Title: Institutional Devices for Freedom and Equality
Contents
Title : Institutional Devices for Freedom and Equality
Text: (Leviticus 25:1~13)
Hymns: 419. Under your wing I rest in peace
Date: December 17, 2011 (Sat) 5:00 am
Venue: Jeonju Yebut Church Small Worship Room
All human beings are noble beings created in the image of God. No one deserves to be ignored. There is no man above man and no man below man. You must not discriminate against people based on education, ancestry, status, etc. Through this text, God teaches us about freedom and equality.
1. Sabbatical Year and Recovery
God commanded them to farm for 6 years in the Promised Land and rest for the 7th year. In the sabbatical year, the land rests and people rest. Through this time, the earth and people will be fully restored. If you continue farming without a break, the soil becomes acidic and nutrients are depleted, making it difficult to produce crops. However, if you let the land rest during the sabbatical year, weeds will grow and become manure, restoring the productivity of the land. Humans too can recover their humanity and leisure by freeing themselves from the obligations of labor and concentrating on spiritual work. When we break away from fierce competition and fundamentally reflect on our own existence, we can attain true freedom and peace as the image of God. Rest leads to the complete restoration and re-creation of not only humans, but also animals and the entire creation.
2. Sabbath Year and Sharing
No one can harvest or sell the fruit produced by itself during the sabbatical year. Instead, anyone can eat it. Orphans, widows, and strangers also have access to the food they need in the land. After humans have eaten, the remaining grain and fruit is provided for livestock and wild animals. This teaches us that through the sabbatical year, those who have land, those who do not have it, and even animals have the right to eat the produce. Because the owner of the land is God, no one can arbitrarily monopolize it. Humans have a responsibility and a mission to know that everything comes from God, and to practice sharing and serving according to the will of the master as a steward of God. Only when believers free themselves from excessive attachment to possessions can they become the light and salt of the world. Please remember that you cannot serve both money and God.
3. Jubilee and Equality
The year after the seven sabbatical years, the 50th year, is the Jubilee. The Jubilee begins with the blowing of the ram's horn on the Day of Atonement, when all sins are forgiven. In the year of jubilee, people from slavery should be freed unconditionally. God was not pleased with the permanent oppression of his chosen people as slaves to others. Even if he was temporarily enslaved due to unavoidable circumstances, he made it possible for everyone to live in equal condition by giving them freedom. All people are equal before God. It is undesirable for anyone to be treated unfairly and to have their human rights exploited. Everyone should be guaranteed the opportunity to live freely and happily before God.
Everyone has the right to live happily. The inheritance of poverty and wealth must be cut off. The structure in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer regardless of individual abilities must be improved. Please reconsider what the will of God who instituted the Sabbath and Jubilee years is.
<Prayer>
1. Let me meditate on the Word and pray in my life every day!
2. Let the rivers of living water overflow from the Yebut pulpit and fill the whole world!
3. Heal the weak members of the church and save the unbelieving families so that they can achieve the fame of faith!