The fifty years that consummated in the jubilee comprised eight Sabbath years, being Sabbath upon Sabbath to be an eightfold Sabbath (cf. v. 8), signifying the superabundance of the fullness of God’s rest with satisfaction to us.
For the fifty years, the first and last years were eighth years, and in between there were six eighth years. Hence, there was a total of eight eighth years. Since the number eight signifies resurrection, this indicates that the jubilee is something that is altogether from resurrection, to resurrection, in resurrection, and with resurrection.
God brought His redeemed people out of Egypt, through the wandering in the wilderness, and eventually into Canaan, the good land. Then according to God’s ordination, every tribe was allotted a portion of the land, and the allotment was divided and given to each family within the tribe; everyone received an allotted portion of the land as an inheritance. God charged them saying that the land which they possessed belonged to God and was not to be sold in perpetuity (v. 23). When an Israelite became poor and sold some of his possession, his nearest relative was to be his redeemer and redeem what he had sold. If he did not have someone to redeem his possession but acquired the means for its redemption, he could redeem it by himself. If a man did not have sufficient means to redeem his possession, it remained until the year of jubilee, at which time it was released to him (vv. 24-28).
There were three ways for an Israelite to recover his lost possession. First, it could be redeemed by his nearest relative. This is a matter of grace. Second, if he had the means, he could redeem it himself. Third, if he did not have a relative to redeem it and he could not redeem it himself, he could wait for the year of jubilee when the sold possession would spontaneously be restored to him. This also is a matter of grace. The jubilee is a very good type of God’s grace.
If an Israelite was still poor after he sold his land, he could sell himself as a slave. In Leviticus 25, verses 39 to 41 and 54 show that if a brother became poor and sold himself to another brother, he and his sons would go back to his own family and return to the possession of his fathers at the jubilee. When the jubilee came, everyone was released to return to his possession and go back to his family. No one needed to spend any money to redeem his possession; everyone freely regained his possession and liberty.
Hence, in the fiftieth year no one was without a piece of land and no one was in slavery; everyone had his own possession and liberty. This is grace. Hence, Isaiah 61:2 speaks of the year of jubilee as “the acceptable year of Jehovah.”
In Luke 4:14-30 the Lord Jesus began His ministry by proclaiming the jubilee of grace. On the Sabbath day in the synagogue at Nazareth, He read from the book of Isaiah and proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord. This acceptable year is the New Testament age of grace, typified by the year of jubilee, the fiftieth year, in which all the slaves were liberated and every man’s inheritance was restored.
God created man with the intention that man would take God as his possession. After creating man, God placed him in a garden and in front of the tree of life. The garden is for lodging, and the tree of life is for eating. However, instead of eating of the tree of life, Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus, he became fallen and lost God. When he lost God, he lost his possession. Therefore, all his descendants living on earth are without God (Eph. 2:12), without a possession.
Colossians 1:12 says that the Father has qualified us for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light, and Ephesians 1:14 speaks of the pledge of our inheritance. Now that we have been returned to God as our portion, we have God in Christ as our inheritance. In Acts 26:18 Paul speaks of fallen people being brought back to God as their inheritance: “To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive...an inheritance among those who have been sanctified.” The divine inheritance here is the Triune God Himself with all that He has, all that He has done, and all that He will do. This Triune God is embodied in the all-inclusive Christ (Col. 2:9), who is the portion allotted to the saints as their inheritance. The Holy Spirit, who has been given to the saints, is the foretaste, the pledge, and the guarantee of this divine inheritance (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 1:14), which we are sharing and enjoying today in God’s New Testament jubilee and will share and enjoy in full in the coming age and for eternity.