Welcome to Leviticus study number 44. We're in Leviticus chapter 25. We're going to go from verses 39 to the end, verse 55. Lord willing and the church don't rise. And we're going to start out with the hillbilly challah going out to brother Austin Durio. Brother Austin, here's your hillbilly challah. And brother Austin's a fellow Buckeye and he's a Bible believer. and we're glad to know him and glad to know he listens and all that's icing on the cake is we're going to be in heaven together forever as brothers in Christ. That's what every one of these hillbilly hollers, we kind of do that for fun, but it is wonderful to think about all these people. We're all going to be together forever because of what Jesus Christ has done to save us. So Austin, there's your Hibberly Holla as we start our Bible study off with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for this time that we can get into the book again. Every week, we'll just keep on plugging on, going through your book. It's a privilege. We have a good time doing it, but we'd rather be in heaven. We always ask, come quickly. But as long as you leave us here, we are so thankful to have this book. And so thankful for the privilege that we have to learn it. And so thankful for the wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit teaching us and guiding us. And we thank you for these things in Jesus' name, amen. So in this study, we continue with laws about Well, to start with, what we're going to see in verse 39 and through the first few verses there is falsely categorized as slavery. And people in early America, prior to the Civil War especially, tried to use passages like this to legitimize slavery in America. But any honest reader will see that the form of slavery in the United States was a complete violation of God's laws in Israel, as we'll discuss now. And let's just go ahead and jump in here and read verse 34, I'm sorry, 39 and 40. Leviticus 25 says and if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor and be sold unto thee Thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond servant But as an hired servant and as a sojourner He shall be with thee and shall serve thee unto the year of Jubilee Some rhyming going on in that verse there, but these two verses show us the difference really between American slavery and the biblical laws of servitude. To start with, no one was ever kidnapped, or the biblical term of man-stealing, and put into slavery in any of these scenarios that you see in the Old Testament. And that's where nearly all American slaves came from. They had been kidnapped and taken from their loved ones in Africa. In some cases there might have been tribal wars or something involved in the background. But we're going to see in our study of Deuteronomy eventually if the Lord tarries and I'm still here. Deuteronomy 24 7 says, if a man be found stealing any of his brethren, of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him, then that thief shall die, and thou shalt put away evil from among you. So if God's laws were followed in the United States, then all the slave traders bringing men, women, and children that had been kidnapped and stolen from their families, they would have been executed. And the slave would have been set free and should have been provided transportation back home. So you can see right off, there's a big difference. Almost all the slaves in America were illegitimate. It was not in any way, shape, or form a legitimate version of slavery or being a bond servant by any means. It was man stealing or kidnapping. And in this case, as we're seeing, the bond servant was in a temporary position. He was set free by either being redeemed by a loved one, or he could work off his debt in some cases. And regardless, every 50 years at Jubilee, then the bond servants were all set free. Now, that's not what happened in America. Verses 41 and 42 continue and say, and then shall he depart from thee. referring to those set free at Jubilee or those I guess you'd also say those who had been redeemed by other means. Verse 41 again, and then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, see he had families and everything, and shall return unto his own family and unto the possession of his father shall he return. 42 says, for they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as bondmen. Israel was to be a chosen nation, a nation of children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And they were to be God's people. And so they were not to be treated in such an ill manner. And unlike The rest of the entire world, civilized and uncivilized, in 1500 BC when this was written, you don't find these kind of protections and guidelines and rules in other countries. God allowed for men to work off their debts and he limited how long they could be held in bondage with the jubilee. And well, truth be known, nearly all Americans today are bond servants. They're in debt up to their ears, and they don't have any hope of a jubilee to provide relief. We're not going to get deep into it right now, but you study the World Economic Forum and the Great Reset that's taking place today. It's all setting up the time for the Antichrist when the whole world economy is going to be collapsed and everyone's going to be forced into a new global economy with a new global currency and that mark of the beast that everyone will have to have in order to buy, sell, or trade in a legal fashion. There will be, of course, pockets of people with black market trading and a lot of theft going on and that sort of thing. That's what we're all heading for, and I believe it could be the Great Reset is one of, if not the thing that is going to set up that whole system for the Antichrist. In the meantime, as we're seeing this whole thing being set up, Housing prices through the roof, interest rates going up, debt continues to rise. The debt of the American government is, I don't know, trillions of dollars. I mean, we can't even imagine what $1 trillion is. And we've got, I think it's like $10 trillion or something, $13 trillion, something just unbelievable. level of