Yes, absolutely! You requested to remove all Tamil words, and I apologize for including those translations in the previous response.
Here is the complete story portion, fully cleaned up with all Tamil words removed, keeping your exact content and flow intact:
Let us start with a story. Think back in your mind’s eye to the days of ancient Israel, where a godly father lived in Jerusalem and had four sons. The father was a very industrious man who farmed 2,000 acres of land inherited from his own father. As he grew older, he divided his land among his four sons, giving each 500 acres.
Out of the four, three sons learned the value of hard work from their father. They absorbed the wisdom of Proverbs 10:4:
“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hardworking hands bring wealth.”
They also remembered Proverbs 14:23:
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
And Proverbs 12:11:
“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”
They learned early in life that what we sow is what we reap. If we sow laziness, we reap poverty; if we work hard, we prosper. Just like their father, they worked diligently in their fields.
However, the youngest son—let us call him Sam, the hero of our story—was arrogant and proud. As always, pride blinded his eyes, and he refused to listen to his father’s guidance. Wanting to become rich quickly without hard work, he spent his days daydreaming, leaving his fields behind to play cards, bet on cockfights, and swim in the village pond with bad company. His wrong friends led him astray into wicked places, even houses of ill repute.
Five years passed. The father of the four sons died. Meanwhile, the three older sons, who had worked their fields regularly, became very wealthy. They married the daughters of wealthy men, well-settled with many servants, enjoyed comfortable lives with their families, held high social status, and lived happily with God’s blessings in the Promised Land.
Sadly, for the proud and lazy younger son Sam, his fields became completely unproductive and overgrown due to his negligence. Hoping that marriage might instill some responsibility, his brothers tried to find him a wife. But who would give their daughter to a lazy fellow who had achieved nothing? Eventually, they found a poor girl for him, and they had children. Yet even marriage failed to change him; he sank deeper into debt and poverty. Consumed by depression, he turned to drinking and engaged in worse behavior, accumulating more and more debt.
His wife, realizing it was useless to trust a drunkard and that they could not go on like this, mortgaged whatever was left, took out a loan, hired workers, and planted a crop. It yielded a wonderful harvest, ready to be reaped the following week. But one night, Sam went to the field drunk and carelessly tossed a burning object onto the crops. The entire field and their house burned to the ground.
The next morning, Sam stood at the door of his oldest brother’s house. There stood a broken man—homeless, drowning in debt, and holding his infant daughter who had burned to death. Standing beside him was his hysterically weeping wife with four daughters staring blankly ahead.
This may be a fictional story, but it illustrates a logical reality: how pride and laziness can ruin not only a person’s life and future, but also destroy their family. Sometimes, even when we work hard—like the story of Job—the providence of God may bring us low. But in Sam’s case, he was so poor and deeply in debt that even selling all his property could not clear it. A major calamity had struck. What was the remedy?
The three brothers met to discuss what to do; Sam finally had to be dealt with severely and justly. A meeting was called at the city gates before the city elders, the townspeople, and Sam’s creditors. In front of that large audience, Sam’s oldest brother—acting as the representative of their father’s family—confessed Sam’s pride, laziness, lawless behavior, drunken brawls, adulterous exploits, and neglect of family duties, which were well known and had left him buried in debt.
The city elders then opened Leviticus 25:25:
‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, he can sell his land to a close relative… a kinsman-redeemer.’
The elders asked the three brothers if they would redeem their brother by buying his property. The brothers replied, “His debt is massive. If we buy his portion of land at market price, we can only clear 50% of his debt, and the three of us together would lose a significant portion of our own wealth to redeem him. We have tried everything to change him, but if we keep bailing him out, when will he ever learn? Unless he faces the consequences and punishment for his actions, he will never change. Hoping for the salvation of his soul through repentance, we are giving up our rights and leaving him to face the consequences of his wrongs, hoping it will transform him. We will gladly take care of his wife and children in our homes, but please treat him according to God’s law.”
