The Scriptures tell the story of the redemption of mankind through the nation of Israel from the beginning of Creation up to our very day.  It is the story from the beginning of history through ancient civilizations describing in detail many of the recent events of modern history.

Much of this world history was foretold thousands of years before it happened with accuracy to the day of its occurrence.  Scripture is not a crystal ball to be used for personal amusement or storytelling but is primarily concerned with world history seen through the eyes of God’s chosen people.  Scripture would foretell much of the important future of mankind through the history of Israel.

Much of this future history would be tied to the concept of the Jubilee.  While most modern people are unfamiliar with the Jubilee, the Scripture where God sets forth the Jubilee concept is written on an important artifact now located in Philadelphia – the Liberty Bell.  On the liberty bell is written,

Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.

The Jubilee

The Jubilee was provided by God for the Jewish people to mitigate against poverty.

A family might lose their house, land, inheritance, ancestral possessions due to unfortunate circumstances.  In our society today, such a family would be out of luck and have to start over from the beginning.  In today’s society, such circumstances could happen with a legal situation, losing a job, or having a serious medical condition.

Such was not the case in ancient Israel.  The Jubilee is the year of return and restoration of everything that was lost.  The land is restored to its previous owner – and the previous owner to the land.  All debts are canceled during the Jubilee year and any servants are set free.

In the Jubilee year, the family returns to their ancestral home; any separation from the land is ended.  The Jubilee is the restoration of that which was lost with the land returned to its original owner.

The Jubilee is declared in Scripture to occur every fiftieth year.  If somebody lost their land and died before the Jubilee year, then the land would be restored to his children, and the children would be expected to return to the land.

When Moses was very old and about to die, Moses declared the people of Israel would be torn from their land due to disobedience.  in Deuteronomy 28, Moses declares,

Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please him to annihilate you and destroy you.  And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.  Then the Lord will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other.

This would happen many centuries later when the Roman Legions under Titus would destroy Jerusalem and the Jewish people would be scattered – literally throughout the world.  They would remain scattered for centuries, in small groups without any physical connection to each other.

Even though they were dispersed in small groups in often hostile nations, they would maintain the integrity of their religion and traditions, anticipating their eventual return to Jerusalem.  One reason why they remained optimistic regarding the eventual return to their land was contained within the words of Moses.  After speaking of their dispersal throughout the world from one end to the other, Scripture then reports they will eventually return,

The Lord you Rod will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.

This prediction was made about 3500 years prior to its fulfillment which happened in 1948 with the birth of Israel.  For this to happen would mean the hand of God must rest upon the course of history.  It would also suggest a link between the ancient history of a small country in a backwoods part of the world with the more recent course of history in the modern world.