The people are to observe a weekly sabbath in which they do no work and they are to observe a sabbath year every seventh year in which the ground will be allowed to rest.
Our passage today begins like this: "The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord.'" (Leviticus 25:1-2) Something that jumps out at me right away is that the Lord says, as if it is already a done deal, "when you enter the land". When the Lord makes a promise, it is already a done deal, even if the fulfillment of the promise is still a long way away. He said these words to Moses on Mount Sinai, and at that time the Israelites believed they would be entering the promised land very soon, within weeks or months. They had no idea they would rebel against the Lord so much and display such a lack of faith in Him that their entry would be delayed by forty years. But God knew it! He knew they would grumble and complain in the wilderness. He knew they would accuse Him of not caring about them. He knew they would stumble in their faith and fail to take Him at His word. When He spoke of the promised land with Moses on Mount Sinai, He knew every mistake the Israelites were going to make, but He did not withdraw His promise!
In this same way, you and I are on our way to a promised land---to an eternal future with our Lord. We are going to make mistakes along the way. There will be days of doubt. There will be nights when fear overtakes us. There will be moments when we can't find the strength to simply take Him at His word. But He will never disown us. We are His children through our faith in Christ and this means that "our citizenship is in heaven". (Philippians 3:20a) The Lord knows every mistake we will ever make but He won't revoke our citizenship. In spite of all our weaknesses and failures, He says to us what He said to the Israelites in our text today: "when you enter the land".
"For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest." (Leviticus 25:3-5) No planting or plowing is to take place during a sabbath year. No pruning of grapevines is to be carried out. Grain producing plants, such as wheat and barley, are to be left untouched if they sprout up during a sabbath year.
"Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you---for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten." (Leviticus 25:6-7) The vegetable gardens will produce "volunteer" plants during the sabbath year and the produce of these plants can be gathered and eaten. The fruit trees and shrubs will still bear fruit and the fruit may be gathered and eaten. Exceptions to this would be grapes from the vineyard, according to our text today and according to Exodus 23:11. Also in Exodus 23:11 the Lord told Moses the olive trees were to remain untouched during the sabbath year.
The sabbath year for the land is good for the land. It's good for the people too, since they will have to trust God to provide enough to sustain them during the year they can't plant or reap. We find the Lord promising to sustain them so abundantly that not only will all the citizens of Israel have plenty to eat, but there will also be plenty for those temporarily passing through, for foreigners residing among them, for servants and slaves from other cultures, for domestic livestock, and for the wild animals. Nothing is too hard for God! If He could sustain everyone and every animal during each sabbath year, He can certainly sustain us in years of famine, in years of plague, in years of war. Whatever comes our way, God is more than able to meet our every need!
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