STATUTES OF INNER LIBERTY God proclaimed His goal toward man through bringing him forth into continuous holy feasts and assemblies, to receive God Himself as Feast for him, a Fountain of his joy and liberation. In the last chapter He talked to us about joy and satisfaction; Now He talks to us about the inner liberty through certain statutes that touch the poor, the slaves, the fields, and the houses. 1- The statute of the seventh year 1 -- 7 2- The statute of the year of the Jubilee 8 -- 22 3- The statutes of selling the land 23 -- 28 4- The statutes of selling houses 29 -- 33 5- The statutes of loans between brethren 35 -- 38 6- The statute of the Hebrew slave 39 -- 43 7- The statute of the foreign slave 44 -- 46 8- The statute of the Hebrew enslaved by a foreigner 47 – 55 1- THE STATUTE OF THE SEVENTH YEAR: Caring for us to keep the Sabbath, to sanctify the rest of the week; By the same line of thought God cared for us to keep the Sabbath of the years, namely, the Sabbatical year, or the seventh year. In that year it is not allowed to sow nor to harvest the land, even the fruitful trees; except within the limits of paying the tax, and of what concern the offerings, like the sheaf of waiving, the two bread offerings, and the showbread. It is also allowed to plow the land to prepare it for sowing; to hunt, to trade, to raise bees, etc. The goal of the Sabbatical year is: (1) On the aspect of agriculture, in which neither the Jews nor their fathers had a past experience; on account of that they lived in Egypt for so long as shepherds of sheep; watching the Egyptians from afar sowing their land once and sometimes more than once every year, because of the high fertility of the land thanks to the rich silt brought over by the River Nile; Whereas the land of Palestine, on the other hand, not being as fertile, need to be left to rest every now and then, to regain its strength, so as not to be exhausted. (2) On a human and social aspect, the Sabbatical year is the year of general fellowship, during which the poor, and the stranger, without being embarrassed, could enter into any field, to collect what is left over after the harvest of the previous years, and to pluck whatever he likes of the fruits on the trees …It is as though, the land during the seventh year becomes a common property for all to pluck, yet not to store, nor to transform to other products like wine … etc.; even by the owner of the land. This fellowship was not confined to humans, but extended to animals, even to wild ones, to enjoy their portion of the land produce without hindrance. On another aspect, that year was meant to give rest to everyone; not just for man and his household, but to the slave, hired hands, strangers, and even to animals, as well. According to some, that year was a year of liberation, during which slaves are liberated of bondage; although, according to others, liberation of slaves was done on the seventh year of purchasing the slave, not necessarily during the general Sabbatical year. (3) On a spiritual aspect, it is time for rest from the daily work to get preoccupied with the spiritual work. In that year, chapters of the law are read in the feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 31: 10- 13), to make it like a treasure for the whole year … This reading was conducted according to a beautiful rite, in which the head of the synagogue delivers the Torah to the high priest, who, in turn, delivers it to the king, to stands in awe and read the law on the people. After the reading, the high priest blesses the people, seeking from God for the sake of the law, the ministry, the confession, the enjoyment of the forgiveness of sins, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the temple, the people, and the holy priesthood. The Sabbatical year was considered as a practical lesson to believe that God is capable to bless their possibilities, satisfy their needs; and that the secret of the blessing is not in the hard work, as much as it is in God’s favor. 2- THE STATUTE OF THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE: The way man sanctifies the seventh day in order to have the rest of the week blessed by the Lord; … the seventh month to bless the rest of the months, … and the seventh year to bless the rest of the years; He sanctifies, as well, the fiftieth year that comes as a Sabbath for every unit of seven years -- the Sabbath of the weeks of the years; Hence that feast “the Jubilee” is the perfection of the previous system, put by the Lord for His people. The word “Jubilee” is derived from a Greek origin, meaning (horn); as it was declared through blowing the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month; starting by the feast of atonement. That feast was called “The year of liberty” (Ezekiel 46: 17); As in it the slaves gain their liberty; the land sold or pawned, return to their owners; and the creditors forgive their debtors … Hence that feast that comes every fifty years, was considered the most magnificent and happiest to the souls of the people. The rite of that feast was: (1) “You shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family” (10). That was the most prominent part of this rite, namely, the liberation of the land, by which every man gets his land back, and every family gets its possessions of