“Proclaim Liberty throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof”
This inscription can be found engraved upon the Liberty Bell housed in Independence Square, Philadelphia, Pa. This bell formerly known as the “Province Bell” rang out on July 8th 1776 as the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place. This inscription was taken from Leviticus 25:10 proclaiming the year of jubilee for Israel.
Later in the book of Isaiah we read these words: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)
The liberty bell toiled good news that liberty was being proclaimed from Philadelphia, and Isaiah was prophesying of a time that was yet to come when liberty would again be proclaimed in Israel. That time came with the arrival of Christ. Luke chapter 4 verses 16-21 recounts the story of Jesus standing in the temple and reading from the 61st chapter of the book of Isaiah and then proclaiming on that day the scripture was fulfilled. What better time to proclaim liberty throughout all the land then on independence day? The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776 by men willing to give their lives for this great nation, established a national freedom to all citizens of these United States of America.
Yet there is another declaration of liberty that was declared by Christ, signed with his blood, and enacted by his execution, that bought our spiritual freedom. Freedom comes with a heavy price. The signers of the “Declaration faced possible charges of treason against the British crown. But sign they did. Christ signed our spiritual declaration of independence with his own blood.
It was for freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1 (RSV)
These words from Galatians ring as clear as the Liberty bell did in 1776 when liberty was proclaimed throughout the colonies. Today marked the 234th birthday of our nation and once again men need to stand up and proclaim liberty throughout the land. The tyrannical bonds of King George III needed to be severed in 1776, and today I am afraid we are seeing another tyrannical government arising to enslave the people of these great United States. Let us first remember that our freedom comes from the Lord, and by remembering the heights from which we have fallen perhaps we can find our way back to the arms of a forgiving savior.
Proclaim liberty to the captives. Proclaim a year of jubilee. Let us pray our debts to one another are forgiven as we forgive those who are indebted to us. This after all is what Christ came to do. He came to forgive our sin debt. The Levitical law proclaimed all debts were to be forgiven once every 50 years in the year of jubilee. We are long overdue for a year of jubilee don’t you think? So let us once again with one accord proclaim liberty throughout the land.
“For where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” 2 Cor. 3:17
Along for the Journey
It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history. Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their importance. This is especially true of the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence. Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights , and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed.
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