Leviticus 25, 26, 27 The Sabbath Year

Image via Wikipedia

Did anyone ever tell you “Don’t worry about it – trust me, it’ll be fine.”?   Many times, when faced with problems or pending disasters, I’ve heard such phrases.  Usually, they don’t inspire much calm or hope.  People who’ve told me such things are not gods or supernatural sorts – I never really felt that I could trust anyone in the matter of “things” turning out just fine.  Usually, it’s glib, wishful thinking.

However, in Leviticus 25, God is telling Israel to let the land lie fallow every seventh year.  To an agricultural society, this must have sounded like a death wish.  If farmers don’t sow seed and then reap during the harvest, there would be no grain with which to feed themselves or their animals.  In Leviticus 25: 20 – 22, God addressed these very worries about “what will we eat, if we don’t plant crops?”  God reply was a promise that He would send such a blessing on the sixth year, that there will be enough grain to feed the nation for three years.

This is a really amazing passage in that God gave a command and then supplied the people with a way of obeying His Word. God told them up front just how much they would be blessed. There was no guesswork or speculation here.  So, in this case, it is God who said, “Don’t worry about it – trust me, it’ll be fine.” 

Sometimes, trusting God with the outcome of standing obediently on His Word may  seem counter-intuitive or irrational.  But, our Sovereign God wants men to trust in His character, in who He is.  Trusting in God is the essence of obedience.  There are times when we do the right thing but at the wrong time. Unfortunately, that’s s statement about not trusting in God’s character.

God is continually reaching out to us as much as to Israel in the past, saying that we need to do things His way.  God will bless our work and our lives mightily when they are according to His will.  When we do things God’s way, we are glorifying the King of this Universe, our Sovereign God.  Obedience brings blessing even when it doesn’t make any earthly sense.