When you are trying to interpret the books of the Old Testament you soon discover the fact that almost everything is built and based upon a previous foundation. First you discover and lay down that foundation and then you begin to build upon it with new information.  It all relates and ties in together; but you need to understand some things in the proper order.   Leviticus, Chapter 25 builds on our previous knowledge of the things we have learned about Sabbath.  God takes this concept of the gift of Sabbath and expands upon it and in the end we discover more sacred, appointed gifts of times and seasons.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to today’s lesson of The IN SEASON Lifestyle’s every-Thursday Community Bible Study called COME AS A CHILD.  We have been slowly making our way through the Book of Leviticus and have only about five lessons left in this chapter of the Old Testament

Leviticus has been a pretty amazing study so far!

We’ve been moving page-by-page and chapter-by-chapter with the unassuming eyes of a child who is just seeing the scripture passages for the very first time.  It has been a blessing to be sharing our thoughts and questions about every passage and word as we have moved along together.

Our next passage to discuss is Leviticus Chapter 25.  I hope you remember to read the scripture passages before beginning to concentrate on each lesson.  The Word of God is alive and it will speak to you; but you must first make the attempt to read it for yourself instead of only being spoon-fed by authors who write commentary.  Whatever you learn from this commentary will be very rich to you only if you have studied the Word of God first.  How else can you know that someone is truly teaching from the scriptures unless you take the time to read and prayerfully study them for yourself?  The rest is icing on the cake and cakes are better with icing!

Thanks so much for joining in with us.

If you missed last week’s lesson and wish to review it you can find it here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/blasphemy-judged-by-god/.

KEEPING SABBATH

Today’s study speaks to us of The Sabbath Year; but in order to understand a Sabbath Year; you first must understand the original concept of keeping a weekly Sabbath. We have already discussed the concepts of Sabbath many previous times during this study. To help you to review; I will provide the following links: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/keeping-sabbath/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/seeking-gods-face-in-the-tent-of-meeting-come-as-a-child-lesson-181/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/covenant-of-god/https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/work-six-days/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/calendar-of-god/ https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/weekly-sabbaths-and-high-sabbaths-keeping-sabbath-before-god/

However; to make things a lot shorter and simpler so that we can move on for now; I will also quickly discuss some basic concepts of Sabbath before we consider the rest of our study.

The Sabbath is based upon the fourth commandment found in Exodus 20: 8-11 (and other passages throughout the bible) which says: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and made it holy.”

However; long before the Ten Commandments ever became official the People of God were keeping Sabbath. It really began with Creation and the times of Adam and Eve.

God made the Sabbath on the 7th Day of Creation. He set this day aside as a sacred day and made it holy and sanctified it. Every seventh day since that first Sabbath day has been a sacred and holy day; a day in which mankind and all of the earth have been asked to rest and a day for them to spend time with God without outside influences.

We haven’t lost count in all of these thousands and thousands of years because of the way that God corrected our calendars during the times that the Children of Israel wandered through the wilderness and God gave them the manna from heaven for six days and no manna came down on the seventh day because they were commanded to gather enough for two days on the sixth day. This was the beginning of the corrections of the records of mankind that actually noted the very days that were meant to be Sabbaths.

The clock that the Jewish culture has lived by ever since came into a confirmed recognition. We do not have to verify anything; they have done it all for us and God provided the easy records and the easy way of keeping things accurate. Every seventh day is a sacred Sabbath Day. It just so happens that our modern-day Saturday is the day that correlates with this calendar.

You can worship on Sunday or you can worship every seventh day of any other day of the week and that will be just fine; but if you want to keep a TRUE Sabbath according to God’s defined calendar; you must worship on what our modern-day calendars have labeled as Saturday which is the true Seventh Day from the very beginning of the times that God set in motion as a gift for us from the foundations of the world.

Also; in the Hebraic way of thinking Saturday doesn’t start in the morning; but it is the ancient way of keeping time that goes from one sunset to the next. The Seventh Day Sabbath would normally begin on a Friday evening and last through the day of Saturday and end at sunset on Saturday.  We count 24 hours from sunset to sunset for a 7th Day Sabbath.

