On Thursday morning, after they
had finished cleaning the building here, Jim and Susan Grant and
Shelby and I visited for a little bit, and then Jim was going to
do some work on Shelby's computer for her. And he and I were discussing
this 25th chapter of Leviticus. In the course of our conversation,
Jim made a statement, and I hastily said, no, that's not accurate.
He told me that the law given here in Leviticus 25, God in
this law specifically states that no slaves of the heathen
were to be set free. And I said, that's not there.
That's not there. Well, I don't like to eat crow,
but I had to eat a lot of crow. As soon as Jim went into Shelby's
office, I turned back to Leviticus 25 and read chapters 25 and 26
and 27 again and again and again. And I said to Jim before he left,
I was mistaken, you were right. The passage gives a specific
exemption when God commanded that all the captives, the bondmen,
the slaves be set free. command of the law referred only
to those captives, those bondmen, those slaves who had been sold
into slavery by some problem, some poverty, some difficulty
they had incurred, but it applied only to the children of Israel. The heathen were to remain bondmen
to those who possessed them even through the year of Jubilee.
Now, needless to say, I've been studying Leviticus 25, 26, and
27 for the last three days, and I believe God's given me a message
for you. My subject this morning is lessons
from the Jubilee. Leviticus chapter 25, lessons
from the Jubilee. In ancient Israel, the Lord God
established this law called the Law of the Jubilee, the Year
of Jubilee. It was a law that required a
new beginning for all the children of Israel every 50 years. The law was given as were all
the laws given by God to Israel only to the nation of Israel. Now this is so very important
when you want to understand the teaching of this book and the
laws given in the Old Testament. The law was given only to the
nation of Israel. It was never given to any Gentile
nation. It was given only to the nation
of Israel and the law was given only to that nation who were
or who was typical of God's holy nation, his elect. typical of
his church, the Israel of God. The law was given only to that
nation and had only to do with that nation. It has only to do
with things concerning God's people, the Israel of God. The
whole of the law, the ceremonial law, the Levitical law, This
law concerning the year of Jubilee, the whole of the law of God was
a foreshadowing of redemption, grace, and salvation in and by
the Lord Jesus Christ. The law was not given for any
other purpose. I can't state that with sufficient
firmness and stress. The law was not given for any
other purpose than to foreshadow the redemption, grace, and salvation
that would be accomplished by Jesus Christ, our great Redeemer. This ancient law in Israel was
called the year of Jubilee. Now our text this morning will
be the whole of Leviticus 25, which I read to you earlier.
Obviously, I'm not going to expound this chapter verse by verse,
but simply call out some highlights and show you some things in the
chapter that I believe will be very pertinent to you who hear
it. I want to show you what was to
be done in the celebration of the year of Jubilee according
to the law of God given to Moses. In doing so, I want to show you
how this great ordinance of God in the Old Testament finds its
fulfillment in our experience of grace as the gospel of God's
grace is proclaimed and made effectual to us. of all the solemn
ceremonies, the typical ordinances of the Old Testament, held up
to the eye of faith in that ancient time, none was of greater significance,
foreshadowing things to come by Christ Jesus, than this given
here concerning the year of Jubilee. The year of Jubilee was ordained
by God, set at Sinai to be a time of restoration, rejoicing, and
reconciliation. The year of the Jubilee Sabbath
was designed to be the highest, glorious, most anticipated of
all the Old Testament Sabbaths. In the year of Jubilee, all the
woes of the previous 49 years. That's a whole life of man. All the woes of the previous
49 years, that's the whole life of a man. All of them were to
be undone. All debts were canceled. All
lost property was restored. All families were reunited. There
was a complete reversal, a complete renewal of life. given to all
Israel who had by any cause, by any circumstance, come into
debt, lost their heritage, or had been subject to bondage.
In all these things, foreshadowed in the year of Jubilee, we have
a picture of God's great salvation described in one verse of scripture.