houses or fields back, whether sold or pawned; and the goal for this was: a- For all to have the sense of sojourn (23). If someone has got so rich to purchase by his money, or to pawn, the portion of others, he would forsake it by his own free will, before all would forsake everything against theirs. The year of the Jubilee probably a shadow of the eternal life, in which there is neither rich nor poor, but everyone rejoices in his portion, without desire to take that of others. b- A confirmation that the land is the Lord’s possession (23), which He gave to us to use, yet, not at the expense of our poor brethren; to whom we give back a portion, not as a gift from us, on account of that it is not ours in the first place. c- That every tribe, and every family, would keep its portion of the land, which has been given to them on the hand of the prophet Moses and that of Joshua the son of Nun. (2) He provided them with an important principle of dealing: “If you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another” (14). Everyone is committed not to abuse the principle of the Jubilee by selling his land before the time, with the deceptive intention of getting it back in the fiftieth year, but the price of purchase would be estimated according to the period remaining till the Jubilee, so that no one would oppress the other.. At the same time, it is not befitting of the buyer to abuse the need of the seller, and pay him a price too low; but to estimate the price according to the benefit he will gain during the remaining time until the feast of the Jubilee; So that the dealing would not be intended to reach the highest profit from the other party, but would be rather based upon the fear of the Lord, saying: “Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; For I am the Lord your God” (17). It is as though any oppression against our brethren, is counted as an insult against the Lord Himself, who defends those oppressed. (3) The year of the Jubilee, as a Sabbatical year, is “a year of rest”, being said, “The fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you, in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine” (11). That is set upon a basis of faith, that they are sustained by the blessing of God, rather than by their own labor; being said, “I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years” (21); to be enough for the seventh and the eighth year, until its crop appears at the beginning of the ninth year. If God request from us to work, yet in it, we trust upon the blessing of God Himself, the Grantor of goods. 3- THE STATUTES OF SELLING THE LAND: As Moses and Joshua distributed the land to be possessed by the tribes, every tribe and family were committed, as far as possible, to keep its land, as a sign of their love, not for the promised land, as much as it is for the new land, namely, “the higher Canaan”. That was strongly shown in the episode of ‘Nabot the Jezreelite’ who, facing the threat of death, did not sell the land of his fathers to the king despite his promises to him. But in case someone poor had to sell his land; he or his kinsman-redeemer can redeem the land (25); like what ‘Boaz’ did when he redeemed the land of ‘Abimalech’ and married “Ruth” his son’s wife, to grant the deceased a son to enjoy the inheritance of his grandfather. Man or his kinsman-redeemer can redeem the land at any time by paying its price, that decreases with the passing years because of being used by its purchaser … And in case he or his kinsman-redeemer could not redeem it, the Jubilee will come, and the land will get back to its owner for free. If we have lost our eternal inheritance because of sin, for the sake of an earthly or carnal desire, as what Esau did when he sold his firstborn rights for a meal of lentils; Neither we, nor our first kinsman-redeemer, namely, the law, could redeem it; but we have lost everything, until the year of the Jubilee came – the fiftieth year – when the Lord sent His Holy Spirit on the feast of the Pentecost; and it became our right to get our spiritual land back, after the Lord Christ redeemed it with His precious blood. In our previous study, we saw that the figure 50 refers to ‘liberty’, which we get by the Holy Spirit, who lifts up our souls, hearts, thoughts, and all our senses, as though by the two wings of a pigeon, to soar toward the heavenlies, free from the bonds, seduction, and traps of the world! For our days to turn into a continuous Jubilee, in which we enjoy the fiery Holy Spirit, unceasingly kindled; He who found rest in us in the Sacrament of ‘Meron’; granted us the liberty in Jesus Christ, abiding us in Him, not to have a land of inheritance, but to have a place in the bosom of the Father. What is this land or field, that was sold, yet redeemed, but the church of God, sold by the Jewish leaders, to the account of their pride and temporal satisfaction; But, in the fullness of time, the Lord Christ, the true Kinsman-Redeemer, came to redeem it by His precious blood (Revelation 5: 9). 4- THE STATUTES OF SELLING HOUSES: The divine inspiration presents to us statutes concerning the selling or pawning houses, and the way to redeem them, providing us through the letter, with deep spiritual concepts that touch the liberty of our inner souls. The statutes distinguished four cases: a- The houses in a walled city 29, 30 b- The houses in villages 31 c- The houses of the Levites in the cities of their possession 32, 33 d- The fields of the common-land in the cities of the Levites. 