In
my continued
writings of the
Pastor’s
Comments dealing
with what we can
expect in the
beginning years of
the millennium, I
will follow up
from the last one
on the subject of
the Land-Sabbath
and related areas.
The
land-Sabbath is
almost totally
unknown to mankind
today. Yet it
should be very
important to all
whether they farm
the land or not
for it largely has
to do with our
health and
longevity of human
life.
As
a means of
explanation, this
law is not an end
in itself, but has
far-reaching
implications for
it is interwoven
with other laws of
God that are not
only essential to
maintain life and
health, but more
importantly it
reaches into the
realm of the
Spiritual laws of
God as well.
There
is duality here as
we can also see in
many other
teachings of the
holy Bible.
This duality can
begin to be
understood by
considering what a
prophet of God
wrote many years
ago:
“My
people are [being]
destroyed for LACK
of knowledge,
...” (Hosea
4:6).
God
is making known
here that we are
being destroyed
through the lack
of right knowledge
in both the
Spiritual laws and
teachings of God
and in the
physical area of
His laws as well!
Shocking,
But Nevertheless
True —
The
health problems
and cause of
untimely deaths
can be ultimately
traced back to the
failure of
teaching,
understanding, and
putting into
practice, the law
of the
land-Sabbath!
It
is important that
we realize that as
God’s people we
are no more immune
from these health
problems than
anyone else when
there is a lack in
the knowledge of
God’s health
laws or failure to
apply them!
Even
worse the poor
health that
follows can hurt
our relationship
with God and
whatever
responsibility we
might have been
given to be used
by Him in serving
others. To make
the point, all of
us have found that
when we have been
sick we have found
it is very
difficult to pray
and study the holy
Scriptures.
The
Land-Sabbath Law
—
Let
us now consider
this law of God
that He made known
to the people of
Israel on Mount
Sinai at the same
time He made known
once again His 10
Commandments as
they were
assembled before
His presence on
the Day of
Pentecost:
“Six
years you shall
sow your LAND and
gather in its
produce, but the
7th year you shall
let IT REST (to
release it) and
lie fallow (to
remain unused,
unseeded), that
the poor of your
people may eat;
and what they
leave, the beasts
of the field may
eat. In like
manner you shall
do with your
vineyard and your
olive grove”
(Exodus 23:10-11).
These
Scriptures reveal
God’s loving
care, not only for
mankind, but also
for the laboring
oxen, donkeys, and
horses; animals
that were used by
the farmers
throughout the
week to till the
land.
“You
shall let it
rest” –
implying that the
land was entitled
to a rest because
it needed it. God
commanded the
rest, or release,
of the land for
the full year in
order for it to
gain fresh
strength and
insure its future
fertility.
Love
and Concern —
When
we realize the
institution of the
Sabbatical year is
fully treated in
Leviticus 25 and
Deuteronomy 15, we
would wonder why
God would also
include the law of
the land-Sabbath
among the other
laws during the
same time of
making known once
again the 10
Commandments
(Exodus 23:10-11)?
The
answer would
appear to be that
God intended to
reinforce the
teaching of
humanity to the
poor and helpless.
Notice this in the
following
Scripture
regarding the
observance of the
weekly Sabbath:
“Six
days you shall do
your work, and on
the 7th day YOU
shall rest, THAT
your ox and your
donkey MAY REST,
AND the SON of
your maid servant
and the STRANGER
MAY BE
REFRESHED”
(verse 12).
The
Jewish Commentary
makes a noteworthy
comment here about
the commanded
observance of the
land-Sabbath:
Soncino
Commentary, Page
317
“In
an ordinary year,
the poor could
lawfully gather up
the gleanings of
the field (as did
Ruth), and also
take them from the
corner which had
to be left
un-reaped
(Leviticus 19:9).
In the Sabbatical
year, there was to
be no harvesting.
The owner,
servants, the
poor, and the
stranger had equal
rights to the
produce (Leviticus
25:6). Verse 12
– even the
entire year was
commanded to be
one of rest; for
the weekly Sabbath
must be observed
as well. And
as with the
Sabbatical year,
so with the
Sabbath day; the
law is restated
here in order to
emphasize
its humanitarian
teaching of
affordable rest to
the servant, the
stranger, and the
domestic animals.
