Freedom in the Old Testament
The knowledge of freedom has its beginning in the Mosaic Law in Leviticus 25.
Leviticus 25:10 You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.
The context of the verse quoted is a description of the jubilee year. Release the inhabitants and freedom for all the slaves. Imagine that. Freedom, liberty are expressed in the context of the Old Testament Mosaic Law.
Our foundation as a country in the United States draws its concept of freedom and liberty from Leviticus 25:10. The verse is written on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Abolitionists during the Civil War turned to the Liberty Bell and the verse from Leviticus 25 as a reason to end slavery. Cultures and societies can change when people take God’s word to heart and decide to follow His statutes.
This passage and context in Leviticus 25 are loaded with prophetic implications regarding His second coming. Click on the link below if interested in the prophecy related to the concept of Jubilee.
https://paulthepoke.com/category/jubilee/
See the YouTube video link below for audio/video of this post along with further commentary.
Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn…
The concept of freedom is captured by the prophet Isaiah as it is reflected in the Mosaic Law and the Jubilee. All three persons of the Trinity are involved in this communication. The “Me” is the Son. The Spirit is upon Him (the Son). The Father is represented by the title Lord GOD or Adonai Yahweh in the original Hebrew.
Jesus read and spoke these words in the synagogue of His home town Nazareth (Luke 4:16). Jesus is reading from Isaiah 61:1-2a. He reads verse 1 completely.
Jesus then stops reading in the middle of Isaiah 61:2. By reading these words, He was claiming to be the Messiah. In other words, “Here I am!!” Jesus is also arguably proclaiming a Jubilee year. This author would argue the year 30 AD. This event appears to be at the onset of His ministry. We can have lots of debate about the date at another time. This has significant prophetic implications in regards to the timing of His second coming.
Take a look at Isaiah 61:2. To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD (Jesus stops here.) and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn…
The stoppage of reading in the verse has lasted close to 2,000 years. At His first coming, Jesus was a suffering servant who died for our sins. His sacrificial death on the cross freed humanity from the bondage of sin.
Christ did not come in vengeance and judgment the first time, hence the pause. And we wait for the remainder of Isaiah 61:2b-11. It describes the future conditions of the nation Israel under the leadership of the Messiah, Jesus. He returns the second time in wrath to set the stage for an everlasting peace.
It is not only humanity who is freed from the bondage of sin. It also the creation.
Romans 8:19-21 For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
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