The Joyful Sound of Freedom
When the year of Jubilee came, every debt was wiped out. All leases and possessions reverted back to the original leaseholder, which meant that the farmer would get his land and his family back (read Leviticus 25).
Can you imagine the rejoicing that took place in Israel and Judah when the trumpets sounded?
At that moment, on the tenth day of the seventh month, while the high priest was making atonement, every bondservant who had been sold into slavery was set free. Every person who had lost property was given back everything. Families were reunited. Homes were restored. It was a time of liberty, freedom and deliverance.
There was to be no planting or harvesting during the year of Jubilee. Instead, the time was to be spent rejoicing and praising God for his grace, provision and freedom.
Please understand that the liberty proclaimed at Jubilee was not some nebulous idea founded on faith alone. It was the law of the land. All a debtor needed to do to have the law enforced was to stand on it. The Levites acted as monitors so that everyone was assured justice.
Occasionally, a master might tell a bondservant, “You’re not leaving; you are still my servant.” That servant could laugh in the master’s face and say, “We both know what that trumpet sound means. It’s the joyful sound of my freedom. You have no legal rights to me anymore. I am free!”
How the people waited and longed to hear that joyful sound. It meant having the freedom to say, “Nothing in my past can be held against me. I’ve been delivered, and no one can rob me of my inheritance.”
Yet the person in bondage had to act to take possession of his freedom. He could dance and shout in the synagogue all he wanted, crying, “I’m free! Everything has been restored.” But he could not enjoy any of it until he stepped out and claimed his rights.
Do you see the significance here? Most Christians have not claimed the Jubilee that Jesus Christ has given them. Many think the “joyful sound” today is merely hand-clapping or dancing in an emotional time of praise, yet it is so much more. God calls us to appropriate the freedom, peace, and glory he has provided for us through the forgiveness of sins. We are to step out and claim it!