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things
are passed away. Behold all things are become
new now. Let me try to answer four questions
for you in this message Here's the first one What was the significance
of the Jubilee trumpet? Look at verse 8 Leviticus 25 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
Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the
tenth day of the seventh month in the day of atonement shall
you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Now, turn if you
will to two passages in the New Testament. First in Luke chapter
4. I want you to see what this jubilee trumpet signifies. The
blowing of the jubilee trumpet every 50 years Portrayed the
preaching of the gospel of God's free grace the joyful sound of
redemption and grace Accomplished by Christ Jesus our Savior makes
this perfectly clear here in Luke chapter 4 verse 16 He came
to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom
was The Lord Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath
day and stood up for to read He took the scriptures and stood
up before the congregation, just as I have with you this morning,
and began to read. And he read to them from the
61st chapter of Isaiah, verse 17, Luke chapter 4. And there
was delivered unto him the book of Isaiah. And when he had opened
the book, he found the place where it was written, 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, now watch
this, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. He sent me
to proclaim that which was portrayed in the year of Jubilee, the acceptable
year of the Lord, the year of reconciliation, the year of restoration,
the year of rejoicing. In fact, the word Jubilee has
many shades of meaning. It is a sound of alarm. But principally,
it means to rejoice or to shout with joy or happiness. So he sent me to proclaim the
acceptable year of God, which is for you a year of rejoicing,
a time of reconciliation, a time of restitution. And he closed
the book. and gave it again to the minister
and sat down, and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them,
this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. The psalmist put
it this way. Blessed are the people that know
the joyful sound. They shall walk, O Lord, in the
light of thy countenance. God's salvation. includes all
that's involved in bringing chosen, redeemed sinners out of darkness
into light, out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of
God, out of sin into righteousness, out of depravity into perfection. all that's involved in bringing
us ultimately into the perfect, complete, joyous liberty of the
sons of God in Christ Jesus in resurrection glory. So the year
of Jubilee portrays the rest that is ours. This rest that
begins in the Gospel Sabbath by faith in Christ Jesus. And
the rest that shall be ours in resurrection glory when God makes
all things new in his creation. So turn to 1 Corinthians 15.
You'll see this trumpet sounded again. 1 Corinthians chapter
15. The Jubilee trumpet refers to the preaching of the Gospel.
And it refers to the trump of God that shall announce our Savior's
glorious second advent and resurrection glory. First Corinthians 15 21. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. For the trumpet
shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we
shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh,
death, where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin. The
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be unto God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord. For as much as you know that
your work, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So the jubilee
trumpet refers to the gospel of God's grace, the declaration
of salvation in and by Jesus Christ, and the trumpet of God
that shall sound in the last day to announce the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ in our resurrection glory. That's the
significance of the jubilee trumpet. Now, I'm going to be the Lord
willing. Writing in our bulletin the rest of this but I have written
for the rest of this month Articles dealing with this time of Jubilee,
but let's just pick up three more highlights here concerning
the year of Jubilee Here's the second question Why did the Lord
God? Specifically require that the
year of Jubilee must always begin on the Day of Atonement God gave
the law. He required that the year of
jubilee always begin on the day of atonement. Verse 9, Leviticus
25. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound
on the tenth day of the seventh month in the day of atonement
shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Now, over the years, I have read
all I can find concerning this matter of the year of Jubilee.
The commandment of God is crystal clear. This was established by
God as a law the Jews were required by God to observe. But I can't
find any record anywhere in the Old Testament or anywhere in
any history book where the Jews ever made an effort to keep this
year. I can't find one record. Now
one record where they even made an effort to observe this law.
