Chapter XXV
Ver. 1-7. Sabbath OF THE Seventh Year. 2-4. When ye come to the land which I give unto you—It has been questioned on what year, after the occupation of Canaan, the Sabbatic year began to be observed. Some think it was the seventh year after their entrance. But others, considering that as the first six years were spent in the conquest and division of tlie land (Joshua 5.12), and that the Sabbatical year was to be observed after six years of agriculture, maintain that the observance did not commence till the fourteenth year, tlie land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord—This was a very peculiar arrangement. Not only all agricultural processes were to be intermitted every seventh year, but the cultivators had no right to the soil. It lay entirely fallow, and its spontaneous produce was the common property of the poor and the stranger, the cattle and game. This year of rest was to invigorate the productive powers of the land, as the weekly Sabbath was a refresliment to men and cattle. I{ commenced immediately after the feast of ingathering, and it was calculated to teach the people, in a remarkable manner, the reality of the presence and providential power of God.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ver. 1-23. Oil for the Lamps. 2. Command the children of Israel—This is tlie repetition of a law given (Exodus 27.20,21). pure oil olive beaten—or cold-drawn, which is always of great purity. 3, 4. Aaron shall order it from the evening unto the morning—The daily presence of the priests was necessary to superintend the cleaning and trimming, of tlie pure candlestick—so called because of pure gold. This was symbolical of the light which ministers are to diffuse througli the Church.
fl-'J. Take fine flour and bake twelve cakes—for the showbread,as previously appointed. (Exodus 2.). 30.) Tliose cakes were baked by tlie Levites, the flour being furnished by the people (1 Chronicles 9. 32; 21. 29), oil, wine, and salt being the other ingredients, (ch. 2. 13.) two-tenth deals —t. e., of an ephah—thirteen and a half lbs. weight each
8-23. The Jubilee. T1»ou slialt number seven Sah^ baths of years—This most extraordinary of all civil in-
and on each row or pile of cakes some frankincense was strewed, which, being burnt, led to the sliowbread being called "an olTering made by flre." Every Sabbath a fresh supply was furnished ; hot loaves were placed on the altar Instead of the stale ones, which, having lain a week, were removed, and eaten only by the priests, except in cases of necessity. (1 Samuel 21. 3-«; also Luke 6. 3, 4.) 10. The •on of an Israelitish woman, &c.—This passage nar-
stitutions, which revived the name of "Jubilee" from a Hcbreiu word signifying a musical instrument, a horn or trumpet, liegan on the tenth day of tlie seventh month, or the great day of atonement, when, by order of the pub-
lic authorities, the sound of trumiiets proclaimed the beginning of the universal redemiitioii. All iirisoners and captives obtained their liberties, slavi's were declared
free, and debtors were absolved. The land, as on the Sab-
itttes the enactment of a new law, with a detail of the clr-
The Jubilee. LEVITICUS XXVI. A Blessing to the Obedient.
liberty to make exchanges amongst themselves; and a priest might sell his house, garden, and right of pasture to another priest, but not to an Israelite of another tribe. (Jeremiah 41. 7-9.) 35-38. If tliy brother be Avaxen poor, relieve him—Tills was a most benevolent provision lor the poor and unfortunate, designed to aid them or alleviate the evils of their condition. AVhethcr a native Israelite or a mere sojourner, his richer neighbour was required to give him food, lodging, and a supply of money without usury. The latter was sevei'ely condemned (Psalm
batic year, was neither sowed uor reaped, but allowed to m.joy with its iiiliabitauts a SabbiitLi of repose; and its natural produce wiis the common property of all. More-
over, every inheritance throughout the land of Judea was restored to its ancient owner, yc sliitll liallow tlic lil-
tictli year— Much difference of opinion exists as to wliether the jubilee was observed on the forty-ninth, or,
in round numbers, it is called the fiftieth. Tlie prevailing opinion, both in ancient and modern times, has been in favour of the latter. 13. Ye sliall eat t!»e Increase tlicreof out of tUe field, Ac—All that the ground yielded spontaneously <Uiriug that period might be eaten for their
15. 5; Ezekiel 18. 8, 17), but the prohibition cannot be considered as applicable to the modern practice of men in business borrowing and lending at legal rates of interest. 39-46. If thy brotlier be waxen i)oor, and be sold unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond-servant—An Israelite might be compelled, through misfortune, not only to mortgage his inheritance, but himself. In the event of his being reduced to this distress, he was to be treated not as a slave, but a hired servant, whose engagement was temporary, and who might, through the friendly aid of a relative, be redeemed at any time before the Jubilee. Tlie ransom money was determined on a most equitable principle. Taking account of the number of years from the proposal to redeem and the Jubilee, of the current wages of Labour for that time, and multiplying the remaining years by that sum, the amount was to be paid to the master for his redemption. But If no such friendly interposition was made for a Hebrew slave, he continued in servitude till the year of Jubilee, when, as a matter of course, he regained his liberty, as well as Ills inheritance. Viewed in the various aspects in which it is presented in this chapter, the Jubilee was an admirable institution, and subservient in an eminent degree to uphold the interests of religion, social order, and freedom amongst the Israelites.
neco'Nsary subsistence, but no persons were at liberty to hoard or form a private stock in reserve. 13. Ye sJiall return every mau unto Uis possession, &e.—luherit-
R.UCCS, from whatever cause, and how frecjuently soever they had been alienated, came back into tlie hands of the original proprietors. This law of entail, by wliich the right heir could never be excluded, was a provision of great wisdom for preserving families and tribes perfectly dis-
tinct, and their genealogies faithfully recorded, in order that all might have evidence to establish their right to the ancestral property. Hence the tribe and family of Christ were readily discovered at his birth. 17. Ye sliall not opiiressoneanotlier, Imt tlionsUalt feartliy Goil—This, which is the same as i'. If, related to the sale or purchase of possessious,and theduty of payingan honestand equitable regard, on both sides, to the limited period during which thebargain could stand. Theol)jectof the legislator was, as far as possible, to maintain the original order of families, and <an equality of condition among the peojjle. 'ii, "3^. I
tvlll eoiiintaiiil my blessing upon yon In tlie sixtU year, and it sUall bring fortli fruit for tlirec years, &c. —A provision was made, by the special interposition of God, to supply the deficiency of food which would otherwise have resulted from the suspension of all labour during the Sabbatic year. Tlie sixth year was to yield amir.aculous supply for three continuous years. And the remark