Category: Sabbatical Year

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year Torah

Is modern debt a new kind of slavery? Bible laws that break today’s shackles (Leviticus 25:39–26:2; Isaiah 24; John 13)

Created with ChatGPT, this palette-knife oil digital painting shows a young adult walking through a cityscape built from giant credit cards, loan agreements, bills and collection notices, with heavy chains wrapped around the ankles. Ahead, a radiant shofar on the horizon sends out golden light that breaks the chains, symbolizing release from financial bondage. Text overlay: “Is modern debt a new kind of slavery? Bible laws that break today’s shackles (Leviticus 25:39–26:2; Isaiah 24; John 13).” Hallel.info watermark.

We rightfully cringe at the bondage described in Leviticus 25:39–26:2. But are the chains of debt on us today somewhat similar? In this study, we look at the Jubilee and Shemitah laws against today’s student loans, consumer debt and collapsing social trust. Parallel passage Isaiah 24 exposes what happens when nations cross God’s economic and moral boundaries, while John 13 reveals a radically different Master who uses authority to serve. Discover how biblical freedom resets identity, land, wealth and power in a world trapped by debt and chronic anxiety.

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Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year Torah

Debt, poverty and the Bible: How Shemitah and Jubilee break the cycle (Leviticus 25; Deuteronomy 15; Jeremiah 11)

A thick oil palette-knife painting of a Mark Twain-like 19th-century traveler overlooking a barren, decayed Jerusalem beneath an overcast sky. Text overlay: “Debt, poverty and the Bible: How Shemitah and Jubilee break the cycle (Leviticus 25; Deuteronomy 15; Jeremiah 11).” Hallel.info watermark. (Created by ChatGPT)

How are the Bible’s weekly Sabbath, sabbatical years and the 50-year Jubilee actually linked? And what do they reveal about debt, poverty, land use and Israel’s modern history? In this deep-dive study of Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, we connect Torah cycles to Mark Twain’s haunting visit to Jerusalem, modern agriculture and God’s long memory. Discover why ignoring divine rest laws reshapes economies, communities and even empires — and why generous release of debts may still change our future in ways we rarely expect.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year Torah

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

"Cancel debts, free slaves: Radical teachings of Jubilee and Sabbatical Year for modern life (Leviticus 25; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6 and 18). Adobe Firefly AI artwork of a hand reaching up toward a sunset-toned cloudy sky while a chain extends from each side of the scene and wraps around the wrist.

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).

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Announcements Apostolic Writings Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year Torah

‘Proclaim liberty through the land’: Israel’s model for freedom in America

Liberty Bell with copper words "Proclaim liberty through the land" written on it, superimposed over the U.S. flag with the Declaration of Independence shown on the flag.

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.

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Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year

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

What happens when we take Heaven's mercy for granted (Jeremiah 16-17)

“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 mercy for Israel and the world.

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Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year Torah

Leviticus 25-26: God’s freedom-based economy

The reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai], Leviticus 25:1-26:2) is the shortest parashah (portion) of the entire Torah cycle, but it gets to the heart of a recurring problem as God has been working to call back mankind from wandering away from the only Source of life. Just as land needs rest from cultivation to produce bounty, how much more do people need to be freed from the burdens weighing on their hearts and minds.

Here’s what true freedom looks like: Yeshua (Jesus) preached it, died in it, rose in it and intercedes for us to make us continue in mercy and grace.

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Appointments With God Discussions Jubilee Sabbatical Year Torah

What Is the Biblical Year of Jubilee? Understanding Yovel in Leviticus 25

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.