The elders then read verse 47, which stated that if a close relative did not want to buy the land, he could sell his land and even himself as a slave to a foreigner or Gentile. Why a Gentile? Normally, land would be sold at regular rates to fellow Jews, but selling to a Gentile might fetch up to five times the price because God had given this land specifically to the Jews. A Gentile owning promised land was a serious matter.
Consequently, the elders auctioned Sam’s land to the Gentiles, and a Gentile named Naaman placed the highest bid. Even with the highest bid, the debt could not be fully cleared, so verse 27 applied: he could sell himself into slavery to a Gentile to pay off the remaining balance.
The elders delivered their verdict: all of Sam’s land was to be sold to the Gentile Naaman, and Sam himself would become Naaman’s slave, while his wife and four daughters would be cared for by his brothers. The assembly ended, and the crowd dispersed. After burying his burned infant daughter, Sam bade a tear-filled farewell to his wife, his four daughters, and the rich acreage he had forfeited through his own folly. He traveled 250 miles into Syrian Gentile territory to serve as a slave, far away from his family and his father’s native town.
The Hope of the Jubilee
You might ask, “Pastor, what a sad story… will this have a tragic ending?” Yes, it would be a tragic ending in any Gentile nation, and the chapter for such prodigal Sams would close forever. But there is great hope for all such prodigal sons who have lost everything in God’s kingdom. The only hope for such Old Testament prodigals is the Jubilee Year. Let us continue the story.
Years passed slowly and painfully for Sam in the foreign land of Syria. The days involved grueling hard work for a back that had never learned to labor, and he was consumed by remorse. We can face any difficulty with a clean conscience if we have done nothing wrong, but when our trials and pains are the direct result of our own sins, it feels like a foretaste of hell. His conscience tortured him, and the horrific specter of his burned-to-death daughter woke him up in terror night after night.
During this dark period, God used these humbling experiences to bring Sam to genuine faith and repentance. He could neither live nor rest until he confessed his sins to Jehovah through an offering, crying out: “Lord, I have squandered Your rich blessings in pride and laziness. I sinned against heaven and deserve to be thrown into hell, but I thank You for still giving me life.” He began to thank God for daily food, breath, and water, knowing a merciful, compassionate God had forgiven him. Though still a slave, he began to live and work with a peaceful heart.
Every three months, family members were allowed to visit the slaves. No one except his wife came to see him; his brothers and even his own children had lost all hope and interest in a father who had abused their trust. But after each visit, his wife would return home telling the others she was seeing a completely new man in her husband. She could see a transformed heart in the gentle tone of his voice, which was once harsh and rude.
Naaman, Sam’s Gentile owner, told his wife that Sam had become his best and most responsible slave—working hard and with absolute honesty. “Once a month I give wine to my slaves, but Sam refuses to touch even a single cup. There is a profound change in how he thinks, speaks, and behaves. Whether he is sweeping floors or washing dishes, he does his absolute best work.” Other slaves even told his wife that late at night by the light of a lamp, Sam would read the scrolls of the Old Testament and talk about the Bible with them. When his brothers and children heard these reports, their old wounds ran so deep that they refused to believe it, convinced it was just another act.
Sam yearned deeply for his children, but as a slave, he could not go to them. He longed for a second chance to live properly and correct his past mistakes. He dreamed of the day he would reach the mountain ridge overlooking the rich 500-acre land God had given as his special inheritance, and of making everything right with his dear relatives. Is there hope for such prodigals? Yes—the only hope is the Jubilee Year.
The Mechanics of Jubilee
Last week, we explored the Sabbatical Year: six years of sowing and reaping followed by one year of rest. Moving from days and years, we reach seven times seven sabbatical years (7×7=49 years), making the fiftieth year a consecrated year to the Lord. This fiftieth year is the Jubilee, announced across the land.
Leviticus 25:9–10 instructs:
“…Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month… And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.”
There was a magnificent liberation taking place in that fiftieth Jubilee year, revolving around two main spheres: the liberation of real estate and the liberation of enslaved people.