This law was given by our God to be a specific portrayal of
redemption and grace in Christ Jesus. And God required it to
be done specifically on the Day of Atonement every 50 years. But why did God require it on
the Day of Atonement? I can think of a number of reasons
why Israel may not have observed this. Probably they thought it
would cost them too much. Probably. But why did God require
it to be done on the Day of Atonement? Israel was taught by this, and
we are taught by this, that no blessing of God's grace, no blessing
of God's mercy, no blessing of God's salvation, no blessing
of God's deliverance, can ever come down to sinners from heaven
except by the merit and the efficacy of the accomplished redemption
of Jesus Christ our Savior. Without the shedding of blood
is no remission. Our Savior's blood must be poured
out on the cursed tree. His blood must be sprinkled on
the mercy seat. His blood must be accepted in
the holy place. He must come out of the tomb
without sin under salvation. He must ascend to the throne
of God and sit down before grace can come to any sinner. Yes,
salvation is altogether by God's free grace. But understand this,
and this is what this generation has missed altogether. Salvation
by grace is a righteous and just salvation. God Almighty will
not and cannot forgive sin except satisfaction be made. God Almighty
will not and cannot put away sin, except by the blood atonement
of his darling son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Justice demands
satisfaction. Righteousness demands obedience. And God cannot simply overlook
our sin. God cannot simply overlook our
transgressions. God cannot simply overlook our
iniquities. Now you and I, to the ability,
Ron, that we're able to forgive one another. We just overlook
things. We just overlook them. If you
require someone to do something before you forgive them, that's
not really forgiving them. You're requiring some kind of
a payment for it. God's forgiveness is not like
ours. We overlook transgressions to
the ability we're able to. God overlooks transgressions
because God puts them away. God overlooks iniquity because
God puts it away. God overlooks our sins because
God puts them away. He thoroughly purged away our
sins by the sacrifice of his son. And now in justice, in righteousness,
and in truth, without bending his law, without bending his
righteousness, without denying his own truth, God is just and
the justifier of all who believe. Does that mean then that no grace
was ever given to sinners until 2,000 years ago when the Lord
Jesus died at Calvary? Of course not. Of course not. God saved Adam and Eve in the
garden. God saved Abel shortly thereafter. God saved Enoch, and God saved
Noah, and God saved Abraham, and God saved Job way back in
the Old Testament in the earliest days of time. God saved his elect
because this work was finished from the foundation of the world.
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. That which God wills to do is
that which God accomplished by His will. For God to will a thing
is for God to do it. And God's will was finished before
the world began. So precise and detailed is the
order of God's providence. that even the cycles of the solar
system were set by him and are maintained by him, so that the
Jews and the Romans, who by their wicked wills crucified the Lord
of Glory, did so precisely at the time of the Passover. They
did so precisely at the time of the evening sacrifice. They
did so precisely in the place where God required the sacrifice
to be made in the Holy City, Jerusalem. And they did so, according
to the calculations of those who calculate such things, precisely
at the appointed time of Jubilee. at the precise time when God
ordained the Jubilee trumpet to be sound, in that very hour
on the Day of Atonement, when Passover should have been sacrificed,
when indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us, God arranged
for His Son to die at Calvary as the Jubilee sacrifice on the
Day of Atonement. Now, when you consider that,
That makes Acts 2.23 just a little bit bigger. Christ being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. This matter of our Savior's redemption
is described by our Lord like this, now is the judgment of
this world. Now is the judgment of this world. Now is the crisis. Now is the hinge. Now is the
turning point of all time. The turning point of history.
God created this world. God created this world and he
set all things that men call laws of nature. the law of his
purpose and his providence in order from the beginning to arrange
the specific hour when the Son of God will be crucified to redeem
our souls. Oh, the wonders of redemption
and the wonders of providence will be the constant amazement
of redeemed sinners throughout the ages of eternity. Let me
briefly show you in the third place. what was to be done in
the year of Jubilee. Go back to Leviticus 25 again.
Look at verse 10. Here we're given a list of eight
specific things which were to be done in the year of Jubilee.
Eight things accomplished by God's grace through the redemption
that's in Christ Jesus. Let's look at them. Leviticus
25 verse 10. You shall hallow The word is
sanctify or make holy the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout
all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof. Proclaim the liberty
to everybody. Proclaim the liberty to everybody.
Only those of Israel are going to be set free. But proclaim
the liberty to all the land. It shall be a jubilee unto you. and you shall return every man
unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his
family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth
year be unto you. You shall not sow, neither reap
that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes
in it of thine undressed, for it is the jubilee. It shall be
holy unto you. You shall eat the increase thereof
out of the field, In the year of this Jubilee, you shall return
every man unto his possession. All right, here are the eight
things that were to be done in the year of Jubilee. Eight things
to be done in this day of grace because of the blood atonement
of Christ. Liberty was to be proclaimed
throughout all the land. I stress again, only those bondmen
who were of the children of Israel were to be set free. But the
liberty is to be proclaimed to both those bondmen who would
be set free and to those bondmen among the heathen, or taken from
among the heathen, who could not be set free. Those who were
lifetime bondmen and heritage for the possession of the children
of Israel. Well, why is that? Why would
liberty be proclaimed to everyone when liberty was to be given
only to a specific people? For a very clear reason. We don't
know who God's elect are. We don't know where they are.
