Leviticus 24:5-25:53
In addition to the continual care of the lamps, the priest was also to set the twelve loaves of showbread on the table before the Lord each Sabbath. These loaves were to have pure frankincense put upon them. This shows us typically how the Lord Jesus, the Great High Priest, maintains His people Israel before God now, even though they cannot be owned of God outwardly. How precious to think of them (each of the twelve tribes) though so scattered now, yet seen in the loaves as fragrant through the sweet frankincense which was sprinkled upon them by the priest. What precious grace! These loaves were most holy, for only in holiness can the Lord identify Himself with Israel in the administration of earthly government in a coming day. Israel will then be willing in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 110:3), but meanwhile, they are maintained thus before God through the priestly work of Christ.
God’s Government
In this coming day of Israel’s glory there will be, however, those who will not share in the blessing, “for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Romans 9:6). This is typified in the son of the Israelitish woman who cursed God in the camp, as recorded here in Leviticus 24. The ungodly part of the nation who, during the tribulation, ally themselves with the ten kingdoms of the revived Roman Empire and fall in with the worship of the beast, will come under God’s sore judgments, just as the guilty man in our chapter was stoned to death.
We also notice, at the end of our chapter, that if any man put a blemish upon his neighbor, a blemish was to be put upon him. Governmentally that is Israel’s place now, for they sought to mar the glory of Christ and, as it were, put a blemish upon Him, the true “lamb without blemish” (1 Peter 1:19), and surely a blemish is upon them.
How beautifully interesting is this twenty-fifth chapter! Every seventh year the land itself was to have a Sabbath. They were to let it lie idle and not sow any crops that year, and the Lord promised that on the sixth year He would give them a good harvest, sufficient for three years, so that they would have plenty of food until they harvested their crops in the eighth year. Israel is the Lord’s land and His eyes are upon it, and how wonderfully He would have cared for His people if they had only walked in His ways. What a favor bestowed upon them that they would have a year of rest every seventh year. Sadly, in their covetousness they would use the weekly Sabbath, as well as this Sabbath at the end of seven years, for their own selfish ends. And yet how like ourselves who are never satisfied but always wanting more! The children of Israel were to be the Lord’s tenants in His land, and so we, too, ought to remember that we are only stewards for the Lord of all that we have.
The Year of Jubilee
Then there was the year of jubilee. Every fiftieth year the trumpet was to be sounded throughout the land on the day of atonement, at which time all the slaves in the land were to be set free. Any land that had been sold would then return to its original owner who could just go in quietly and possess it. What a wonderful time this was in Israel’s history, but, of course, it had to be repeated over and over again, for slavery soon began again and the people soon lost their possessions. But there is a better day coming when the Lord will take His land, and set His people free, never to be in bondage again.
For Further Meditation
1. What does it mean that every seventh year the land was to have a Sabbath?
2. Being satisfied with what God has given us leads to tremendous peace in our souls. Where in the New Testament are we encouraged to restfully wait on the Lord to provide for us?
3. The covetous Jews didn’t want to let the land rest every seventh year. We, too, are tempted to grasp after what God hasn’t given to us. You might benefit from the article Godliness With Contentment is Great Gain. You can find it by typing that title into the search box at bibletruthlibrary.org.