Tag: sabbatical year

Categories
Discussions Prophets and Writings 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.

Categories
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.

Categories
Discussions Torah

Leviticus 25: Golden Rule behind sabbatical years and Jubilee

Photo Credit: Fallow field near Campos Castilla, Spain by Freeimages.com/Juan Carlos Rodríguez.

The lessons of rest and release in the biblical sabbatical year (shemitah) and Yobel (Jubilee) teach us how we are to be good masters and how good of a Master our Messiah Yeshua is. Embedded in the lessons of the Torah reading Behar (“on the mountain,” Leviticus 25) is we are to treat each other with the kindness Yeshua gives us — the Golden Rule.

Categories
Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Jubilee Sabbatical Year

John 13:34-35: How new is Yeshua’s ‘new command’?

Is Yeshua’s “new commandment” in John 13:34-35 really new? An answer is taught through God’s appointed times of Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement), Shmittah (sabbatical year) and Yobel (Jubilee year).

Categories
Discussions Tithe & Finances Torah

Deuteronomy 26: Messianic significance of the third-year tithe

A digital graphic with a black background features bold, neon-style text and a large, colorful number "3" decorated with vibrant patterns and splashes of color. The text, in bright pink and white with a thick outline, reads: "Messianic significance of the third-year tithe" and "Deuteronomy 26." A small logo in the bottom left corner includes the text "hallel.info." The design is dynamic, with an energetic mix of colors, abstract shapes, and artistic elements emphasizing the theme.

Remember that the number three is a Messianic reference. This third-year tithe is a reference to the Messiah: His sacrifice, God’s acceptance of the Messiah’s sacrifice and, from that point, God will make those who accept the Messiah’s sacrifice into His people.

Categories
Apostolic Writings Discussions

Luke 4:14-44 — Yeshua proclaims His mission from Scripture in a synagogue

Yeshua proclaims from the Scriptures that He is the fulfillment of messianic prophecy in Isa. 61:1-2. Yet the people of His hometown demand more signs and reject His proclamation.

A medieval polemic against Christianity faulted Luke for a “garbled,” deceptively shortened quotation of Isaiah 61. How valid is that claim?

Categories
Discussions Torah

The Jubilee of Yeshua: Awakening the Promise of Leviticus 25

Keeping the jubilee year with both crops and servants were an act of faith on the part of the people of Israel. It is difficult to live in freedom of 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.