The book of Leviticus elaborated on the year of Jubilee. Moses the law-giver commanded the people of Israel to release all slaves and others’ properties in their possession during the Jubilee.
8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
Leviticus 25:8-13
The word “jubile” (Jubilee), in Leviticus 25:10-13 is the word, yôbêl, which means the blast of a horn or simply, a ram’s horn. The continuous sounding of a horn signalled the unconditional release of the oppressed.
Jesus Christ’s mandate to preach the acceptable year of the Lord seems to be a summary of His preaching and healing ministry stated in Luke 4:18.
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:18-19
Jesus Christ’s purpose on earth was to give believers comprehensive freedom from the works of the devil namely: sin, sickness, poverty, depression and death. In the acceptable year of the Lord, God approves our unconditional release from bondage.
The Message version of the Bible refers to the acceptable year of the Lord as “GOD’S YEAR TO ACT”. It may look like God is silent about our situations but in the acceptable year of the Lord, He acts! The people of Israel were in bondage in Egypt for over 400 years, labouring without compensation, but in God’s year to act, He punished Pharaoh when he hardened his heart against the exodus of Israel. God worked mighty signs and wonders to release them from the house of bondage. The supernatural power of God compelled “the Jubilee” of His people.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
Exodus 7:5
The acceptable year of the Lord for God’s people, is the year of vengeance against their enemies. The Jubilee year is a period of rest. Our yoke is easy and our burden is light. We are free from the works of the devil, including sin, sickness, poverty, depression and death.
The year of Jubilee is a year of RELEASE, REFRESHING AND RESTORATION:
Release from bondage.
Refreshing in the presence of the Lord.
Restoration of our lost inheritance.
JESUS CHRIST PAID THE PENALTY FOR OUR SINS. WHEN HE SAID, “IT IS FINISHED”, IT WAS INDEED FINISHED. In the Jubilee year, we simply respond to God’s goodness and mercy. In the Jubilee year, nothing is too much to receive from God. In the Jubilee year, our joy is unspeakable. Embrace the Jubilee year with expectation.
Yours for the Love Revolution,
Eastwood Anaba
(President, Eastwood Anaba Ministries)