The Jubilee in the Old Testament (1/4)

We are reading in the Bible, that God created a world of peace and harmony. The culmination of the creation was the Sabbath, an experience of rest and communion with God.

But we also know from the Bible, that this harmony and peace did not last. The human beings messed it all up.

Only a few pages further in the book of Genesis, we read about the Fall and the Expulsion from Paradise, about Kain who kills his brother Abel, and so on, and it goes so far that God himself regrets that he created man. And he sends the Flood that will put an end to everything. Except for Noah, so the story continues. Babel is one result, Egypt another

After Babel God promised to work with Abraham and his descendants to show his favour to all of humanity – but only a few hundred years later Abraham’s descendants were suffering in Egypt.

And when Moses was raised by God to lead them out of Egypt and restore the privileges to Israel, they turned to idolatry instead.

So, the biblical story and the story of all of humankind, can be seen in the light of this human tragedy of rejecting God and his plan for creation on one side, and on the other; how God uses the rest of the biblical story, and our personal stories as well, to restore the order of things as He intended them to be, out of the mess we have made of it..

This is why we are celebrating a jubilee year.

Because, one of the remedies God Father introduces in order to restore things, are not only the Sabbath, the seventh day, but also every seventh year should be a sabbatical year, and after seven times seven years, that is after 49 years, the 50th year should be a jubilee year – where everything should be restored after the original plan, that is: after God’s own plan for creation. Where the sins of Israel were atoned for and forgiven, the family was fully restored, debt was erased, slaves were released, and ancestral land was returned to its rightful owners.

Every jubilee year was a new beginning meant to bring God’s children back in line with his original design. Everything should be restored on God’s own premises.

Leviticus 25 gives us the details.
Leviticus 25:11 specifically instructs: “You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines”.

Meant to ensure that the land and its inhabitants could rest and recover from continuous agricultural exploitation. The Jubilee Year mandated that the land should not be tilled and that what grew of itself was to be shared among all. This provision underlines a fundamental element of the Jubilee, reliance on God’s provision and a step away from the accumulation of personal wealth at the expense of communal well-being.

Another important aspect was the return of all hereditary land to its original family owners. This law prevented the permanent loss of property due to debt or poverty. It symbolizes God’s ownership of the land and the Israelites’ stewardship rather than absolute possession.

The Jubilee also entailed the release of all slaves. Individuals who had sold themselves due to economic hardship were granted freedom, allowing them to return to their families and ancestral properties. This prevented the emergence of a permanent underclass and underscored the value of human dignity and freedom.

But the year has also a deep spiritual significance. The blowing of the ram’s horn, or shofar, marked the beginning of this sacred year, summoning the people to a time of self-examination and renewal.

In biblical times, a jubilee was a time to rejoice. The jubilee was celebrated as the people of Israel rejoiced in the bountiful mercy of God. And this is still the case when the Church announces a jubilee. Because, following pope Francis in his first teaching this Jubilee year; it is “the possibility for everyone to start again, from God”.

Sr Anne Bente
Sta. Katarinahjemmet
Oslo, Norway