Homiletics - Leviticus 25-27

Contents (not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture):  Where?                  Mount Sinai                      Who?  The Lord, Moses

1	25:1-7	LtoM: speak Israelites – when enter land I give, land observe Sabbath toL; 6 yrs, sow & prune, 7th y, rest, no sow/prune; no reap untended vines; whatever land yields during Sabbath = food for you, servants, hired worker, temp resident, livestock, wild animals.
2	25:8-13	Count 7 sabbath yrs (7x7yrs = 49 yrs); have trumpet sounded on 10th day of 7th mo (Day of Atonement); consecrate 50th yr – jubilee – return to family property/clan; do not sow or reap untended vines; eat only what taken directly from fields.
3	25:14-22	If you sell/buy land from own people, do not take advantage; buy on basis of #/yrs since Jubilee, they sell on basis of #/yrs left for harvesting; do not take advantage, fear God, follow my decrees, obey my laws & you live safely in land; land yield fruit, you eat, live safely; you ask - what we eat 7th yr if we not plant/harvest; I send blessing 6th yr enough for 3 yrs; while plant 8th yr, eat old crop until harvest of 9th yr comes.
4	25:23-28	Land mustn’t be sold permanently, is mine, you reside as foreigners/strangers; you provide for redemption of land; if fellow Israelite becomes poor, sells prop, nearest relative redeem; if no one to redeem but they later prosper, they determine value for yrs since they sold, refund balance, go back to their property.
5	25:29-34	Anyone sells house in walled city retains right of redemption 1 yr; if not redeemed before 1 yr passed, house belong to buyer/buyer’s descendants, not returned in Jubilee; houses in villages w/o walls belong to open country, can be redeemed, returned in Jubilee; Levites always have right to redeem their houses in Levitical towns; returned in Jubilee; pastureland belonging to their town must not be sold, perm possession.
6	25:35-46	If fellow Is become poor, help as you would foreigner so they can live among you; do not take interest, fear God; you must not lend them $ at interest or sell them food at profit; I the Lord, brought you out of Egypt to give you Canaan & be your God; if Israelites poor, sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves; treated as hired workers or temp residents until yr of Jubilee; then they/children released, go back to their clans and property; don’t rule them ruthlessly, fear God; slaves to come from nations around you; you may buy temp residents and they become your property; you can bequeath them as inherited property, but not rule over Israelites ruthlessly.
7	25:47-55	If Israelites poor, sell selves to foreigner living among you, they retain right of redemption, relatives may redeem them; they and buyer to count from year they sold themselves to Jubilee, price for release based on rate pd hired worker for that # of years; they to be treated as hired workers, you must see they do not rule ruthlessly; release in year of Jubilee; Israelites my servants, I brought out of Egypt, I am the Lord your God.
8	26:1-13	Don’t make idols, I am the Lord; observe Sabbaths, reverence sanctuary, follow my decrees, obey my cmds; I send rain in season, ground yield crops, trees fruit; threshing continue till grape harvest, grp hvst cont till planting, eat all you want, live in safety; I grant peace in land, you lie down & no one make you afraid, I rem wild beasts, sword not pass through country; you pursue enemies, they fall by sword before you; I make you fruitful and keep covenant w/you; last yrs harvest you have to move out to make room for new; my dwelling place among you, I not abhor you; I walk among you, be your God, you my people; I the Lord, brought you out of E so you no longer slaves to E, I broke bars of yoke, enabled you walk w/heads high.
9	26:14-26	If you not listen; if you reject my decrees, abhor laws, fail to carry out cmds and violate my covenant, I bring sudden terror, wasting diseases, fever, you plant in vain bec your enemies eat; you defeated by enemies, rule over you, you flee when no one pursuing; if after this you not listen I punish 7x; I break your stubborn pride, make sky like iron and ground like bronze; soil not yield nor trees fruit; if you remain hostile, refuse to listen I mult afflictions 7x; I send wild animals, they rob you of children, destroy cattle, make you so few – roads deserted; if you not accept correction, I afflict 7x over; I bring sword on you, I send plague, you given into enemy hands; I cut off supply of bread, 10 women bake in 1 oven, dole out by weight, you eat, not satisfied.
10	26:27-35	If you still hostile toward me, I punish you 7x over; you eat flesh of sons/dtrs; I destroy high places, pile your dead bodies on lifeless idols, abhor you; turn cities into ruins, lay waste sanctuaries, take no delight in offerings; lay waste land so enemies appalled; I scatter you among nations, draw my sword and pursue you; then land enjoy Sabbath years.
11	26:36-46	Those left I make fearful in lands of enemies; stumble over one another, not able to stand before enemies; you perish, land of enemies devour you; waste away in lands of enemies; if they confess theirs and ancestors unfaithfulness and hostility, when their hearts humbled, I remember covenant w/Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, I remember land; land deserted, enjoy Sabbaths, they pay for sins, yet I not reject them; for their sake I remember covenant; these decrees/laws/regs L established at Mt. Sinai.
12	27:1-8	LtoM: to Israelites – special vow to dedicate person to L by giving equiv value; value m 20-60=50 shekels silver; f=30; 5-20 m=20, f=10; 1mo-5y m=5, f=3; 60+ m=15, f=10; if too poor, person being dedicated presented to priest set value can afford.
13	27:9-13	If they vowed animal, becomes holy; must not substitute good for bad or bad for good, both become holy; if vowed ceremonially unclean animal, present to priest, who judge quality, whatever value priest sets; if owner wishes to redeem animal, 1/5 must be added to value.
14	27:14-24	If anyone dedicated house, priest judge quality, value; if one wishes to redeem, must add 1/5 to value; if one dedicates part of family land, value set according to amt of seed required 50 shekels/homer barley seed; dedicate during Jubilee, value set remains; dedicate after Jubilee, priest value acc to years until next Jubilee; if one wishes to redeem (field), add 1/5 to value; if they not redeem or sold to someone, it can never be redeemed; when released in Jubilee, it holy, become priestly property; if dedicates field bought, not part of family land, priest value to year of Jubilee owner pay value; in Jubilee field revert to one whose land it was.
15	27:25-34	Value acc to sanctuary shekel (20 gerahs/shekel); no one dedicate firstborn animal, already belongs to L; if unclean, bought back at value +1/5, if not redeemed, sold at value; nothing a person devotes to L may be sold or redeemed; no person devoted to destruction may be ransomed, put to death; title of everything from land belongs to L; whoever redeem any of tithe add 1/5; tithe of herd and flock – every tenth animal passes under shepherd’s rod; these cmds L gave M for Israelites.

