Parashot Behar (בהר) & Bechukotai (בחקותי): Leviticus 25–27

“during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord.”
Lev. 25:4 NASB

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matt. 11:28 NASB

“For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
Heb. 4:10 NASB

Behar

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 בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai]), covering Lev. 25:1-26:2.

Behar readings

Leviticus 25
Jeremiah 32:6–27
Luke 4:16–21

Bechukotai

Part of the Golden Rule (Lev. 19:18) is concern for other people. One way to view the somber warnings in the common Torah reading בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai (“in My statutes”) is God is concerned about the world so much that its lifeline — Israel — has to remain pure.

Bechukotai readings

Leviticus 26–27
Jeremiah 16:19–17:14
Matthew 22:1–14
Matthew 16:20–28
Acts 1:1–5

Behar–Bechukotai discussions

Cancel debts, free slaves: Radical teachings of Jubilee and Sabbatical Year for modern life (Leviticus 25; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6 and 18)

Jeff May 25, 2024

The Torah reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount [Sinai],” Leviticus 25:1–26:2) teaches that debts are released after seven-year cycles (Shemitah, sabbatical year) and 49-year cycles (Yobel/Jubilee) to memorialize God’s forgiveness. This pattern is seen in Messiah Yeshua’s (Christ Jesus) teachings on forgiveness in Matthew 18 and manifest in his role as suffering servant who takes our debts (Isaiah 53). By forgiving others as we’ve been forgiven (Matthew 6:12), we reflect the Heavenly economy of releasing debts, underscored via receiving God’s mercy on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement; Leviticus 16; Isaiah 58:1–12).

What happens when we take Heaven’s mercy for granted (Jeremiah 16–17)

Jeff May 13, 2023

“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…

How to be a dependable part of Heaven’s rescue mission to Earth (Leviticus 25)

Daniel May 21, 2022

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…

Why is it so bad to sin against the Land? (Leviticus 25–27)

Daniel May 8, 2021

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…

Leviticus 26–27: How Yeshua the Tabernacle made flesh steers us away from a cursed life

Jeff June 1, 2019

When we’ve finally had enough of the “house of bondage” that’s kept us doing doughnuts in the parking lot of life, the Creator of Heaven and Earth shows us the way out. Just as Pesakh (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) are annual reminders of that journey to freedom and how we get to know the One Who delivered us, adopted us and gives us new meaning, so too, the Heavenly pattern of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) helps orient us toward our ever-present Source of help in our midst. The Torah reading בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bekhuqotai/Bechukotai(“in My statutes,” Lev. 26:3–27:45) takes us to the end…

Leviticus 25–27: No freedom or redemption without the law

Jeff May 12, 2018

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.