plants anything nor the one who waters, but the One who makes to grow, God” (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Here we see that neither the one who planted nor the one who watered could do anything to give life to those whom they served. God is the One who gives life. We, therefore, must learn the lesson of humility. Yes, we may do a lot, but not a lot can be accomplished. We may plant and water, but the plant will not grow unless God gives the growth. When God gives growth, there is a revival, a revival that brings in all the grace needed for the spiritual life.
Whether we shall be a profit to the church life or a loss depends on our motive, our spirit, and our attitude. In helping a weaker one, your attitude unconsciously may be that such a one is your servant or that he is beneath you. While he is under your care, he is actually under your bondage. Thus, the helped one is in bondage to the helping one. However, when a revival comes, the brother who has been in bondage to you will be released from your bondage. If you do not realize this today, eventually you will realize that the one whom you help may be in bondage to you and needs a jubilee, a spiritual revival, in order to be released from this bondage.
“You shall not rule over him with harshness, but you shall fear your God” (v. 43). Not ruling over a sold brother with harshness signifies that we should not harshly treat a brother who is in debt to us spiritually.
In 25:44-46 we see that God’s people could purchase male and female slaves from the nations and from the sojourners and consider them as their possessions, but they were not to take slaves from among the Israelites. This signifies that we should not treat the brothers like the outsiders.
As long as a certain one is a saint, we must treat that one as a brother or as a sister. The words brother and sister are not religious titles. When we use these words, we should really mean what we say. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord are our spiritual relatives in the divine life. The unbelievers, however, cannot be considered our brothers and sisters, because they do not have the divine life, as we do. But because we and our brothers and sisters have the same life, the divine life, we are in reality of the same one divine family. Therefore, we should not treat them like the outsiders.
In verses 47 through 49 we see that an Israelite brother who sold himself to an alien or a sojourner was to be redeemed by his brother, by his uncle, or by any of his blood relatives, or by himself if he had acquired the sufficient means. This signifies that we should help a brother who is spiritually in debt to outsiders so that he may be released from his indebtedness, or so that he may become able to release himself by his own means.
Perhaps you are wondering how a brother could be spiritually in debt to an outsider. The best way to explain this may be to give a number of illustrations.
Suppose a certain brother is not humble in his contact with his neighbors. This brother may offend one of his neighbors by being too proud. As a result, the brother becomes spiritually indebted to his neighbor. If you become aware of the situation as you are visiting with the brother, you should help him to be adjusted in his relationship with his neighbor. This will save him from that indebtedness and help his spiritual life and his testimony. No doubt, this will also help his preaching of the gospel in his neighborhood.
Another brother may be very peculiar in his dress or in the way he keeps his hair. This causes those around him to feel uncomfortable. Since he is a dear brother, we need to fellowship with him, pray with him, digest some verses with him, and, without correcting him, help him to gradually adjust himself through the growth in life. If this brother receives the growth in life, this will adjust him. In other words, the growth in life will transform him, and he will realize that it is better for him not to be peculiar or strange in his dress or appearance.
A sister may become spiritually indebted to her mother-in-law, who is an unbeliever. If you become aware of this indebtedness and you realize that the sister needs help, it would not be right to avoid touching the situation. You need to pray for the sister and also pray about her situation. Then you may say to her, “Sister, you are saved, but your mother-in-law is not yet saved. She is still an unbeliever. She doesn’t know what sin is, and she doesn’t know the flesh. But you and I are believers. We know what the flesh is, and we know that we are charged not to walk by the flesh. Sister, I see that your attitude toward your mother-in-law is not good. I speak this to you frankly in love so that you may know that you may lose the Lord’s testimony in your family. You need to pray.” I believe that such a word will help the sister to be released from her indebtedness to her unbelieving mother-in-law.
In their actual daily situation, many believers have become indebted to outsiders. In our attitude, in the way we express ourselves, in the way we contact people, and in the way we deal with our neighbors, relatives, classmates, and colleagues, we may be indebted to outsiders. This may be an important reason why we do not spread the gospel. Sometimes we cannot preach the gospel to others because we are spiritually indebted to them.
Actually, not many brothers in the church life are spiritually rich. Rather, many have become spiritually poor. Those who are poor need help. Perhaps we also have become spiritually poor and thus need to receive help from other brothers.
