As a young Christian I remember my lack of enthusiasm for reading some of the rather tedious books of the old Testament. I distinctly remember an incident as a teenager growing up in Kountze, Texas, where my Sunday School teacher mentioned something about reading the OT. I, being a very honest and rather talkative young man, spouted out that the Old Testament was boring.

My shocked teacher berated me furiously. (It didn’t help that I was the pastor’s son.) I still stand by that opinion when it comes to the separation of organs when describing the technical aspects of animal sacrifices, the genealogies, and the specifics of the many intricate laws Israel was told to abide by.

There are truly parts of the OT that are not easy reads by the fireplace on a cold winter’s eve. I do realize now that all of the OT is important and has its place. One of those passages I thought to be less than exciting was Leviticus 25. This passage details the year of jubilee and the restart to everyone’s debts, obligations, and debt-based employments. Every seven years, the Jews observed a sabbatical year and allowed the land to rest from production.

After seven sabbaticals, or 49 years, they celebrated the 50th year as the “Year of Jubilee.” That was the year that all debts were canceled, all salves were freed, all land was returned to its original owners. The entire nation was given a reset, a new start, a new beginning. The basic reason for this new beginning was to balance the economy and keep the wealthy from taking advantage of the poor, as well as picturing what happens to one who receives Christ as His Savior.

If you have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior you are in effect now living a spiritual “jubilation” that never ends. Jesus is our jubilation, he has set us free by presenting himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, a sacrifice that God found to be completely acceptable.

Through Christ we have been set free from the bondage of sin. Through Christ, our sin debt to the Lord has been paid in full and forever. Through Christ, we are living continually in the “acceptable year of the Lord.” We are accepted not just for a year but for all eternity from the first moment we became a believer in Christ.

I can’t think of any issue, problem, tragedy, that can take away the jubilation of the soul that has been set free from sin, hell, and death. What a glorious hope we share in the body of Christ. What a great incentive to accept the gift of salvation. The gift that will set you free from the bondage and debt of sin and make you a citizen of the kingdom of God.

So, yes the OT may not always read like an action-packed Marvel movie but when you look closer you may just find a surprising application that is more than a fictional story but an exciting and awe inspiring reality.

Pastor Jerry Favor is pastor at Victory Baptist Church.