Leviticus 25 / Psalm 25

Leviticus 25

1 - 7 The Sabbath Year

Every seventh year is a sabbath of liberating respite for Hebrew slaves. (This is where we get Sabbaticals for professors, etc.)

8 - 55 The Year of Jubilee

This is the 50th Year following 7 Jubilee years. During the Jubilee year, the land regulations of the Sabbatical year are to be observed, as is also the commandment "You shall return every man unto his possession" (10), indicating the compulsory restoration of hereditary properties (except houses of laymen located in walled cities) to the original owners or their legal heirs, and the emancipation of all Hebrew indentured servents whose term of six years is unexpired or who refuse to leave their masters when such term of service has expired (Gen. 18:6).

Psalm 25

Confident Prayer for Forgiveness and Guidance

1 - 7 The psalmist promises to wait for the Lord's guidance. He asks the Lord to "remember no more the sins of my youth" and to "remember me only in the light of your love."

8 - 15 "All the paths of the Lord are faithful love toward those who honor the covenant demands." (10).

16 - 22 The psalmist asks for an end to his anguish.

My notes: Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic poems are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The final verse begins with the Hebrew letter pe added to the normal 22-letter alphabet. Thus the letters aleph, lamed, pe open the first, middle, and last lines of the psalm. Together, the spell aleph, the first letter of the alphabet.