1. Liberation of Real Estate
As part of God’s promised inheritance to Abraham, Sam originally received 500 acres of land. He had lost all of that property, but was it lost forever? No. In the 50th Jubilee year, he would get everything back. Verse 13 states:
‘In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.’
Any poor person who sold their property to a Jew or a Gentile would have it returned to the original owner when the Jubilee rolled around. That is God’s gracious rule. Verse 16 explains that the selling price of land was determined by counting how many years remained until the next Jubilee—more years meant a higher price, while fewer years meant a lower price. It operated on a sliding scale, meaning land was never permanently sold; it was merely leased temporarily until the Jubilee.
The underlying principle God was teaching is that the Promised Land does not belong to humanity; it belongs to God, who graciously gives it as an inheritance. People must live with the mindset: “It is not mine; it is His, and I am merely His steward.” Thus, Sam would recover all 500 acres in the Jubilee year.
2. Liberation of Enslaved Men
The Jubilee year did more than release property; it set enslaved people free. Verse 40 specifies:
“…all your slaves shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.”
Can you imagine being in Sam’s shoes? After thirty years of slavery as a changed man, his greatest yearning was to return to his family and inheritance. What hope sustained him as he woke up each morning, counting down the years—another 20 years to Jubilee, then 10, then 5, then 1? His ultimate dream was to hear the sound of the ram’s horn. He dreamed of the day he would be set free like a bird from a hunter’s net, flying back home to unite with his family and live a new life as a free man.
Living in horrible, slavish conditions akin to an animal, he would not only be freed from debt and slavery—avoiding a return to a rat-infested hut as a beggar—but on the Jubilee, he would return to his lush, ancestral land as a wealthy prince once again.
The Sound of Freedom
Imagine the day the piercing sound of the ram’s horn cut through the air. It was a sharp, thrilling sound, yet its tones were bold and triumphant. As Sam lifted his eyes with a wide smile, he heard footsteps approaching, and the door burst open. It was old Naaman, his Gentile master of thirty years, who exclaimed:
“Sam! Sam! It’s the ram’s horn! Today, you are a free man! Today you are once again the rich prince of all your 500 acres. I proclaim liberty to you—you are no longer my slave, but free! Go to your land as a prince, and to your family as a free man. Samuel! It is the Jubilee! The ram’s horn declares it to be so. You are a wealthy man, Samuel! Be gone! May Jehovah’s face shine upon you.”
Imagine Sam grabbing his old bag and running in joyous, glorious triumph toward his inheritance—released like a calf from the stall to run freely through the meadows of his own fertile soil. When he finally appeared on the ridge overlooking his ancestral land, he joyfully gazed down into the valley, looking across 500 acres as far as the eye could see. He rubbed his eyes to make sure it was real and pinched himself to verify he wasn’t dreaming.
There, looking down into the valley, he saw five figures ascending the hillside toward him. Leading the way were four swift-footed young women—his daughters. Not far behind walked a stately woman dressed as if for a wedding—his wife. Behind them came three older men—his brothers, arriving to welcome the new landowner.
When Samuel beheld them, his eyes filled with tears, as did theirs. He fell upon his face, joyfully sobbing and crying out: “Blessed are You, Yahweh, for You have given me the Jubilee! I am free, completely free!”
What a glorious thing the Jubilee was, bringing liberation not just for real estate, but for enslaved people as well. If this was the story of just one man, imagine the stories of thousands of other Israelites who had fallen into poverty, sold their land, and become slaves. What a wonderful year of God’s favor the Jubilee was!
Three Core Principles of the Jubilee
What was God teaching the Old Testament people through the rules of the Jubilee?