We have no idea who God has chosen, upon whom God will pour out his
grace. But we do know that he pours out his grace upon chosen
redeemed sinners through the preaching of the gospel. And
so we preach the word. And those who are set free, those
are God's bondmen. Those who are set free, they
are God's elect. We do what we can to make the
gospel known everywhere. I'm going, as I told you earlier,
down to Florida and I'll preach there. Maybe there'll be a half
a dozen people. They may have many people there.
I have no idea. But why would you go and spend
the time and effort and money and labor to go preaching someplace
where there's just two or three, maybe half a dozen people? Because
God has his elect everywhere. And we're to proclaim the gospel
throughout all the land of our generation. And God will, by
the preaching of the word, gather his elect to himself. Second,
the exiles were to be returned. Those who had been sent into
exile because of poverty, because of distress, because of some
difficulty, or even because of murder. All the exiles were to
be returned. And so it is, God's elect banished
from God are brought back to him. God's elect driven out of
the garden are brought back to him, not just in a physical garden,
but in the garden of life in Christ Jesus the Lord and brought
at last to the paradise of God. The captive were emancipated. The captive were set free. Men
and women held in bondage, children held in bondage were set free. If the son of man shall make
you free. If the Son of God shall make
you free, if Jesus Christ shall make you free, you shall be free
indeed. I was a bondman, taken captive
by Satan at his will. A bondman to the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. A bondman
to my own depraved nature. A bondman under the curse of
God's law. And the Lord Jesus came in the
jubilee of His grace and set me free. He sets the captive
free. Fourth, the debtor was cleared
of all his debts and made completely free. Everything he owed was
canceled. Everything he owed, wiped out. The slate, wiped completely clean. So it is with God's children
in the liberty of His grace. We owe God what we can't pay. You and I owe God perfect obedience. And we owe God complete satisfaction. We can't obey and we can't satisfy. But Jesus Christ, our Redeemer,
as our substitute and our surety, as our covenant head and our
federal head, stood in our room instead, and he obeyed God for
us. He, by his blood, satisfied justice
for us, and we in him lived unto God, and we in him were crucified
by God, and now we in him live again. And the debt is cleared. Fifthly, every family opened
its doors and opened its heart to receive once more its long
lost members. The prodigal who wasted all his
father's substance in riotous living came home and was made
to rejoice. Years ago, I heard Brother Ralph
Barnard preaching one of his messages on tape years ago. Some
of you have heard it, I'm sure. He was preaching up in Canada.
And as was the custom in those days when a visiting evangelist
came to town, they'd go visit everybody they could, try to
get them to come to the services. And the preacher and Rolfe were
out visiting one day, just walking down the streets. And Rolfe started
to open a gate and go to this place. And the preacher said,
I wouldn't go in there if I was you. That's the wrong thing to
say to Rolfe. Rolfe said, well, why is that?
He said, well, you don't go in there. That lady, she has a reputation. And Sir Roth just walked on through
the gate and knocked on the door. And this lady answered the door.
She said, what can I do for you, big boy? And he said, I'm Roth
Barnard. I'm the evangelist preaching
down here, First Baptist Church. I'd like you to come hear me
tonight. She said, you've got to be kidding. He said, no, no,
I want you to come. She said, if I walked in there,
folks would drop dead. He said, it'd do them good. Come
on down. And he started to preach. About the time he got in the
pulpit, she showed up. this woman of ill repute, this town harlot. And God got her by his omnipotent grace, as is
his custom. And when the service was over,
she came down and spoke to Brother Barnard, told him what God had
done for her. And Brother Barnard said to the
congregation, this dear sister had been saved by God's grace.