The selling price and the amount of the refund for redemption was to be calculated according to the number of years relative to the jubilee (vv. 50-53). This signifies that our release from slavery is related to and based on God’s grace.
The jubilee involves the matters of selling and buying. We may sell our property and even ourselves, yet have the intention of redeeming what we have sold, either our property or ourselves. This is altogether related to God’s grace because eventually we realize that we are unable to do anything about our situation. Since we cannot redeem our possession or ourselves, we must leave the matter of redemption to the jubilee. Hence, we all need to learn that we live by grace. We cannot redeem either our possession or ourselves. Redemption depends absolutely on God’s grace.
“And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he shall be released in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him” (v. 54). This signifies that we can be released from our slavery wholly by the grace of God. We do not need any other means.
The one who did not have any means to redeem himself was in a helpless situation until the year of jubilee, the time when he was released. This indicates that for our redemption we do not need any means other than the grace of God. However, every human being likes to try to find a means, a way, to be released, but often the circumstances arranged by God do not allow us to do anything for ourselves. Thus, we have to remain in our helpless situation until the jubilee, the grace, comes to us. Then we shall be fully released from our slavery.
In Leviticus 25 the land typifies Christ, and Christ told us that He would build the church upon Himself (Matt. 16:18). The houses built on the land and within the walled cities typify the church built upon Christ.
Now we need to see that the enjoyment of Christ is based on the principle of grace, whereas the enjoyment of the church life is based on the principle of righteousness. In Hebrews 5:13 we have the expression “the word of righteousness.” The book of Hebrews deals with the enjoyment of the church life, and most of what is written in this book is the word of righteousness. This indicates that the enjoyment of the church life is according to the principle of righteousness. Because this enjoyment is of righteousness, there is a statute of limitations. If we keep this statute, we shall have the enjoyment of the church life in this age and also in the coming age. We need to be careful about this matter.
According to Leviticus 25, there were houses in the land that were not in walled cities. We interpret these houses as signifying free groups. In one sense it is not good to be in a free group. In another sense there is an advantage to being in a free group, and the advantage is that in a free group it is not easy to lose our right to enjoy the church life.
In type, Leviticus 25 shows us three kinds of Christians: those who remain in the church life, those who lose the church life, and those who are in the free groups. We should be those who stay in the church life.
In this portion of Leviticus concerning the jubilee we have seen the enjoyment of Christ, the enjoyment of the church life, and the matter of the proper relationship with the saints. According to my experiences, the easiest of these three to have is the enjoyment of Christ. It is not as easy to enjoy the church life as it is to enjoy Christ. The hardest of these is to have the proper relationship with our fellow saints. This is a matter of utmost concern, for it touches our motive, our spirit, our attitude, and our words.
When we are living in the church life, we need others. This is indicated in verse 35 by the words “that he may live with you.” We need the saints to live with us. If we do not have any saints living with us, we do not have the church life.
The church life does not depend only on our loving the Lord or on our loving the church life; the church life depends especially on our care for the other saints. We need to take care of the saints in a good way, and this care involves our motive, our spirit, our attitude, and our words. In contacting the saints, we may be wrong in our motive, attitude, and spirit, and our words may not be altogether according to the leading of the Lord. I can testify that much of my daily confession to the Lord concerns my motive, spirit, attitude, and words in relation to the saints.
If the Body of Christ is to be built up, we need to live with other saints and they need to live with us. If we cannot live together with the saints, there will be no church life, and if there is no church life, there cannot be the building up of the Body of Christ.
Jubilee is not just a matter of shouting, release, recovery, and restoration, for in the last section of Leviticus 25 there are three tests. These three tests are loving the Lord, loving the church life, and caring for our fellow saints. How do you live with the saints, with your “church mates”? How do you help them to live with you? How can we maintain a situation in which we live together as church mates? This depends on our way of keeping our fellowship and our relationship with them, and it depends on our motive, our spirit, our attitude, and our words. We need a pure motive, a pure and perfect spirit, and a right attitude with the right utterance. This will not only help, edify, and build up the saints; it will also spontaneously build up the Body of Christ. When the Body of Christ comes into existence in a practical way, then the jubilee will be among us.