... The (Hebrew)
word translated
‘refreshed’ is
connected with the
(Hebrew word)
‘soul’, even
the lowliest in
Israel is to be
reminded by the
Sabbath day that
he has a soul;
that there is a
higher life than
mere drudgery; he
is to received
spiritual
refreshment on the
Sabbath day.
‘Refreshed’,
the equivalent to
the colloquial
“CATCH YOUR
BREATH” ...”
As
mankind and his
work animals need
release from the
six days of work
each week to
refresh themselves
and regain their
strength so it is
with the land
resting each 7th
year. It
also needs to
regain its
strength to
produce healthy
food for both man
and beast.
The
Land Sabbath
Served Many
Purposes —
Upon
studying more
deeply and widely
into this subject,
we should be able
to come to
understand this
law serves many
excellent
purposes.
Among
them is the
over-riding
purpose of
inculcating within
the farmers the
lesson of their
dependence and
confidence in
God’s promise of
the triple
increase in the
6th year.
Most definitely
this law was
designed to teach
them faith and
trust based upon
His promises.
This
we shall begin to
see from the
following
Scriptures:
“So
you shall observe
My statutes and
keep My judgments,
and perform them;
and you will dwell
in the land in
safety. Then
the land will
YIELD its fruit,
and you will eat
your fill, and
dwell there in
safety. And
if you say,
‘What shall we
eat in the 7th
year, since we
shall NOT sow nor
gather in our
produce?’
Then I will
command My
blessing on you in
the 6th year, and
it will bring
forth produce
enough for 3
years. And
you shall sow in
the 8th year, and
eat old produce
until the 9th
year; until its
produce comes in,
you shall eat of
the old
harvest.’”
(Leviticus
25:18-21).
The
crop of the 6th
year would be
equal in its
abundance to three
crops and would
supply the needs
of mankind and
beast.
The
Land is
Personified by God
—
It
is interesting to
note from the
Scriptures that
speak of this law
that God
personifies the
land, thus making
known it is a
living soil just
as there is life
in all of His
creation, though
in different ways.
When any of it
dies, as all of it
does over time, it
is burned or
disposed of in one
way or another.
This
is why God created
certain birds and
animals as
scavengers to
clean the land
from the dead
carcasses that
continue to litter
it.
We
should realize the
land is no
different! Life
can only come from
life whether human
or other forms of
life – which
includes the good
earth with its
life-giving
top-soil. Notice
this in the
following
Scripture, as well
as others to
follow:
“When
you come into the
land which I give
you, then THE LAND
SHALL KEEP A
SABBATH TO THE
LORD” (Leviticus
25:2).
Israel
Proved Faithless
in Observing This
Law —
It
would appear that
Israel did not
observe this law
almost from its
beginning of the
giving of it. And
though God, due to
His mercy and
long-suffering
with them, did not
deal severely with
them for many
years, there did
come the time when
He dealt severely
with them because
of their
disobedience to
His holy and
righteous laws!
And
the land-Sabbath
law was mentioned
by God as one of
those laws for
which they had
gone into
captivity.
“Then
the land shall
enjoy its Sabbaths
as long as it lies
desolate and you
are in your
enemies’ land;
then the land
shall rest and
enjoy its
Sabbaths, as long
as its lies
desolate it shall
rest – for the
time IT DID NOT
REST on your
Sabbaths when you
dwelt in it”
(Leviticus
26:34-35).
And
what God told
Israel here came
to pass when
Israel went into
captivity in
718-721 B. C., and
with Judah in
604-585 B. C. –
And
those (of Judah)
who escaped from
the sword he (Nebuchadnezzar)
carried away to
Babylon, where
they became
servants to him
and his sons until
the reign of the
kingdom of Persia,
to fulfill the
word of the LORD
by the mouth of
Jeremiah, until
the land had
enjoyed HER
Sabbaths. As
long as SHE lay
desolate SHE KEPT
Sabbath, to
fulfill 70 years
(II Chronicles
36:20-21).
