Do-overs, Mulligans, and The Year of Jubilee 

By Kalere Peyton, Reykjavik, Iceland

Passage to read: Leviticus 25:8-54 

“Nah, wait, y’all- Gimme a do-over!”
You knew the rules getting into it. You gave it your best shot. You missed....REALLY BADLY. 

In golf, a “mulligan” is “a shot not counted against the score, permitted in unofficial play to a player whose previous shot was poor” [1].

Maybe it was their own mismanagement or bad seed or not enough (or too much) rain. Whatever it was, in ancient times, an Israelite could find themselves in a position where they were forced to sell their land, homes, or even themselves and their families as payment for their debts. There was both good news and bad news. The good news: they would get a do-over. The bad news: it could be as many as 50 years away. 

Our modern use of “jubilee” usually refers to a celebration of an anniversary [2]. The Hebrew word “jubilee” refers to a ram’s horn trumpet. This wasn’t the signal of the beginning of just any celebration -- it was much more: 

According to Leviticus 25:9 a loud trumpet should proclaim liberty throughout the country on the 10th day of the 7th month (the Day of Atonement), after the passing of 7 sabbaths of years = 49 years. In this manner, every 50th year was to be announced as a jubilee year. All real property should automatically revert to its original owner (Leviticus 25:10; compare 25:13), and those who, compelled by poverty, had sold themselves as slaves to their brothers, should regain their liberty (Leviticus 25:10; compare 25:39). [3. Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'JUBILEE YEAR'". International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 1915.]

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a farmland or property owner. What possible relevance could this Old Testament tradition have for you and me in 2025? In keeping with His wonderful, eternal nature, we can see echoes of God’s unchanging character and his good and perfect will for us that are abundantly relevant -- regardless of the current details of our lives. 

God models for us how we should treat each other

If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold. Or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption, then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property. But if he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his property. Leviticus 25:25-28 NASB 

After nearly 50 years, I can imagine I could become quite taken with the house or land or servants I attained at a rock-bottom price. Maybe I’ve even reallocated your other resources to properly manage my new acquisitions or done necessary (or non-necessary) renovations. I would have been tempted to be bitter: “It’s not FAIR! I’m not the one who mismanaged. I should get to keep this stuff. Who’s to  say you learned your lesson? 100 head of cattle says this will all be back to me anyway before the next Sabbath!” Arms crossed. Eye roll. UGH. 

Thankfully, God is infinitely gracious and wants to guide us to show that same level of mercy to others. I’m reminded of these verses: 

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 

Note that these are not requests. They are commands. God is our example and standard. Of course, I’m upset! I have endured a grievance after all! However, is there any indication that if something is unfair, then I’m allowed to be unmerciful? 

Ask yourself: How willing am I to be merciful and forgive, especially when it’s going to cost me? Is there a situation in my life right now where I need to step up and forgive/show mercy? 

If you’re feeling like you lack the motivation to do this (because, let’s be honest -- it’s HARD), keep reading. We see even more of God’s character the deeper we go into this Hebrew festival of “mulligans.” 

God emphasizes his sovereignty 

So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God. Leviticus. 25:17 

The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. Leviticus 25:23 

Even if he is not redeemed by these means, he shall still go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 25:54-55 

The concept of ownership is key when it comes to the year of Jubilee and reflects God’s sovereignty and authority in our lives. Regardless of whether you’ve had the land since you inherited it from your dad or you came to own it because of someone’s misfortune, the land isn’t actually yours or theirs -- it’s God’s. He’s just loaning it to you. If someone loans you something, no matter how long you have it, it’s still a loan. They have the right to take it back if and when they deem necessary. Your role is to care for it while it’s in your possession, but you as the temporary holder do not determine the terms of the loan. That’s the owner’s right. 

The law was intended to benefit all, the masters as well as the servants. They should never lose sight of their being brothers and citizens of a theocratic kingdom (a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities). They owed their life to God and were subject to His sovereign will. Only through loyalty to Him were they free and could ever hope to be free and independent of all other masters. [4 Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'JUBILEE YEAR'". International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 1915.]

I find that many difficulties I have in my heart when it comes to forgiveness and mercy can be related to the fact that I have (somewhere along the line) dethroned God and decided that my feelings take priority. I can lose sight of the fact that my entire self belongs to God. If that’s an uncomfortable thought, remember that He to whom you belong is the safest, most wonderful place for your soul, heart, and mind. 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 NASB 

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph. 5:21 NIV 

Ask yourself: In what areas of my life am I most tempted to dethrone God and decide that my own rules apply instead? What Scriptures apply to these circumstances and how can I re-submit myself to God’s authority in my life? 

God reminds of us his desire for restoration 

It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. Leviticus. 25:10 

God’s greatest desire is for restoration, a restoration that brings us back into the perfect relationship he always meant to have with us. The relationship that He created us to need and that brings him and us so much joy, comfort and peace. 

The crowning feature, though, was the full restitution of all real property in the Jubilee Year. The primary object of this regulation was, of course, the reversion of all hereditary property to the family which originally possessed it, and the reestablishment of the original arrangement regarding the division of the land. But that was not all; for this legal disposition and regulation of external matters was closely connected with the high calling of the Jewish people. It was a part of the Divine plan looking forward to the salvation of mankind. "The deepest meaning of it (the Jubilee Year) is to be found in the apokatastasis, tes basileias tou theou, i.e. in the restoring of all that which in the course of time was perverted by man's sin, in the removing of all slavery of sin, in the establishing of the true liberty of the children of God, and in the delivering of the creation from the bondage of corruption to which it was subjected on account of man's depravity" (Romans 8:19) [5 compare Keil, Manual of Biblical Archaeology]

The Jubilee is a reminder of our own homecoming. God created us and like the younger son in Luke 15, we have all gone our own way. That father made it clear when he ran to meet his son and embraced him that regardless of what the son had done, he was still family. We are God’s sons and daughters. For God, it was unacceptable for us to be away from him. It was so unbearable, he sent Jesus to save us through his death on the cross. 

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 NIV 

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 18:17 NIV 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 NIV 

Ask yourself: Do I remind myself daily that I am a child of God? How can I keep that in the forefront of my mind and allow it to bring me joy and peace?

Ultimately, what we see here that the year of Jubilee is a great reminder that while life for us has changed, our God has not changed. His heart, his desire and his character are the same from everlasting to everlasting (Ps. 103:17). And that is worth celebrating.