“The build-up of personal and collective debt in America and Europe should have sent warning signals to anyone familiar with the biblical institutions of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, created specifically because of the danger of people
being trapped by debt.” -Jonathan Sacks – British Clergyman
On Sunday, we sang William Murphy’s “The Sound,” I LOVE this song not just because it’s slammin… but for it’s spiritual significance. When I started as a worship leader we were taught that God was not just looking for us to sing songs, but to release a sound of the Spirit. At the release of that sound by true worshipers, we could expect to encounter God’s presence in significant and tangible ways. The lyrics to “The Sound” chronicle and reinforce this idea in such Biblical accounts as: the sound of the trumpets and the shout when the walls of Jericho fell, and the sound of praise at midnight that loosed the shackles of Paul and Silas. This sound emanates from us when we are desperately crying out to God. Murphy exclaims, “It’s the sound that You will use to set Your people free!” The hook declares,“It’s the sound of JUBILEE, set Your people free, release my destiny-I want it all back!”
In Leviticus 25:39-41, JUBILEE was a year of emancipation and restoration celebrated every fifty years. It’s based on the Hebrew yobel – or ram’s-horn trumpet, with which the Jubilee year was proclaimed. One stipulation was that those who were in indentured servitude because of debt were released from that bondage and returned to their families. Sadly, the practice of bond-slavery is intact in countries where people work off what they owe.
In America, we choose to subject ourselves to the slavery of debt every day. According to Nerdwallet.com, our bondage is to the tune of $135,768 per household –
a combination of mortgages, student loans, auto loans, and approximately $7k of credit card debt for each family. We are working, not just for ourselves or for God, but for our creditors every day. Our LORD, in His providential care, knew that debt was getting the Israelites into trouble. He ensured through the Jubilee year that later generations would not have to suffer for the decisions of their predecessors. Lands that families had lost were restored and debts were forgiven. If you’ve ever been under a weight of debt, you know what a burden it is. If you’ve had a debt canceled, you’ve experienced that tremendous sense of release and relief. I’m sure some of us wish this practice was still in place. Spiritually, it’s the kind of relief we experience when Jesus Christ cancels our sin-debt and removes the weight of our guilt once and for all…as far as the East is from the West. We pray, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. In Scripture we find that God cares about both our natural and spiritual indebtedness. That’s why Jesus is our JUBILEE! |
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