debt. I believe it's being done on purpose. The globalists, the Freemasons, the occultists, the Marxists, and all the people who have been elected by, many of them elected by lying about what they really stand for. Others being elected by a bunch of wicked, wicked people, putting people like the Nancy Pelosi's and the Mitch McConnell's into office so that they can crash our system. So when we read this, you think, oh, what a terrible place for a man or a woman to be, to be a bondman or a bondmaid. Well, chances are a lot of the people watching this are in similar situations with no end in sight. People who have college degrees and they won't pay that debt off possibly in their entire lifetime it's so high. But that leads us then to continue verse 43 says thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God so God forbid abuse among bond servants and of course that's something that marked the too often what happened with American slaves. Now, you watch Roots, the PBS, I think it was, put out that mini-series, or you watch or read Uncle Tom's Cabin, which is credited with kind of whipping up people into a frenzy to catapult us into the Civil War and that sort of thing. A lot of that, it doesn't give the big picture, it doesn't tell the whole story. But then on the other side, people try to water it down and make it look like slavery wasn't as bad as those books and videos and documentaries make it look. Well, the fact is, while there were slave owners that treated their slaves well, which makes sense. person and that person belongs to you. You don't want to abuse that person. If you want to get your money's worth out of them, you're going to feed them properly, clothe them properly, give them proper rest, keep them well so that they can work long term. And so the idea that all slave owners were abusive runs contrary to common sense. But there were, and we need to be very clear about that, a lot of abuse. There was a lot of rape. The offspring of the slaves that were raped were a lot of times called mulattos. They were shunned just like they shunned most blacks in most parts of the country, including the North. People who think just down south they treated blacks like second-class citizens. No. Read the truth. The history is the entire country, even though some people were opposed to slavery, most people in the north were way more bigoted than even some... You think of the worst bigot you know, if he's really that bad, or she's that bad, is probably what the typical northerner was like. and the Southerners. Most of them believed that the black race was a subhuman or lesser race. And all that's because of Bible ignorance. People are ignorant of the Bible. The fact is, all human beings are wicked. All human beings are sinful. All of us are depraved. There is no superior race. There is a race called the Jews who are chosen by God, but right now they're in bad condition, in a bad state with the Lord. In this dispensation, God has a race that is a spiritual race. Whether you're white, black, Jew, Asian, Indian, dot, Indian, feather, it doesn't matter. Once you become a Christian, you become a part of that holy nation called the Church of Jesus Christ. And there's neither Jew nor Greek, etc. So it's really a mess in this world because this world is so ignorant of scripture and so far away from God. And so as you read this, take it for what it says and understand most of what you're told about the Bible and about the Bible and slavery is false. People just speak out of ignorance. Now the following text is then because of what we're going to read. It's roundly criticized by God haters and Bible rejecters, but listen to what it says. Verse 44 says, both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have shall be of the heathen that are round about you. Of them shall you buy bondmen and bondmaids. Now, in most cases, we're talking about people who were bondmen and bondwomen because they were in debt. And the fact is that slavery among the nations outside of Israel was just as normal or typical as marriage. I mean, it's just the world the way it is. It's easy to sit here in 2023 in America or someplace in Europe or anywhere in the world and cast stones. And yet right now sex slavery is global. And other forms of slavery continue to this very day. We just like to pretend that those ancient Hebrews and others were barbaric and the Bible is a barbaric book and all that. And we're not. And it's all hogwash. It's all hypocrisy. Now in this text, I want to point this out, who is selling the slaves here? The heathen. The heathen are selling the heathen. And so don't miss that as well. And if you researched American slavery, you'd find a couple of shocking details. Number one, most African slaves were sold to Europeans and Americans by Africans. They depict this and it was in some cases this happened, but most cases it didn't some cases they'd go down and Raid a town and take the people but in most cases the whites from Europe and America went and bought from Africans other Africans and a lot of people seem ignorant of that another thing people are ignorant of is And I was until 10-12 years ago when I really researched the subject. But between 1 and 1.5 million whites were slaves. And when slavery was first becoming a big thing, whites were among the most enslaved. And then later, the numbers transitioned and there were more blacks than whites. You can see more about that, go to osu.edu and look up when Europeans were slaves. And we won't get into that anymore at this point. The next two verses, 45 and 46 continue, it says, moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall you buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land, and they shall be your possession. And you shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you to inherit them for a possession. They shall be your bondmen forever. but over your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor. Now, you don't have to guess about that. You can go back and see that when the Pharaoh took away the straw and whipped the Hebrews and said, you'll make the same ration