Torah Studies · Study 26
Rest, Release, and Our Redeemer
Connecting the Torah and Jesus
Day 26 · Leviticus 25
Explore the Sabbath year and Jubilee in Leviticus 25. Learn about trust, fair treatment, redemption, and the good news Jesus announced.
In this study
Let’s begin together
Father, teach us to trust Your care and use what we have with mercy. Open our eyes to people under heavy burdens and to the freedom Jesus brings. In His name, amen.
Leviticus 25 looks ahead to Israel’s life in the land. It gives laws about resting the land, recovering family property, and responding to poverty. Redemption means buying back or releasing something or someone according to the stated terms. Read the promises and limits together.
Main truth: God’s ownership challenges our greed and calls us to trust, mercy, and care for people in need.
1. Even the land was to rest
Leviticus 25:1-7 King James Version
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
Every seventh year, Israel was to stop its normal sowing and pruning. What grew on its own provided food for people and animals. This land Sabbath reminded the people that constant production was not their master. The land and its fruit belonged to God.
2. Jubilee gave a time of return
Leviticus 25:8-17 King James Version
8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
15 According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
After seven groups of seven years, the fiftieth year was proclaimed as Jubilee. Israelites were to return to their family property under these laws. Land prices depended on the number of harvests remaining before that return. The command was clear: do not take advantage of one another.
Leviticus 25:18-24 King James Version
18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
19 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
God answered the question, “What shall we eat?” with a promise of provision to Israel as they kept these commands. He also declared that the land was His. This is a specific covenant promise, not a formula guaranteeing that every gift we give will triple our money. Its challenge is to trust God and stop treating possessions as our ultimate security.
3. Make a way for a family to recover
Leviticus 25:25-34 King James Version
25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some 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 it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile 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; within 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 is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.
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 jubile.
32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and 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 the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
A relative could redeem family land sold because of poverty. The chapter then distinguishes farmland, village houses, homes in walled cities, and Levite property. Not every sale followed the same rule. Reading the details keeps us from promising a return the text does not actually give.
Leviticus 25:35-38 King James Version
35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be 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 am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
When a neighbor became poor, the response was to help that person live among the community. Israel was not to turn the person’s need into a way to earn interest or profit. The reminder of rescue from Egypt gave them a reason for mercy: they knew what it meant to need deliverance.
4. Read both the protections and the limits
Leviticus 25:39-46 King James Version
39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:
41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
An impoverished Israelite was to be treated as a hired worker and released at Jubilee. However, verses 44–46 permitted foreign slaves to be held as property and passed to children. That is a serious difference in the text. We should not say that this chapter freed every enslaved person equally, or use its ancient laws as permission to own people today.
Leviticus 25:47-55 King James Version
47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family:
48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
49 Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
An Israelite who had sold himself to a wealthy foreigner could be redeemed by a relative or, if able, by himself. The price was tied to the remaining years, and harsh treatment was forbidden. The chapter ends by declaring that Israel belonged to the Lord who rescued them. Their identity was meant to shape their treatment of one another.
5. Jesus announces good news and release
Luke 4:16-21 King James Version
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Jesus reads from Isaiah and announces good news to the poor, release for captives, and the Lord’s year of favor. This language echoes the Torah’s concern for release and restoration. Jesus says the Scripture is fulfilled in the hearing of His listeners. He presents Himself as the One bringing God’s promised good news.
John 8:34-36 King James Version
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Jesus also speaks of freedom from slavery to sin. His rescue reaches the power of wrongdoing in our lives. Trusting Him calls us to leave sin and to show mercy to others. Spiritual freedom should make us more attentive to people’s real burdens, not less.
Talk it over with friends
1. How did the land’s rest call Israel to trust God?
2. What protections and limits must we both notice in this chapter?
3. How can Jesus’ mercy change the way we respond to someone in need?
Put it into practice
Look for one burden you can help carry. Share a meal, offer practical help, or treat someone under financial pressure fairly. Refuse to profit from another person’s desperation.
A verse to carry with you
John 8:36 King James Version
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
The Son brings real freedom from the rule of sin.
Let’s pray together
Father, everything we have comes from You. Teach us to trust Your care, resist greed, and help people under heavy burdens. Thank You for Jesus, who brings freedom and restoration. Let His mercy shape how we live and give. In His name, amen.
I love you, my friends.
Scripture and sources
Scripture text was checked against the King James Version published by eBible.org. Complete verses retain the historical wording; editorial footnotes are omitted. Scripture references link to the source chapter.