THE SABBATH YEAR

Now that we have covered the definition of the 7th Day; we can go on to discuss the Sabbath Year; which would translate out to being every seventh year.

Here, in our scripture passages today; God was simply telling Moses to let the land have an annual Sabbath rest on every seventh year.

On the secular calendars which we use today the last Sabbath Year observed was in 2015.  The next one to come will be on September 7, 2021 through September 25, 2022 .  The time of beginning is always on Rosh Hashanah, or The Feast of Trumpets.

In this time there are to be no new crops planted or grown and the land of the earth is to lie dormant until the next year comes along. It is fine to eat the produce that grows naturally on the plantings that have already been planted from the past years; but it is not okay to plant new seeds for harvesting during this time that occurs every seventh year.

So just exactly what is this all about anyway?

Wouldn’t the people starve?

A TIME OF AGRICULTURAL RESTORATION

Actually, this was a very sound agricultural practice.

Just as the people get a Sabbath rest, so does the land.  It happens every 7th year.  All of the land that still belongs to the descendants of the tribes of Israel is to lay fallow during this period of one year.

In Israel it is often referred to as The Sabbath of the Land.  The practice is still observed in the very lands which God designated in this scripture passage.

Officially these are the only lands that are ritually required by God to keep the observance (unlike many of the other days and laws that still apply today to all generations.)

However; some people do make a practice of applying this logic to their own modern-day, away-from-the-land-of Israel, lives anyway simply because it is common knowledge by deep bible scholars that whatever laws God gave Israel was the pattern that He was laying out for creating a Holy Nation which all nations would eventually be a part of.  Many simply observe the principal here out of love and not out of duty.  Some of their stories would amaze you too.

A PHYSICAL PRINCIPAL WITH A SPIRITUAL APPLICATION FOR ALL

Not only does the land get a rest; but the people living upon the land begin to live at a lower standard of living in order to devote their time and energy (which would usually be spent growing crops) to higher, more spiritual pursuits.

This is a very revolutionary practice compared to most people’s way of life today.  The heavy scheduling of work schedules and the daily grind of working for days on end comes to a complete halt for these farmers of the land for a whole year.

All of the produce that grows wild and by itself is a free gift for anyone during this time.

GRACE, UNDESERVED MERCY AND FORGIVENESS

Another interesting part of the process is that when the cycle reaches this seventh year all debts owed to anyone are considered to be “forgiven.”

Don’t you love that part of the cycle?

This system allows those who have experienced any financial difficulties in the last seven years a chance to wipe the slate clean and start all over again.  In Israel, people who farm the land can only remain poor for seven years and not one moment longer.  Isn’t that amazing?    It is not a hopeless, unsolvable state of being such as we see in many third-world countries, or even with failed crops in flourishing countries when weather or natural disasters hit unexpectedly.

Hope reigns eternal in God’s Holy Nation!

FOUR MAJOR CONCEPTS OF SHEMITAH

There are four major concepts that bring about a true and pure ritual observance of Shemitah.

Those four elements of this time period are:  rest for the land as well as those who tend the land, equal and free provision for all living within the land, sanctification for the fruit of this year (the consideration that all provisions are a sacred gift from God and the act of showing respect for this fact and not being wasteful with our gifts) and the forgiveness from all family debts.

WHAT SUSTAINS THE LAND ALSO SUSTAINS THE SOUL

The original concept of Shemitah is basically all about sustainability of the land and the people.

Most of the affluent societies living across the globe today have greatly decreased family time and leisure-time among their cultures. Shemitah encourages the reverse of this concept.

In the days of the past when everyone was kept busy during the year with the farming of their lands; there were also times that were set aside for celebration and worship.  The needed times for family gatherings and leisure activities could be scheduled in around the gathering and the harvesting and the planting seasons.  Schedules were flexible and depended upon circumstances around the harvest.