 

Divisions (run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture):

1	25	The Lord commands the Israelites through Moses about the land, the Year of Jubilee and the treatment of people.
Principle:		The Lord bestows blessings upon us and expects us to exercise good stewardship over those blessings.
2	26	The Lord explains to the Israelites through Moses about the blessings associated with obedience and punishment associated with disobedience to His commands.
Principle:		Although obedience to God’s commands bring blessing while disobedience brings punishment, all things work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
3	27	The Lord commands the Israelites through Moses about how to deal with a special vow.
Principle:		The priest determines the value of the offering. Redemption comes at a price.

 

Subject Sentence (10-word sentence with proper structure):

The Lord commands the Israelites through Moses at Mount Sinai.

 

Aim (Christian and Non-Christian):

TCMATK God provides instruction, blesses obedience and expects responsible stewardship from His people.

 

Application:

1	What are the possible pros and cons of the Israelites observing a Sabbath for the land? How are you exercising good stewardship over the resources God has blessed you with? What are the benefits and problems posed by Jubilee? Where in Scripture do we find an account of the land being redeemed as described in Leviticus 25? What was the purpose of the Levitical towns? What instruction did the Lord give the Israelites about how they are to treat their fellow Israelites?  How might you apply this to how you treat fellow believers in Christ? In light of these verses about slavery and redemption, write a prayer of thanks for Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf.
2	What commands does God mention in Leviticus 26:1-2?  Why do you think He reiterates these commands specifically? What promises does God make to the people if they follow His decrees and obey His commands?  How have you benefitted from those promises? How might you encourage someone who appears to be enslaved with the freedom that God offers in Leviticus 26:3-13? What did God promise if Israel would not listen to Him and carry out all these commands?  What can you learn from this regarding your walk with Christ? Where is Scripture do you find evidence that Israel did not listen to God and carry out His commands? Which enemies’ hands were the Israelites delivered into? What specific passages in Scripture relate to the land resting and enjoying its Sabbath years?  How did this enable the time of exile to be calculated? What promises does God make after the land enjoys its Sabbath years? In what way have you seen the consequences of disobedience in your life work for good because of God?
3	Why might the people have been valued as Scripture says?  Based on this value system, what should Jesus have been worth?  What value was He assigned?  Where did that value come from? What might be the purpose of adding 1/5 to the value of an item to redeem it? What value has our High Priest assigned you?  How might you thank Him? What is the cost of our redemption?