Leviticus 25:1-7New International Version (NIV)
The Sabbath Year
25 The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, 2 “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. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 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. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. 6 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, 7 as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten. (Take from Biblegateway.com.)
Background to the Book of Leviticus (Click Below)
Memory Verse: Leviticus 25:4
Genesis tells us, God created the heavens and earth in six days and on the seventh day, He rested.
God stopped.
We are made in God’s image and we too need to stop.
Each day we stop for about 7 hours of sleep at night.
Each week we stop after six days of working to rest and worship.
In the book of Leviticus, we see another hard stop – this time for the land.
In Leviticus 25, God commanded that his people work the land for six years, but in the seventh year they were to give the land a solemn rest. This rest required God’s people to trust that God would provide for their needs, while the land rested.
Not only was this good for God’s people to rest and trust in God, but it also was very good for the soil.
Resting the soil helped to restore the nutrients that were depleted throughout the years. Nowadays, farmers rotate their crops but in Bible times, the people may not have understood how necessary it was to rest the land so that they would have a greater harvest in coming years.
Is something depleting you?Is there something you need to take a long rest from?
After my difficult year in 2016, I decided that the year of 2017 would be my year of saying “no.” Every ounce of the people pleaser in me felt guilty saying no to new commitments or stepping away from areas where I had consistently been dependable and a “go to girl.” But I simply needed to stop.
God created his creation to require rest and require dependence on him.
Are you resting?
Are you depending on him?
Resting is good and can lead to a greater harvest in the future.
Let’s take God at His word and rest.
(This post is an excerpt by Courtney,Women Living Well, from the Rest and Release Bible Study Guide.)
Reflection Question:
Is there something that is depleting you that you need to take a long rest from?
Share it with us in the comment section.
Share it with us in the comment section.
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