Now, as most live in such a non-agricultural society; we are finding ourselves micro managed in manufacturing and high-tech jobs.  Our work loads often consist of such hard, unreasonable and rigid schedules.

In ancient times though everyone had to work hard when they did work, but there were times of rest and refreshment that were enjoyed as a nation and as a culture and as a family.

A CULTURE THAT CAN’T DISCONNECT FROM ITS WORK

As time has continued and things have become more industrialized across the world; many people have become accustomed to working around the clock.   Even if they “say” they are off the clock; they are connected by technology twenty-four/seven. Real time-off has become less and less.

Family time has been taken away and used to make profitable merchants more profitable; and there is hardly any business that would ever consider giving its employees a sabbatical year just to catch up on their leisure and family time.  That is a totally foreign concept to today’s modern-world.

RESETTING THE BIG CLOCK

Shemitah resets the clock on culture gone wild.  It makes people stop living in “greed” and begin to live more in community.

People are a lot like the land.  They need their rest.  They need to be refreshed and they need the hope of that refreshment coming around again and again.

Modern-day work forces have pushed the concepts of exercise and vitamins and maintaining medical health.  People are now taught by large corporations as much as a person can do to keep health-matters within their own control.  A pill is available for almost everything.  Just pop it in your mouth and go right back to work.

Yet; there is a different way to solve this – simply give people the rest they need and deserve in order to live a healthy life.

It has become common knowledge among the scientific community as of late that the more we work; the more we tend to overwork.  It could almost be called another addiction to add to the long list of addictions rampant within our current society.

THE COUNTER TO MATERIALISM

Then there is that aspect of  people being able to grow more and more prosperous through the application of more and more long hours of work which only feeds and leads us to this urgent and covetous-like need to be keeping up with the totally outrageous and unnecessary spending by our neighbors.  We compare ourselves to others and think we haven’t achieved enough until we have a better car or a larger home or more brand-name products.  We tend to  become more and more materialistic in our standards of living every year.

What was once considered luxurious living has now become necessity to our society.  There are no limits or no boundaries to the next level of success.  Many even seem to be proud of driving themselves on to achieve such a status; as if they would ever be satisfied or fulfilled when they reach the top.  There is always another level.

LIVING IN ILLUSION AND SELF-DECEPTION

The modern culture speaks of wanting to get back to the basics and live a more minimalist lifestyle – but in actuality; they do not even come close to keeping the standards they preach about night and day.

The concept of a more simplistic lifestyle for today’s culture might only mean making your own coffee instead of going to Starbucks.  It is all an illusion; nobody truly gets the whole picture; nor do they reap all of the true health benefits that would come from a sabbatical from their labors every seventh year.

Just think what this would do for their 401Ks!   How on earth could anyone ever survive such a time without medical insurance?  The list of things that would be impossible to consider goes on and on.  We have built our own slavery.  We owe, we owe so off to work we go!

We all continue to slave toward a retirement where we will be too old to enjoy anything instead of grasping the fact that we could be resting and enjoying life more every seventh year if we channeled our resources and planned for a more shemitah-styled life.

It is a concept that is totally beyond the grasp and imaginations of most of America today.

WHAT AT FIRST LOOKS UN-RESPONSIBLE COULD ACTUALLY BE MORE RESPONSIBLE

Our culture would consider this total irresponsibility.

People would think we had lost our minds.

Instead we grasp at any straws we can find that might slightly resemble the peace we are seeking.  We go to yoga classes, attend mindfulness courses, increase our meditation exercises and work out at the gym.  We keep taking our magic pills.

The practice of Shemitah would require planning ahead, possibly cutting back on day-to-day wasteful spending, saving for the future and learning how to truly live in new and simpler ways.  This is beyond the reach of most people’s intelligence level in the cultures we have created.

THE SECRET IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD

But; God gave these best ways to live way back, thousands of years ago.

What if we all had listened and kept them up?

Can you imagine how different our worlds might be today?

