the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time
“And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.”
Every fiftieth year in Israel’s calendar was known as the year of jubilee. The soil was supposed to lie fallow. Land reverted to its original owner. Slaves were set free. It was a joyous time of freedom, grace, redemption and rest.
When someone bought a piece of property, he had to take into account the nearness of the year of jubilee. For instance, the land would be more valuable if forty-five years remained before the next year of jubilee. But if there was only one year left, the land would hardly be worth buying. The buyer would be able to raise only one crop.
There is a sense in which the Lord’s coming will be the year of jubilee for believers today. They will enter into the eternal rest of the Father’s house. They will be set free from the shackles of mortality, and receive their glorified bodies. And all the material things that have been entrusted to them as stewards will revert to their original owner.
We should take this into account in valuing our material possessions. We may have thousands of dollars worth of real estate, investments and bank deposits. But if the Lord should come today, they would be worth nothing to us. The closer we get to His coming, the less real value they have. This means, of course, that we should put them to work today in the advancement of the cause of Christ and in the alleviation of human need.
Just as the year of jubilee was ushered in by the blowing of a trumpet, so the Lord’s return will be announced by the sound of “the last trump.” “All this teaches us a fine lesson. If our hearts are cherishing the abiding hope of the Lord’s return, we shall set light by all earthly things. It is morally impossible that we can be in the attitude of waiting for the Son from heaven, and not be detached from this present world… One who lives in the habitual expectation of Christ’s appearing must be separated from that which will be judged and broken up when He comes… May our hearts be affected and our conduct in all things influenced by this most precious and sanctifying truth” (C. H. Mackintosh).
'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' Copyright 2007 © William MacDonald. 'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