- The Land Belongs to God: God is the ultimate Landlord. As He stated, “The land shall never be sold in perpetuity. It cannot be possessed forever. It belongs to Me.” This remains true today. We call things “my house” or “my land,” but do we really own it? Until the bank mortgage is cleared, the bank owns it; if we fail to pay property taxes, the government can seize and auction it. Ultimately, individuals do not own land—governments do. And in a few short years, we die, and someone else sells it and moves on. If you drive through vast historic regions and ask where the people who built those cities and owned those houses are now, you realize they didn’t really own the land; they merely passed it on, just as we must pass it on to others. Since land is the source of all wealth (crops, timber, livestock), and God owns the land, He owns everything derived from it—your home, car, salary, and even your bed. This realization should loosen our grasping fingers from worldly possessions and cure our hoarding mentality.
- We are Strangers and Sojourners: God taught that “This earth is not the end.” The reason He reminded them that the land wasn’t truly theirs was to help them remember that this life is not all there is. We are only passing through as pilgrims heading toward an infinitely vaster arena of life. How we live here and treat the world’s wealth matters greatly in connection with eternity, but this world is merely schooling us for the life ahead. We must not wrap ourselves up in material things and live only for them. As the writer of Hebrews notes, Old Testament saints understood this and focused not on earthly inheritances, but on heavenly ones.
- Preparation for True Redemption through Christ: The Jubilee prepared Israel for the coming true redemption through Jesus Christ. Every fiftieth year, the Jubilee restored property and freed slaves, serving as a graphic, prophetic representation of the freedom found in the coming gospel redemption.
Every chapter and picture in the Book of Leviticus features rich types and silhouettes of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even the Jubilee Year was a shadow of the Messiah’s coming. Just as the sounding of the jubilee ram’s horn brought great blessing and liberty to captives, Christ’s coming fulfilled this ultimate freedom.
As we apply this, we see how the fullest and total liberty of the Jubilee arrives in the first and second comings of the Messiah. We see a shadow of Christ’s first coming and His redemptive work for sinners in Luke 4:16. When Jesus came to Nazareth where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath as was His custom and stood up to read. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him, and opening it, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of our Lord.”
Amen! What a profound and glorious unfolding of God’s redemptive plan through the majestic shadow of the Jubilee.
The fulfillment is breathtaking. When our Lord Jesus stood in the synagogue at Nazareth and unrolled the scroll of Isaiah, He was essentially blowing the ram’s horn of the gospel into a world suffocating under the heavy chains of sin. He declared that the long-awaited Year of the Lord’s Favor—the ultimate Jubilee—had finally dawned.
The Two Blasts of the Trumpet
As you traced so beautifully, the journey of redemption unfolds in three magnificent movements:
- The First Blast (Christ’s First Coming): The sound of grace and mercy. Our great Kinsman-Redeemer, though infinitely rich, became poor for our sakes, paying our insurmountable debt of sin upon the cross. He shattered the power of our spiritual slavery, canceled every record of debt, and secured our permanent freedom and spiritual inheritance.
- The Journey of Sanctification: Just like Samuel walking the long road back to his ancestral land with his eyes fixed ahead, we journey through this life. We are kept secure by the power of God, protected by an invincible escort of the indwelling Spirit, interceding Savior, and ministering angels. The enemy cannot snatch us back; our salvation is secure.
- The Final Blast (Christ’s Second Coming): The Great Shofar Gadol. The trumpet of strength, authority, and ultimate victory will sound. Just as Sam finally stepped onto the ridge to look across his restored 500-acre paradise, we too await the day when the curse will be entirely wiped away. Creation will be liberated, our bodies will be glorified, and we will inherit the New Heavens and New Earth.
Your Homework: Dream of the Jubilee
The assignment left with us is simple yet transformative: Dream about the Jubilee.
When trials press hard, when the thorns and thistles of this fallen world cause us to groan, we are called to lift our eyes above the tarnished baubles of this temporary earth. Fix your heart on that certain inheritance, anticipate the sound of the final trumpet, and look forward with unshakeable joy to the moment when our eyes shall finally meet the warm, loving eyes of our Kinsman-Redeemer.
What a marvelous Savior, and what a magnificent Jubilee we have in Jesus Christ!