This
was the Promised
Land for Israel
then, and will
become so once
again upon the
return of Jesus
Christ back to
this earth.
Jerusalem
has been, and will
again, be the most
important city on
earth. And
the land that
surrounds it
belongs to God, as
does all the earth
and all that is in
it (Psalm 24:1).
In particular this
land is very
important to Him
for it encircles
His beloved city
and He intends His
chosen people to occupy
it.
This
is much like a
family.
Though sons and
daughters are to
leave their
parents and make
their own homes,
parents are
happier when their
offspring and
their families do
not move all that
faraway and
when and where
possible surround
them.
In
view of the many
Scriptures that
speak of Jerusalem
as the place of
God’s presence
and the land
around it filled
with His people
seems to be that
God feels the same
way.
And
once again, Jesus
Christ will bring
back into that
land His chosen
people from the 12
tribes of Israel
in the very
beginning of the
millennium and He
will dwell among
them.
The
Cultivatable Land
is Virtually
Exhausted —
As
I wrote last time,
because of using
human reason, and
following the
greedy and
competitive way of
Cain, farmers in
our time are
giving the fields
no rest at all!
Through the use of
chemical
fertilizers they
are forcing the
very tired farm
land to
overproduce
without any real
rest at all. As
the result the
land is almost
totally exhausted.
As
a personal
experience, I well
remember the
hillside farm land
in the part of
Oklahoma where I
was reared as
being very poor
land. Though
it would grow
crops they were
poor in quality
and each acre of
land produced very
little. It
was not really
worthwhile to farm
it but farmers
felt compelled to
keep working with
it to try and
pay the bills but
no real profit was
gained by it. It
seemed they had no
other choice
during those years
of the 30s and
40s.
Knowledge
was There —
The
farmers of Israel
and Judah during
that time were
really without
excuse for they
were knowledgeable
of this law, but
chose to disobey
it. As the result
they struggled
against that known
law of God while
exploiting the
land and fighting
against the
problems resulting
from their
disobedience.
The
Bible teaches that
he who knows to do
good and does it
not is sin to him
(James 4:17).
Israel sinned for
this law had been
made known to them
and they refused
to obey it.
Though
God suffered their
disobedience for
many years there
came the time when
they had the land
taken away from
them by their
enemies and went
into captivity and
slavery to Assyria
and Babylon.
This
Law Has Been
Observed in Our
Time —
In
past years a few
farmers in the
Church did observe
the land-Sabbath
law, and perhaps a
few still do.
Our advice at the
time to them was
to begin the count
for the Sabbatical
year from the year
of their baptism
just as we did for
the beginning of
the 3rd tithe
year.
However
by using this
method of counting
would only serve
the individual,
not all of the
people at the same
time.
Due
to the imperfect
world in which we
live and realizing
the desire of a
few farmers to
observe this law
while knowing the
possible hardships
they possibly
would face, they
were also
counseled by some
ministers to set
aside a parcel of
land each year to
rest until all was
rested during the
7-year period.
By this counseling
farmers were able
to continue to
farm part or all of
the land during
the 7th year.
By
so doing there
was no particular
Sabbatical year
for the land.
To have kept
is as God teaches
would have been a
real TEST in faith
that He would
bless today’s
farmers as He had
promised.
All
of us need to
realize that
whatever we do is
a walk of faith
and trust in God
to fulfill His
promises.
God’s
Teaching —
In
the kingdom of
Israel at that
times, and will be
again in just a
very few years, it
was God’s
teaching that all
of His people
observe the same
7th year together,
and all of the
land be at rest at
the same time.
Notice this
teaching from God:
And
the LORD spoke
unto Moses on
Mount Sinai,
saying, “Speak
to the children of
Israel, and say to
them,’ WHEN you
come into the land
which I give you,
THEN the land
shall keep a
Sabbath to the
LORD. Six
years you shall
sow your field,
and six years you
shall prune your
vineyard, and
gather in the
fruit; but in the
7th year there
shall be a Sabbath
of solemn rest for
the land, a
Sabbath to the
LORD. You
shall neither sow
your field nor
prune your
vineyard.
