A common catchphrase for believers in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus the Christ) is “walk by faith and not by sight” (2Cor. 5:7). Key memorials from God’s calendar that help with practicing the faith that is preached are the שְּׁבִיעִת Shevi’it or שְׁמִטָּה Shemitah (“seventh” [year] and “release,” respectively, i.e., sabbatical year) and the יוֹבֵל Yobel (Jubilee). They are the focus of the Torah reading this week, בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai]), covering Lev. 25:1-26:2.
The complementary reading (haftarah) commonly accompanying Behar is Jer. 32:6-27.
Behar discussions
Ancient Israel’s Torah was a forerunner for freedom the U.S. Declaration of Independence started bringing to the wider world roughly 3,500 years later. While the U.S. effort to free captives had fits and starts, Israel’s declaration of freedom brought with it the power of Heaven’s Messiah. And that power eventually flowed through all nations that listen to His voice.
“It’s good to be king!” Except when invaders are about to conquer your kingdom because of your predecessors forgot Who put the crown on their heads and Who gave them the Land they ruled. The closing chapters of the Bible book of Vayiqra (Leviticus) foretell of Israel’s dystopian future, but it didn’t have to be that way. The companion passage to the Torah reading בְּהַר Behar / בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai (“on the mountain” / “in My statutes,” Leviticus 25–27), shows a moment just before that horror arrived when a king tried to reverse centuries of oppression in the Promised Land, Heaven’s…
We’ve all had days when we are so physically or mentally exhausted that we long to go home and relax, or better yet, nap. The LORD gave our forefathers in faith memorials and reminders in time to nudge us to seek Him Who can truly bring us rest from guilt, fear, loneliness, etc. That’s the lesson in the combined Torah readings בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” Sinai) and בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai (“in My statutes”) that wraps up the book of Leviticus.
The Torah reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai]; Leviticus 25) teaches us how to be a kinsman-redeemer. It’s a beautiful ancient role for a family member with the character to step up and bail out a relative who has fallen on hard times.
The Bible book of Ruth provides an example of such a redeemer in action, and the Messiah is foretold to be the ultimate one for the world.
In the greater family of God on Earth, the lessons of the annual festivals of Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) plus the multiyear cycles of Shemitah (sabbatical year) and Yobel (Jubilee) instruct…
We often think that the walk of Torah only concerns itself with one’s relationship with God and one’s relationship with others. This is not true. An observant reading of the Torah shows us that God also concerns Himself with how we treat the land that sustains us. That’s a key lesson of the dual Torah reading of בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai]) and בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai (“in My statutes”), which covers the last three chapters of Leviticus.
God promised the land of Israel as a special inheritance to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they were expected to respond by…
There is no freedom in a society without a baseline of laws that help people balance their rights and responsibilities to themselves and to their neighbor. There’s also no freedom in a place where people do not consider each other as brothers and sisters. At Mt. Sinai, God made all those who left Egypt kinsman under the law. At Pentecost, Yeshua made all those who believe in Him heirs of Abraham and the freedom and responsibility that comes with being sons and daughters of God.
Leviticus 25
Keeping the Jubilee year with both crops and servants was an act of faith by the people of Israel. It is difficult to live in freedom — liberty — and it is so easy to fall into bondage and slavery. God set up a safety net to protect the people from permanent bondage and slavery and to protect the land from being over consumed and dried up.
The shabbats (sabbaths) of the land and the Yobel (Jubilee) are not about the U.S. or other countries, but about the land of Israel. Yet even in the diaspora (outside the land), there are lessons we can learn about how we should trust in God, how far God can take care of His people and how we are to take care of our families and each other.