34 a- The houses in a walled city: If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he, his kinsman-redeemer, or his heir in case he died, may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; to give the chance to the seller who had to sell it because of some hard times, to get it back and settle down in it with his family. Otherwise, if the house is not redeemed within a year from being sold, it shall belong permanently to him who has bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the year of the Jubilee; on account of that the seller, his kinsman-redeemer, or his heirs, have lost that chance; and on that the buyer has an equal right to settle down with his family. The reason why the houses within walled cities are not released in the year of the Jubilee, was that these houses were not given to the people through a lot like the land, but they built them according to their free will. b- The houses in villages:. As to houses built in cities not surrounded by walls, namely in villages, they could be redeemed within a whole year after they are sold; But if the seller, his kinsman-redeemer, or his heirs, could not redeem it, it will remain in the possession of the buyer until the year of the Jubilee, to give it back to its owner, or to his heirs in case he died. The wisdom behind this, is that such houses are actually counted as integral parts of, and could not be separated from the fields or pasture lands. Therefore, in order for every tribe to keep its possessions, the lands together with the houses built on them, would be released in the year of the Jubilee. c- The houses of the Levites in the cities of their possession: According to the divine inspiration, If a man purchases a house from the Levites, that house might be released anytime, not just within a whole year after it is sold; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their perpetual possession among the children of Israel” (33). And in case one of his brethren Levites redeems it, the house will remain in his possession until the year of the Jubilee, then he would give it back to its owner. d- The fields of the common lands in the cities of the Levites: The cities of the Levites were surrounded by common land 1000 yards wide, all around the limits of the city, on the four directions. Those in turn are surrounded by fields, 2000 yards wide on every direction. The common lands were designated to build on them folds for their sheep and beasts of labor; Whereas the fields were designated for agriculture, yet not for the sake of trade. The Levites were not allowed to sell any of their common land or their fields, for it is their perpetual possession. The spiritual concept of selling and redeeming the houses: Commenting on the statute concerning God’s care even for the ox which should not be muzzled while it treads out the grain (Deuteronomy 25: 4), the apostle Paul says: “Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope” (1 Corinthians 9: 9, 10). With the same spirit he also says: “Is it houses and fields God is concerned about? Or they are written for our sake, being, ourselves, the holy house and field of God?! According to the scholar Origen: [Let us hasten to apply the statutes of houses upon ourselves; For if we follow the law of Christ, what would be the significance of such statutes concerning houses as far as we are concerned, if we would not be allowed to possess land nor houses in a city; not to possess more than one tunic (Mark 6: 9), nor to gather an abundance of wealth; being written: “Having food and clothes, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6: 9)… We should therefore, meditate in the statutes concerning houses in walled-or un-walled cities. In the Holy Book, the word “house” is used with a secret concept. Commending Jacob, it was said: “Jacob was a quiet man living in tents” (Genesis 25: 27); While about the two midwives, it was written: “Because the midwives feared God, he gave them houses” (Exodus !: 21)…. What is that house?... What is that building about which the apostle Paul say more clearly: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5: 1)?!. …It is the house that no one can build unless he has the fear of God; unless he bears the simplicity of spirit and the purity of heart. But if it happens, as it usually does, that he, who builds a heavenly house by his good works, good behavior, and straightforward faith, falls into sin, he would be as though transferred his works to someone else….But “If he himself becomes able to redeem it” (26); How much will he pay to redeem it? … It will be by a dense flow of tears of repentance, and by a consistent practice of good works. In that year, understood to be the one described by the Lord Christ as an “acceptable time” (Isaiah 49: 8; 2 Corinthians 6: 2), in which it is allowed for those who confess their sins to get the forgiveness and to enjoy salvation]. What does he mean by the houses in “walled cities”? They probably refer to those about whom the apostle Paul says: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3: 20). As the heavenly Jerusalem is surrounded