What are you going to do? And they sang, and nothing happened. And an old saint from the back,
one of the mothers in Israel, walked up to the front, took
her by the hand, and then took her arms around her neck, kissed
her on the cheek, and said, welcome home, sister. In the year of
Jubilee, all the estranged children of the family are welcomed home
to the family again. In the year of God's grace, all
the prodigals, all the wayward sons and daughters, no matter
where they are, no matter what they are, no matter what they've
been, are welcome home. Come to Christ and welcome. Come to Christ. Oh, God help
you now. Come to Christ and you will find
the welcome mat at the door. Here's the sixth thing. Every
man, every man in Israel who had lost his heritage received it again. Every one
of them. Turn to Ephesians chapter one. Ephesians chapter one. I'm going
to give you a minute to get there because I want you to hear what
I'm about to say. Ephesians 1 Not one of God's
chosen Not one of God's elect Not one soul redeemed by Christ
precious blood can ever by any circumstance Be deprived of possessing
forever his inheritance with the Son of God Bobby God gave
it to us before the world was We forfeited in our father Adam,
but we're going to get it back. We have regained all in Christ.
Ephesians one verse three, blessed be the God and father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. According as he had chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him. In love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by jesus christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will To the praise of the glory of
his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved look
down at verse 11 In whom also in christ the beloved? We have
obtained an inheritance this very inheritance we've read about
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should
be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. Every chosen redeemed sinner
shall have his inheritance. God's law and God's justice demand
it. For Christ has satisfied all
on our behalf. All right, look at verse 13.
Paul said that we should be to the praise of God's glory, the
triune God who first trusted in Christ, in whom he also trusted,
after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise, sealed with God the Holy Spirit,
sealed by God the Holy Spirit. What's that talking about? Sealed.
Preserved yes kept yes Sealed in the day of resurrection. Yes,
but it's more than that When God the Holy Spirit comes to
the chosen redeemed sinner and gives him faith in Christ Believing
on the Son of God all the blessings of grace are sealed to you I
know God is mine. I know grace is mine. I know
Christ is mine. I'm chosen. I'm redeemed. I'm
called. I know. Because God's given me faith
in his son. Do you believe on the son of
God? To believe him is to possess actively this inheritance. But
there's one more thing. One more thing given here. Two
more things. Here's the seventh. Everybody in God's is real. in
the year of Jubilee, enjoyed a time of blessed, blessed rest,
feeding upon the provisions of grace. The sound of the trumpet
was the welcome soul-cheering signal for captives to escape
their prison, for the slave to cast off the chains of his bondage,
for the manslayer to return to his home. for the ruined and
poverty-stricken to arise and possess their forfeited inheritance. No sooner did the jubilee trumpet
sound than the mighty tide of blessing rose majestically and
sent refreshing to the souls of those restored, and they entered
into rest. They feasted, not by laboring,
Well, they weren't allowed to do anything. They couldn't sow
their ground. They couldn't even walk out in
the field and pick their own vines. They weren't allowed to do anything.
They were required completely to rest, rest and feed upon the
old store of God's miraculous provision. God said in the sixth
year you plant your fields and I'm going to bless them and you
can eat off of it for three years. You can eat off of it for three
years. And God did just that, so that they would have this
possession for three years, eating from the old store. The Jews
seem never to have found the enjoyment of fulfilling this
requirement of the law. I have. I rest in Christ. And I refuse to do anything for
myself. to give me any lift toward God,
to give me any hope with God, to give me any righteousness,
any redemption, any forgiveness. I feast on the old store of God's
free grace in Jesus Christ the Lord. That's what it is to rest. That's what it is to keep the
Sabbath. Now, one more thing. Everyone in Israel was required
to measure the value of all things in the prospect of that great
day. They were required to measure
the value of their service or the service of their laborer,
the value of their home and their field and their cattle, their
property, even their money. They were required to measure
the value of everything in the prospect of hearing the jubilee
trumpet. Look at verse 14, Leviticus 25,
verse 14. If thou sell aught unto thy neighbor,
or buyest aught of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one
another. According to the number of years
after the Jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor and according
to the number of years of the fruits He shall sell unto thee
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 that they sell it unto thee Ye shall not
therefore oppress one another but thou shalt fear, thou shalt
worship thy God, for I am the Lord your God. The year of Jubilee
reminded both the buyer and the seller that everything belonged
to Jehovah. It was not to be sold. The fruits
might be sold, but not the land. Everything belonged to God. They
were just temporary tenants in the land. Just temporary tenants. We're told in verses 29 and 30
that the houses in the walled cities might be bought and sold
at any time through the year. They were just houses. But the
houses out in the villages in the country were considered a
part of the land, the possession of Israel forever, and they were
not to be bought and sold. fell into difficult times during
the year of jubilee, those things would be redeemed and returned
to the rightful heritage of the rightful man. Not only that,
but the scale of prices was regulated by jubilee. As jubilee got nearer,
the less valuable the land was. The further at a distance, the
more valuable it was to be calculated. Ah, so it is with us. Children
of God, you who live in anticipation of Jubilee's glory, hold everything
here with a loose hand. Look not at things which are
seen, but at things which are not seen. For the things which
are seen Billy, that's not just some things.
