Immanuel’s Land
25: 23-28
Immanuel’s land DIG: What is the most important aspect of the Year of Jubilee? What provisions does God stipulate must happen if an Israelite became poor? Could the poor redeem their land? Was the land leased or bought? What connection is there between the teachings of the Yovel Year and the prophet Isaiah in regard to ownership of the Land?
REFLECT: What most excites you about the Lord returning to set up His Messianic Kingdom and rule and reign from Jerusalem? What problems do you now have that will be done away with at that time? The Bible says that we will rule with Yeshua and receive His authority, just as He received authority from His Father (Rev 2:26-27)? What does that mean to you?
The ultimate fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee will be realized when the entire Church is intimately connected by faith with the One who will fulfill it all – Yeshua Messiah.
Freedom of the land: The most important aspect of the Yovel Year (to see link click En – The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee) is the land’s return to its original family ownership. The Jubilee commandments are very much concerned with preserving the original family, clan and tribal borders of the land of Isra’el. ADONAI explained that the Israelites were not to think of themselves as owners. Rather it is His land on which they were merely temporary residents.504
One of the characteristics of both the Shemitah Year (see El – The Sabbath Year) and the Year of Jubilee is freedom for the land itself. This land was to be given periodic rest from working. Why? Who has the right to determine that so-and-so’s field was not allowed to be plowed in a given year? Let us take it a step further. Who has the right to decide who could live in this Land? Moreover, who has the right to decide what kind of life should be lived on this Land? The answer to these and other similar questions is found here. The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to Me — you are only foreigners and temporary residents with Me (25:23).
This verse is telling us that the land of Isra’el is the sole property of YHVH of Isra’el. It does not belong to the Canaanites, the Egyptians, nor even to the Israelites. God is the owner! As a result, He alone has the sole right to determine the usage of the Land. It so happens that Ha’Shem has decreed that Isra’el would be its resident caretakers. When they abused the Land by breaking the contract for its usage, the LORD determined that they could not live in it for seventy years (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule).
Redemption of the land (25:24-25): Therefore, when you sell your property, you must include the right of redemption. That is, if one of you becomes poor and sells some of his property, his next-of-kin can come and buy back what his relative sold (25:24-25). Here, the principle of redemption (see the commentary on Exodus Bz – Redemption) of land is introduced for the first time. It describes the need of Isra’el to buy back the land that God owns. Isra’el does this as it uses its resources to guarantee that none of the Land becomes owned by anyone other than the people of God. If economic loss or debt caused a man to sell his land, the kinsman, or the nearest relative (Hebrew: go’el) had the obligation to buy or redeem the land of his impoverished relative. The same term is used to describe Boaz’s redemption of the land (see the commentary on Ruth Ba – Bo’az Obtains the Right of Redemption) and through it access to Ruth as his bride.
ADONAI’s ownership of all we have is easier to confess verbally than it is to acknowledge in acts of tithing and giving that truly recognize this reality. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test me in this,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it (Malachi 3:10).505
Leased land (25:26-28): If the poor man regained a measure of economic stability, he had the right to buy back his land at its fair market value. The land could not be permanently sold, and therefore, was essentially “leased.” The opportunity for an individual to buy back his land was to be maintained. If the seller has no one to redeem it but becomes rich enough to redeem it himself, he will calculate the number of years the land was sold for, refund the excess to its buyer, and return to his property (25:26). Presumably he would pay back to the person who had leased his land the money he received minus the amount the person had earned from the land since the sale.
If he hasn’t sufficient means to get it back himself, then what he sold will remain in the hands of the buyer until the year of yovel; in the yovel the buyer will vacate it and the seller return to his property (25:27-28). The value of the land would decrease the closer they were to the next Jubilee. Otherwise the land would return to him during the Year of Jubilee, when God Himself performs the role of the Kinsman Redeemer.506 It is a characteristic of ADONAI to redeem people: He had redeemed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to be His people (Exodus 6:6-67), and now, by this mitzvah, He redeemed them from their debts.507
Immanuel’s land (Isaiah 8:8d): Just as we did with the concept of freedom, we also see a connection between the teachings of the Year of Jubilee and the prophet Isaiah in regard to the ownership of the Land. Isaiah 7:1 to 12:6 is sometimes called the Book of Immanuel (see the commentary on Isaiah Bu – The Book of Immanuel) because the main subject is the Person called Immanuel. Chapter Seven of Isaiah predicts His coming, Chapter Nine His birth, Chapter Ten His judgments, Chapter Eleven predicts His Kingdom, and Chapter Twelve gives praise to Immanuel (God with us). And imbedded right in the midst of the revelation of Immanuel is a fascinating declaration in Chapter Eight, which tells us that the land of Isra’el is “Immanuel’s Land (Isaiah 8:8d)!” The reason why YHVH is so concerned with what the kings of Isra’el and Judah were doing in this Land is because it was really not their land, but His!
Dear Heavenly Father, You are the best Father that there ever could be! How wonderful it was when I accepted You as my Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10), You come to live in me (John 14:23, Ephesians 2:22, 3:17), and are always there to guide and to help me (Hebrews 13:5c). When I live in wisdom, trusting You and realizing that all my possessions are from You and really belong to You, then earthly home and possessions take on a different value. Though working to earn a living is important (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12); the goal is not to build up my inheritance on earth, rather it is to earn a living to generously give back to You in joyful appreciation of all You have done.
What a comfort it is that You, God give me an eternal inheritance. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! In His great mercy He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead. An incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance has been reserved in heaven for you (First Peter 1:3-4). There is peace in knowing that the inheritance you give is totally secure because You seal it with Yourself! After you heard the message of truth – the Good News of your salvation – and when you put your trust in Him, you were sealed with the promised Ruach Ha’Kodesh. He is the guarantee of our inheritance, until the redemption of His possession – to His glorious praise (Ephesians 1:13-14)! What a great inheritance to be part of God’s eternal Kingdom of light. Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12 NIV).
Thank You God that your plan and purpose is not just to take me to heaven, but You plan to be united with me! Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10). As I focus on pleasing You, the pressure to obtain earthly possessions diminishes. Instead, I am filled with joy as I look forward to receiving my heavenly inheritance to live with You forever! I love to praise, worship and obey You! In Your holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen
A closer examination of the contents of Isaiah Chapter Eight (see the commentary on Isaiah Ch – A Stone that Causes Men to Stumble and a Rock that Makes Them Fall) and a comparison of it with Matthew Chapter Two (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Av – The Visit of the Magi) reveal the fact that Immanuel is none other than Yeshua Messiah! Hence, the land of Isra’el is really Yeshua’s Land. That is why He came to it. That is why He never left it when He was here. That is why He wept over it when He saw the sin being done to it. That is why He left it. And that is why He will come back to it and take permanent residence in it sometime very soon! Thus, we can see Messiah in this parashah. The ultimate fulfillment of the concepts taught by the Yovel Year will be realized when the entire Church, made up of Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:14) are intimately connected by faith with the One who will fulfill it all – Yeshua Messiah.
Moreover, as embattled as the people of the land of Isra’el are with themselves, with their enemies, and within themselves, we can only pray that their eyes will be open to the fact that Immanuel is coming back to reclaim this bloodied Land for Himself. Someday, hopefully soon, peace will reign because the Prince of Peace (see Isaiah Ck – He Will Be Called the Prince of Peace) is ruling and reigning from His throne in Jerusalem (see Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in the Messiah’s Coming Temple). Someday, hopefully soon real, freedom will once again be proclaimed throughout the Land because Immanuel, its rightful Owner, will be here to rule it and bless those who reside here with Him. Come Lord Yeshua.508
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