Leviticus 25: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Leviticus 25 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

Yahweh speaks to Moses on Mount Sinai, instructing the children of Israel on the Sabbath year (vv. 1-7). In the seventh year, the land shall rest and not be cultivated.

Key verse

“You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you; and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.”
Leviticus 25:10 (WEB)

Outline

Leviticus 25:1–7 Sabbath Year Instructions
Leviticus 25:8–12 The Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:13–17 Property Redemption Regulations
Leviticus 25:18–22 Safety and Provision
Leviticus 25:23–34 Land Ownership and Redemption
Leviticus 25:35–43 Support for the Poor
Leviticus 25:44–55 Servitude and Redemption

Discussion questions

In v6, what is to be done with the food during the Sabbath of the land?
What does the land do in v4 during the seventh year?
The concept of 'liberty' in v10: how does it shape the understanding of community relationships?
In v43, why is there an emphasis on not ruling over fellow Israelites with harshness?
When have you experienced a 'Year of Jubilee' moment, where you had a chance to return to something important?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Leviticus 25: Matthew 6, Leviticus 26, Leviticus 27.

Before next time: read Leviticus 26.