PREACHING IN THE MIDST OF A JUBILEE PLATFORM RECOVERY CHAPTER 5 Bible Study and Book Study

Text Leviticus 25:8-13.  18-23, 25-30 The Kingdom of God is a jubilee. The term “jubilee” comes out of Leviticus 25. There are many images of the kingdom that come through scripture, but none is more pronounced to me than the concept of the jubilee. The word “jubilee” is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, which means “ram’s horn,” since it was precisely that horn that was used as a trumpet, whose sound indicated to everybody the beginning of the jubilee year. The book of Leviticus, in the code of holiness, is the source that tells us of the significance of the jubilee year, a year of liberation “par excellence,” which is at the end of oppression and slavery. Revival is one of the unique experiences of the role of the Black preacher. Revival, in the traditional sense, was a sounding of the new future of jubilee for the worker and the Black church community. Q1: How are Revival and Jubilee similar expressions of Gods recovery in human space? God commanded His people to give the land a rest every seventh year and live by what it produced on the sixth year. When they questioned how they would be able to survive when doing this (i.e. it would be two years before they could harvest again), God answered that every sixth year He would provide a harvest that yielded three years' worth of food (vs. 20-22), which would be sufficient for their needs. The term Jubilee meant "horn of a ram" which the Jews used as a trumpet. The connection was that after seven cycles of these Sabbatical years, on the tenth day of the seventh month (Day of Atonement), the trumpets would sound throughout the land announcing the Year of Jubilee. The Book of Leviticus provides details concerning what was supposed to happen during this fiftieth year. This cycle of Sabbaths and Jubilees imposed a very unusual economic system on the Jews, but it also provided many benefits as well: There was a definite limit to what you could own and how long you could keep it. You could grow in wealth and power but these were limited by time and amount. Eventually you had to restore purchased land to its original owner, debts were forgiven, and indentured servants had to be freed. This prevented long-term oppression over one group by another. There was a time limit for the service of those who may have experienced a bad harvest and were forced to sell themselves into slavery in order to sustain their families. In this way there was hope, even in the worst of circumstances, that your land or freedom would be fully returned to you eventually. The value of land and slaves was fixed according to the proximity to the year of Jubilee (e.g. The further away from Jubilee, the greater the value since there would be more time of service by a slave and a higher number of harvests for the land; the closer to Jubilee, the lesser the value, etc). The system provided stability for that society and Guaranteed Harmony and Peace. Prices were fixed. The people had hope for the future even if they had setbacks. Each family had a guarantee that their house and land would be returned to them eventually. You can get the free Bible Stud by clicking here https://1drv.ms/w/s!Alj4UNXUR9-ki9pQ-ynkUXBy2nCUgw?e=bOYqkX Register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkcOygrj0jE9zh9hXLR_4bDCMVqXRAB3cm After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.