You can go back to the very devout parts of Israel today and still see this concept happening; but they too must contend with the sad fact that they are not moving and operating in a way that works with their world.

Those who truly keep an Annual Sabbath every seven years have to deal with the faults of the imperfect world living and thriving all around them; one that does not care about how God said to live; and one that could care less about the value of maintaining the integrity of God’s land that He has so graciously loaned to Israel forever.

WHAT IF YOU AREN’T JEWISH AND YOU DON’T LIVE IN ISRAEL?

For the rest of us; those who do not live in Israel; all we can take away from the scriptures here is the concept; but what a concept it is!

It would truly work well for everyone if the whole world could grasp and conform to the concept at the same time.  That really does seem to the be the problem.  Most people are way too greedy to consider such a way of life.  They are not willing to make the sacrifices that must be made in order to achieve the end results.

There are certain forces of nature that God created and put into motion with this principle of Shemitah.  As the land lays fallow for a year; it becomes more fertile.  The nutrients that are constantly being used up in growing crops are increased and the land becomes much healthier for the new crops after the Sabbath Year has passed.

People in all places are like the land of all the earth.

After long periods of stressful overwork; people lose their vitality.  They need long breaks to rejuvenate and refresh and become restored.

Once this year of restoration and rest has passed they have brilliant new thoughts to bring to the table.  They have new energy to contribute to the betterment of their work places.  They no longer dread going to work; but appreciate the opportunity all the while knowing that they will get the needed break when the time comes.  This helps them to live and function better during the times that they DO work.

An attitude of remorse and regret is transformed to an attitude of appreciation and anticipation.  Having lived much simpler for a whole year past; they look forward to the increase of abundance in the future.  It is a good cycle that increases awareness and appreciation for each season in which they are living.

APPLYING ANCIENT GODLY PRACTICES TO OUR MODERN DAY WORLD

This same principle would apply anywhere with any people.

Can we simply stop and do this today?

Only with God’s help; but it isn’t totally impossible.

It would take planning seven years out and following through with that plan no matter what the circumstances.  It  would take listening to God instead of the voices of the world.  It would take bravery and the ability to come apart from others and follow a different path from the norm.

Am I recommending this to our culture today?

No; not me – but God does.

He never changes.

The laws God gave to Moses could all still apply to us today.  They are universal concepts that never go wrong.  Why else would God have given them to a nation from which He was going set up a pattern for all  other nations?

This was a nation in which He intended to raise up a Messiah and create an eternal, everlasting family.  How could the same basic principles not work for us today?

He even wrote them down in detail for us in black and white to read whenever we needed further instructions.  How great is that?

The only difference is that we are living on this side of the cross.

If they were good for God’s people in the days before the love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness of the Messiah; I can only imagine how good they would be for us as we continue to follow Him through our life journeys.

THE MODERN ECONOMY OF ANOTHER GODLY NATION

Is Shemitah REQUIRED of us today?  No; only of those ancestors of Abraham living in the land of Israel must continue to practice this concept today.

But; why not apply them anyway?

Have you ever heard any of the stories of those in the land that are keeping this time?  They are well worth researching and reading.  Some are quite amazing and the stories are multiplying as the years go by.

What could it possibly hurt to obey God’s instructions in all times and seasons simply out of love and adoration; even if not required?

Perhaps God would pour out a blessing on our land like we have never seen before.

What is the alternative?

Should we just keep going in the wrong directions?

Should human lives continue to be adapted to fulfill corporate needs?

Isn’t there a better way?

Some erroneously suppose that socialism is the answer; but the concept of socialism probably has more pits to fall into than hell.  Those who praise it the loudest would be the ones who would hate it the most; they are simply ignorant of the facts.

No; I think God’s directions to Moses about Sabbath years might be much more appropriate.  Think of the regeneration processes that might take place should we dare to be brave enough to incorporate this whole concept of Shemitah.

Why shouldn’t an economy of a Godly nation enforce its spiritual and ethical values?

I can only imagine.

 

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