Topical Bible: The Feast of Jubilee: Called The: Acceptable Year

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Topical Encyclopedia

The Feast of Jubilee, also known as the "Acceptable Year," is a significant event in the biblical calendar, deeply rooted in the laws given to the Israelites. It is primarily detailed in the Book of Leviticus and is a time of liberation, restoration, and rest, reflecting God's provision and mercy.

Biblical Foundation

The concept of the Jubilee is introduced in Leviticus 25:8-12 : "You are to count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the horn throughout your land. So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; each of you is to return to his property and to his clan. The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee to you; you are not to sow or reap what grows by itself or harvest the untended vines."

Purpose and Observance

The Jubilee year served several purposes:

1. Restoration of Property: Every fiftieth year, land that had been sold was to be returned to its original family owners. This ensured that no family would permanently lose their inheritance, maintaining the divinely ordained distribution of land among the tribes of Israel.

2. Freedom for Slaves: Hebrew slaves were to be set free during the Jubilee. This act of liberation underscored the value of freedom and the belief that the Israelites were ultimately servants of God, not of men.

3. Rest for the Land: Similar to the sabbatical year, the land was to lie fallow during the Jubilee. This agricultural rest was a testament to God's provision, as He promised to provide enough in the sixth year to sustain the people through the seventh and eighth years (Leviticus 25:20-22).

Theological Significance

The Jubilee year is often seen as a foreshadowing of the ultimate redemption and restoration found in Christ. In Luke 4:18-19 , Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah, declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." This proclamation is understood by many to be an allusion to the Jubilee, indicating that Jesus Himself embodies the fulfillment of the Jubilee's promises.

Cultural and Historical Context

The Jubilee was a radical concept in the ancient Near East, where land ownership and servitude were often permanent. By instituting the Jubilee, God set Israel apart from surrounding nations, emphasizing justice, mercy, and the belief that the land ultimately belonged to Him (Leviticus 25:23).

Practical Implications

While there is no direct evidence that the Jubilee was regularly observed in ancient Israel, its principles have influenced Christian thought and practice. The themes of forgiveness, restoration, and social justice resonate with the teachings of Jesus and the early church, encouraging believers to live out these values in their communities.

Conclusion

The Feast of Jubilee, or the Acceptable Year, remains a powerful symbol of God's desire for freedom, justice, and restoration. It challenges believers to reflect on their own lives and communities, seeking ways to embody the spirit of the Jubilee in their pursuit of God's kingdom on earth.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 61:2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Beauty for Ashes
... the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of ... He, too, publishes a
jubilee for bankrupt and enslaved ... a mess to each of his brethren at the feast. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/beauty for ashes.htm

The Book of Jubilees
... Leviticus 24:18 ff.; the use of the jubilee periods was ... fallen angels, taught Noah
the use of feast days, presided ... Abram was called by an angel to the Land of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of jubilees.htm

The Worship of the Synagogue
... of the year, beginning immediately after the feast of Tabernacles ... three and a-half
years (half a Jubilee-period ... Sabbath at least seven persons were called up to ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 17 the worship of.htm

On the Formation of the Character of Believers, and on Giving of ...
... increase and diminutions; and one was called Night, and ... we solemnly assemble to
celebrate the feast of the ... and the revolution of these, the jubilee, which is ...
/.../various/constitutions of the holy apostles/sec ii on the formation of.htm

The Jewish World in the Days of Christ - the Jewish Dispersion in ...
... the God-inspired morning-song of jubilee, as they ... in Jerusalem on that ever-memorable
Feast of Weeks, [23 ... outside the land,' as Palestine was called, witht the ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter i the jewish world.htm

The Polity Settled by Moses; and How He Disappeared from among ...
... for sacrificing every seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles ... at the coming of
the year of jubilee, which is ... On the next day, Moses called the people together ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 8 the polity settled.htm

Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
... who had the name of God called upon them ... returning every seventh day: the periodic
feast of unleavened ... reckoned by seven: the year of jubilee, occurring always ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter vi covenanting provided for.htm

Book ii.
... memorial of blowing of trumpets, it shall be called holy unto ... or in drink, or in
respect of a feast day or ... for which reason the number of the jubilee is sacred ...
//christianbookshelf.org/ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/book ii.htm

Appendix ix. List of Old Testament Passages Messianically Applied ...
... The Messiah is called the son of Pharez,' who restores ... 21 to the spreading of the
great feast before Israel ... 354 years, according to the days in the lunar year. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix ix list of old.htm

Questions About the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day ...
... slain, and we have not an annual but a perpetual feast. ... was a yoke, and yet the Gentile
is called the dog ... As the sabbath of months, of years, and the jubilee? ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/questions about the nature and.htm