of bricks, even though we're not giving you any straw to make the mortar and everything. And then they'd beat them. That's rigor. So it's abusive. And that wasn't to happen in Israel. And so there's definitely a difference between the heathen slaves and Israelite bondmen. And Israelites were never to be slaves, but even the heathen slaves were bondmen being sold by the heathen. And a lot of those then assimilated into Israel. They converted to Judaism and became Jews and within a few generations their offspring were just as legit as anybody in the nation of Israel. But we continue, verses 47-48, and if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family, Verse 48, after that he is sold, he may be redeemed again. One of his brethren may redeem him. So if some foreigner comes in and makes a lot of money and ends up buying some Israelite, he can be redeemed by his family. That was the law of the land. Verse 49 specifies either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him. Or if he be able, he may redeem himself. So you could work yourself out of debt in some cases. In order to maintain law and order, rules were set regarding the redemption of bond servants, and we'll just go through these quickly. Something we ought to be familiar with, gives us a little background as we study the rest of the Bible. Let's read 50 through 52. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of Jubilee, and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of unhired servants shall it be with him. So these were rules kind of like the stock and trade rules and that sort of thing. Verses 51 and 52 say, if there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of Jubilee, then he shall count with him and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. God's law requires humane treatment, fair treatment, and laid this out so that there wouldn't be strife, discord, domestic uproars and domestic violence and that kind of thing over these transactions regarding bond servants. And it's just a fact. I don't like the idea of bond servants and bond maids and all that. I don't like the idea of slavery in any form. But this was the best and most moral and ethical and humane system on planet Earth in 1500 BC. That's a fact. And you can thank God for that. He's the one who helped clean things up. And it just got better from that point forward. But we continue verses 53 and 54 and as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him and the other shall not rule with Vigor over him in thy sight over and over God says you're going to treat these people with respect You're going to treat them with dignity. You're not going to abuse them verse 54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of Jubilee both he and his children with him, so he's Again, saying you may not be redeemed by family member, you might not be able to work your way out of it, but you're still not a life sentence bond servant. You're going to have the opportunity to be redeemed. And then this last verse is very important. as we read verse 55, for unto me the children of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. And that's important because this is a picture of the child of God. He says, for unto me, the children of Israel are servants. Unto me, God says, they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. And the New Testament speaks of our salvation from sin in similar terms. Every time you read of how you and I have been redeemed, then this is the background that helps you understand what that's saying. You read about our redemption, same thing. It's in reference to the fact that number one, we are born with original sin, and as soon as we understand and choose sin, we choose to do wrong, then we become responsible and accountable for our sin. 2 Peter 2.19 says, "...for of whom a man is overcome, of the same as he brought in bondage." I'll just go to the time when I got saved at the age of 19. I was under conviction. The Holy Spirit was convicting me, and I came to understand that I was in bondage to my sin. Of course, a lot of people think, oh, I'm having a good time. Sin's fun and all that. Sin is death. It can be fun, and you can have pleasure for a season, but the end of sin is death. And Romans 6 20 says, for when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. It's important that the sinner who's not saved understand that they're servants of sin, and that there's no righteousness in us. Even when we think we're doing good, we actually have bad motives, and we have selfish motives most of the time. And we don't have time to get into that, but that's just a fact we've discussed that elsewhere But when we're saved it's in terms of us being bought Purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ first Corinthians 620 says for you are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's God's possession. We now belong to God. We have been bought with a price. Again, in Galatians 3.13 says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. So we are enslaved in sin. We are bond servants to sin. And Jesus shed his blood so that those who believe on him can be saved. in effect, purchasing us with His blood. Ephesians 1, 12 and 14 says that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trust, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory." When Jesus takes us and clothes us with our glorified body, that'll be the end of the redemption. We will have been redeemed in full at that point. Right now we are redeemed legally. We are already benefiting from that, and the best is yet to come. Colossians 1, 12 and 14 says, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness. and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, listen, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. And 1 Peter 1, 18 to 21 says, For as much as you know that you are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ. We've been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. It's a wonderful thing to meditate on, take those scriptures, pray about it, think about it, and realize what Christ has done to save us from sin.