1# Shemittah (Lev. 25:1-22) (‘TAKE A WHOLE YEAR OFF’!) (8-28-21)

(THEREFORE, DON’T EVEN ASK THE QUESTION: ‘WHAT SHALL WE EAT’! HE FEEDS THE BIRDS OF THE AIR DOESN’T HE?)

(Leviticus 25:20-22):

“‘And if you say,“What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and itwill bring forth produce enough for three years. And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comesin, you shall eat of the old harvest.”.

God instructed Israel to let the fields lie fallow every ‘7th Year’, and give ‘The Land Its Sabbath Rest’. This is called: ‘THE SHEMITTAH YEAR’ in Hebrew, which means: ‘A YEAR OF RELEASE’.

Not only is it a massive Test Of Faith To Not Work the land for an entire year, but it causes us to learn to look to God for provision and for fruitfulness as we obey Him evenwhen it costs us.

God really wants us to ‘RELEASE’ (SHEMITTAH), to let go, and to trust Him by following His ways even when it is scary. We need to let go of control and admit that not only the Holy Land is His, but our lives and indeed all the world is His. He made it, He owns it, and if He says put your tools down and Rest, we need to obey. We can trust Him to look after us when we walk in obedience. Here is the instruction for us in The Book Of Psalms:..

(Psalms 46:10)

“Be still (or Let Be, Let Go, Release) and know that I Am God; I will be exalted among the Nations (Gentiles), I will be exalted in the earth!”

The ‘Sabbatical Year’ and ‘The Weekly Sabbath’ both share several things in common. First of all, they share a common Hebrew root between them. The main idea behind this Root isthat of Rest, but there’s other possible translations: ‘TO CEASE’ or ‘TO DESIST’.

But the similarity between the 2 kinds of Sabbaths goes beyond that of Rest. A careful reading of Leviticus 23 reveals the fact that there is at least one Sabbath associated with each of The Feasts of The LORD. But none of these special Sabbath Days are called: ‘A SABBATH TO THE LORD’. Only ‘The 7th Day Sabbath’ and ‘The Sabbatical Year’ share this Honor. In the case of ‘The Weekly Sabbath’, it is called: ‘TheLORD’s’ because it was He who first ‘Ceased From His Work and Rested;' as we are told in Genesis. Therefore, ‘The Sabbath Was God's Ideal From The Beginning, Not Man’s’! It Was He That Established The Pattern! It Was He That Laid Down The Principle, Not Man’!

But in Leviticus 25, ‘The LORD’s Sabbath’ carries with it one additional feature: it is not first and foremost people that was the object of ‘The Sabbath, BUT IT WAS THE LAND’! This raises a great question: ‘To Whom Does The Land of Israel Belong To’? If the politicians could answer this question, it would solve a majority of the worlds problems! Therefore, all the politicians have to do is to read the Torah. The answer is crystal clear! The Land Of Israel Does Not belong to the Arab or Jewish people. IT BELONGS TO GOD HIMSELF! ITS ETERNALLY SETTLED: ‘ITS GOD’s LAND!’

(THEREFORE, DON’T EVEN ASK THE QUESTION: ‘WHAT SHALL WE EAT’! HE FEEDS THE BIRDS OF THE AIR DOESN’T HE?)