What grows of its
own accord of your
harvest you shall
not reap (for
commercial use),
nor gather the
grapes of your
untended vine (for
commercial use),
for it is a year
of rest for the
land ...”
(Leviticus
25:1-7).
A
note in passing:
The fruit and
grain which grew
of itself in the
Sabbatical year
could be plucked
and eaten, but not
stored or used for
commercial use.
Obeying
this law as God
defined it enabled
the blessings of
God to be
experienced by
everyone at the
same time
throughout the
land. As the
result this served
to make possible
the series of 7 X
7 of the
Sabbatical years
to lead into the
50th year which
was the year of
Jubilee!
Soncino
Commentary, Page
531:
“The
cycle of sacred
seasons begun in
23 [Exodus] is
here continued
(Leviticus 25),
and the system of
Sabbaths — the
Sabbath at the end
of the week;
Pentecost at the
end of 7 weeks;
the 7th month, as
the sacred month
studded with
Festivals – is
here completed by
the Sabbatical
year and by the
Jubilee, which
came after a
‘week’ of
Sabbatical years.
During
the Sabbath-year
the land was to
lie fallow (Exodus
23:10) and was to
be ‘released’
from cultivation.
The land is NOT
the absolute
possession of man;
it belongs to God
[Psalm 24:1;
Leviticus 25:23]
and is to be held
in trust for His
purposes.
The Sabbath-year
does not seem to
have been
regularly observed
in pre-exilic
times. ... A
promise to observe
it in the future
formed part of the
covenant on the
Return from
Babylon; Nehemiah
10:32. ...
Heathens
[Gentiles] did not
trouble to
understand the
meaning of this
unique law, which,
among other things
saved the soil
from the danger of
exhaustion.
Thus, the Roman
historian, Tacitus,
attributes the
observance of it
to indolence.”
Freedom
and New Beginnings
--
Because
many of the poor
found it necessary
to sell their land
and even place
themselves in
bondage to the
more wealthy
Jewish people, God
made provision for
them through the
Sabbatical year
and fully so in
the year of
Jubilee to be
restored once
again and could
during that time
begin anew on
their own with
their own
property.
This
was a law that was
observed
simultaneously by
all of the people
all over the land
of Israel.
It had to be
observed in this
explicit manner to
make it all come
together and
continue to show
God’s love for
the poor of the
land by making
possible the new
beginnings.
The
Coming Millennium
—
Once
the Israeli exiles
begin returning to
that same land in
the beginning of
the millennium
they will begin to
be taught this law
and begin the
count together –
all at the same
time. (I
will explain this
in greater detail
later.)
Ignorance
of This Law of God
Today —
For
the most part the
farmers of today
are not
knowledgeable of
this teaching for
it has not been
taught to them.
Ignorance however
does not remove
the penalty!
They
continue to
struggle with what
would be
unnecessary
expense and very
hard work just
trying to
keep the land
productive! But as
hard as they try
and all the money
they spend is not
enough!
It
is a no-win
struggle on their
part for it only
continues to get
worse year after
year! And
hospitals
throughout the
land continue to
be filled and
often overflowing.
If
it were not for
the soon-coming
famine and disease
epidemics to bring
us into such a
weakened state as
to make possible
the revived Roman
Empire to conquer
the house of
Joseph and other
nations of Israel
the land would in
just a few more
years become so
exhausted the
chemical
fertilizers would
cease to work for
them. It would be
just a matter of
time.
Teaching
in Tomorrow’s
World —
This
subject should
also be very
important to us
for the very
reason we will be
teaching this law
as well as all of
the other laws of
God, both
Spiritual and
physical, to the
people of the
tribes of Israel
who will be
directed to the
ancient land of
Israel from all
the nations where
they will have
been held in
captivity for
three and one/half
years.
Scripture
implies every
family will come
to be involved in
some form of
farming whether it
will be a
fairly-large
garden in their
backyard, whether
in a city, or on a
regular farm.
And all will obey
this law for it
will be important
for many reasons
as touched on this
writing
Respect
for the God-given
Land —
It
is sad that when
observing the
fields we often
pass by on our
highways
most people just
see dirt and
little thought, if
