“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” 2026 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
Is modern debt a new kind of slavery? Bible laws that break today’s shackles (Leviticus 25:39–26:2; Isaiah 24; John 13)
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.
Cancel debts, free slaves: Radical teachings of Jubilee and Sabbatical Year for modern life (Leviticus 25; Isaiah 58; Matthew 6 and 18)
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)
“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…
Heaven’s promise of a fresh start: You can count on it (Leviticus 26–27)
The Book of Leviticus may seem like a lot of dos and don’ts for a Tabernacle service that hasn’t existed for two millennia. But what’s revealed at the end, in Torah reading בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai/Bekhuqotai (“in My statutes,” Leviticus 26–27), is that it is the gospel of hope, promises from Heaven of the new covenant, that our past can be removed, setting us up for a bright future ahead of us.
How to be a dependable part of Heaven’s rescue mission to Earth (Leviticus 25)
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)
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 recap
Discover more from Hallel Fellowship
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.