The Lord told Moses that not only the people but also the land must keep the Sabbath. For six years the people were to sow and harvest, but in the seventh year the people were not to sow anything and were to let the fields grow wild. The Lord also gave instructions for a jubilee every fifty years. The Lord then told Moses instructions for redemption of land and people and explained that poor people should be treated well.
This chapter deals a lot with slavery. Just like the sex laws and the prohibitions on disabled priests, I’m sure there’s some kind of justification for it at the time of Moses. However, none of these things are relevant to today. In fact, as Christians, we are not to follow any part of Mosaic tradition. Galatians Chapter 5, verse 1 explains, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” The slavery is in reference to the laws that Moses gave the former slaves of Egypt, which became the laws of Israel, or Mosaic Law. The next few verses go so far as to say even circumcision is unnecessary, (Galatians 5:6) “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” So even though parts of Mosaic Law are horrendous and unjustifiable, there is no reason that Christians, especially modern Christians, should follow these laws.
The Lord said that those who followed His laws would be greatly rewarded, but those who didn’t follow His laws would be punished again and again for refusing to follow His commands. However, the Lord would grant forgiveness for those who confessed their iniquities.
I think this chapter would be better applied to a spiritual as opposed to a physical realm. Christians believe that loving Jesus and following God’s word will lead to happiness and a better life after we have died. In his prayer, St. Francis of Assisi reminds us that, “…it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” So Christians have something to look forward to in the next life if we are good and loving. However, if we ignore God and hate our neighbor we will be punished for our sins. There are different interpretations about what hell is, but I think a great interpretation is that we create our own hell. With all of our sins, we create a wall that increases with each sin and keeps us from God. If only we ask for forgiveness and genuinely repent, we can escape from our hell and join a peaceful eternal life.
The Lord told Moses about the valuation of people, animals and land when concerning vows. Also, the Lord reminded Moses that the people were expected to pay a tithe for the Lord
In making a vow, the people were promising service to God. However, since only the Levites could work in the temple, the non-Levites had to pay instead of rendering services in the temple. In the list of values, the women have to pay less than the men. There is no clear explanation as to why women pay less, but I find it interesting that women are even given a value seeing as women, even Levite women, couldn’t perform services in the temple.
These are my thoughts on Leviticus 25-27. And this is the last entry for the book of Leviticus.
Reflections of a Christian 