That's everything. That farm's just temporal. It's
perishing. It has a mark on it. It's marked
for burning. That dear lady sitting there
and your relationship with her, just temporal. Just temporal. Just temporal. Soon this relationship's
every earthly tie must perish. Everything earthly. It's all
just temporary. Measure everything in the light
of eternity. Every possession, every relationship,
everything in the light of eternity. Set your heart on things above,
not on things below, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God. your life is hid with Christ
in God. In the light of eternity, let
your moderation be known unto all men. God forgive me for my horrible
lack of moderation. God forgive me for allowing temporal
things to disturb me. God, forgive me for allowing
things that don't matter to bother me. Shouldn't do it. Shouldn't do it. Let your moderation
be known to all men. The Lord's at hand. Oh, may God
give us grace to live every moment in the immediate prospect of
eternity, valuing all things in the light of eternity. If
he will, We will no longer oppress one another. We will no longer
abuse one another. We will serve them and use what
we have to serve them and him. Now, back at Leviticus 25 one
more time. And let me wrap this message
up by showing you fourthly why the Lord God expressly forbade
the release of those bondmen those slaves who were bought
and taken by force from among the heathen. Verse 44, God gives
a very clear display of an exception he made, an exception that shows
his marvelous distinguishing grace. Both thy bondmen and thy
bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that
are round about you. Of them shall you buy bondmen
and bondmaids, Moreover, of the children of the strangers that
do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of your families
that are with you, which they begat in your land, and they
shall be your possession. Ye shall take them as an inheritance
for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession.
They shall be your bondmen forever. But over your brethren, the children
of Israel, Ye shall not rule over one another with rigor. Here, God specifically distinguishes
Israel's bondmen from other bondmen. Those who were bondmen who were
Israelites were to go free in the Jubilee. Those who were bondmen
who were not Israelites never went free. They were the possession
of Israel forever. Why is that? Because our Lord
Jesus, by his almighty, irresistible grace, sends forth and delivers
his prisoners, all of his prisoners, and only his prisoners. Turn
to Zechariah chapter 9. Let me show you. Zechariah chapter
9. Verse 11 is a prophecy of our Savior.
As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent
forth, look at it, thy prisoners. Thy prisoners out of the pit
wherein is no water. Not all prisoners, thy prisoners. We were his prisoners, elect
prisoners, redeemed prisoners, and now freed prisoners. Freed by the blood of his covenant,
shed for our souls and our everlasting redemption. That's Jubilee. What about the others? They belong
to you. They're your possession. Shem and Japheth, representing
God's elect among the Jews and the Gentiles, are forever given
Ham to be their servant, generation after generation. And the purpose
for Ham's existence is to serve for the good the everlasting
good of God's elect, Shem and Japheth. God's elect scattered
among the Jews and the Gentiles in every generation. And serve
them, they always do. They shall never go out free. Never. Never. You mean, Brother
Don, everybody in the world serves us? Well, of course they do. Of course they do. Everybody.
Everybody in the White House. Everybody in the Senate. Everybody
in the Congress. Everybody in the neighborhood. Everybody in
the state. Everybody in the world. All nations. All events. All
things. Heaven, earth, and hell serve
God's people forever by God's free, distinguishing grace in
Christ Jesus. God help you to hear me now.
Come to Christ and walk at liberty. Come to
Christ and walk into the Jubilee I've been trying to proclaim
to you. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. Seven years ago, I heard the glad sound for the
first time. And God, by his marvelous grace,
declares in my conscience with greater clarity today, Lindsay,
than I've ever heard him declare it, old things are passed away. It takes a long time to live
down your past. Not with God it doesn't. Not with God it doesn't. All things are passed away and
behold all things have become new because He hath made Him
to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. Amen.