Bible Study with Jairus – Leviticus 25

Leviticus 25 talks about the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee Year. The Sabbath Year is once every seven years. While the Jubilee Year is the second year after seven times seven years or 49 years – which is the fiftieth year. God doesn’t allow the Israelites to plant in the Sabbath Year. While in the Jubilee Year, the people who sold themselves as slaves are to be set free, and the land must be returned to its seller. During our Bible study we randomly (or perhaps by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), began talking about how American universities have a one year sabbatical leave for its professors every seventh year. This sabbatical leave (which is probably derived from the word Sabbath) is a time when they can rest and do nothing or use the opportunity to study a particular field that they didn’t have a chance to do during their teaching time. Some choose to study abroad for a period of time. The United States is a Christian country. Most famous universities in the United States are also established by Christian churches. Therefore, we can say that the establishment of this system is largely because of Christianization. Let’s think about when Adam first sinned. God judged him and commanded him to cultivate the ground through sweat and hard work to earn his living. Why then did God create the rules of the Sabbath for the Israelites and tell them not to work on the Sabbath day? Doesn’t this seem to be a waste of time and human resources? This is hard to imagine for the Chinese who are hardworking and wish they could make money twenty-four hours a day. Though the United States has become more and more secular, stores are often closed on Sunday. My mother-in-law often said that the weekend is the best opportunity for stores to make money and yet they close. This is unheard of in China and is an example of Christianization in American society. Why did God make Adam sweat to live? Is it because God was unable to supply Adam's food, so He let Adam find a way to solve it? No, it is because Adam committed a sin and he needed to learn obedience through suffering. The Bible tells us that even the Son of God, Jesus Christ, learned obedience from what he suffered (NIV, Hebrews 5:8). Then why did God forbid the Israelites to work on the Sabbath? It’s for the same reason. The main purpose of working for six days is neither to get money nor to earn to get what we need in life, but to learn to know God through this process. As Moses said, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow.” (NIV, Psalm 90:10). It’s not easy to go to work. It’s not easy to be a man. It’s not easy to be a wife. It’s not easy to be a parent. Life is not easy. When people encounter various unsatisfactory things in life, they will often let out a heartfelt sigh saying what is the meaning of life? Slowly, people will seek and find God. This is God’s design. The purpose of the Sabbath is for us to stop and think about it. Have I drawn closer to God and do I know Him better even in the midst of encountering so many things at work and life during the week? If you can’t say yes to this, start this week and purpose to continue finding God and continue this cycle until your intimacy with him grows and you know Him.