by a wall (Revelation 21: 14), let him who has reached the heavenly life, and tasted the deposit of the eternal glory, be aware, lest he would sell his house by sin, particularly that which touches his faith. And in case he did fall, let him hasten lest the year of his life pass, and he would eternally lose his house, and would not be able to redeem it. As to the owner of a house in a village not surrounded by walls, it refers, according to the scholar Origen, to those who walk with the purity of heart, and are subjected to continuous (passing by) sins; and are, therefore, in need of a persistent, unceasing repentance, lest they would lose their eternal inheritance. As to the houses or fields of the priests and the Levites; according to the scholar Origen, the priest represents the soul consecrated to the Lord, and the Levite represents him who is unceasingly in the presence of the Lord, and at the service of His will. The priest represents the perfection of faith and understanding; and the Levite represents the perfection of works. Such holy souls through the living and working faith, in case they are subjected to some shortcoming, they will enjoy forgiveness and redemption; their inner houses will be perpetually redeemed, and their fields will never be touched. And in case their houses are taken away from them, it would be temporarily, and would be redeemed at any time and return to them; and, according to the scholar Origen: [The possessions of the saints and their houses will never be lost, nor taken away from them; For how could it be taken away from the priests, the house “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”?... But if it so happen that the priest sells his house to a lowly and a mean buyer, namely to the devil, … God forbids! He would hasten to redeem himself and covers it, as long as there is yet time to cover, and a position of repentance. … Let us then fervently seek, not to fail to enjoy “the everlasting habitations” (Luke 16: 9), by our Lord Jesus Christ, Glory and honor to Him forever, Amen]. 5- THE STATUTES OF LOANS BETWEEN BRETHREN: The way God cared for our inner freedom, as expressed through the statutes of the Sabbatical year (1 – 7); and the statutes of the Jubilee (8-22); particularly, the redemption of the land and houses (23-33); He cares as well, for us to bear His features, and desire the freedom of others. If man is a debtor to another, and fails, due to poverty, to pay back his debt with its interests (35); whether he is a Jew, a stranger, or a proselyte you are committed to have compassion on him, to take no usury or interest from him. It is forbidden by the Mosaic law to take usury, namely, interest; either in the form of money, or to take it in the form of crops or presents, if the debt was given to someone in need. But, it would be different if it was given to a rich man to use to add profits to his profits; hence the Holy Book made it clear by adding: “he fails due to poverty to pay back his debt” (35). 6- THE STATUTE OF THE HEBREW SLAVE: We previously talked about the statute of the Hebrew slave and his liberation after six years; and in case he refuses to be set free, his ear would be pierced at the gate, and, through his own free will, he would remain a slave until the year of the Jubilee. And we saw how this slave refers to the Lord Christ, who, being the Lord of all, chose to become a slave, and proclaimed His consent, not through having His ear pierced, but by His wounds, to liberate us in Him, and to let us enjoy the sonhood to God. 7- THE STATUTE OF THE FOREIGN SLAVE: If God had compassion upon His own people, and sought from the believers, as much as possible, to liberate their brethren from bondage; Why then, did He allow them to enslave the foreign peoples?! (1) God did not command bondage, but allowed His people to do it within specific limits, and under specific situations; namely, to chastise those fallen in evil, so as to perceive their own bitter bondage to sin, and their inner humiliation to the devil. Hence it is said: “Cursed be Canaan, lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers” (Genesis 9: 25). (2) According to this concept, the believer, bearing the spiritual authority to enslave his own body with his whole energy and possibilities; he hears the divine promise, saying: “He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations” (Revelation 2: 26). If the fall of the nations under bondage, reveals their bondage to sin, the authority of the believer in the old covenant, referred to his spiritual authority, not on others, but on himself. 8- THE STATUTE OF THE HEBREW ENSLAVED BY A FOREIGNER: In case a foreigner becomes so rich to buy a poor Hebrew; If the later could redeem himself let him do it, Otherwise, It would be befitting of his brother, uncle, cousin, or anyone who is near of kin, to redeem him from bondage. The amazing thing in this statute is that He seeks from him who redeem his Hebrew brother of bondage, not to oppress the foreigner who bought him, but to pay him his due price, reckoned according to the number of years remaining for him as a slave until the years of the Jubilee. If God exhorts them to redeem their brethren from humiliation, yet, not at the expense of the foreigners.
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