Claim the Blessings

"You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field." -Leviticus 25.8-12

After a total of seven sabbath years, year fifty was to be the year of Jubilee. This was a time of freedom and restoration. In this year debt was forgiven, property was returned, and slaves were set free. It was a time of new beginnings, a fresh start. It kept the rich from oppressing the poor, and it gave the poor a chance to get back on their feet. Sadly, it never happened.

There is no indication that Israel ever practiced the Jubilee. They didn't follow the sabbath years, so why would they have followed the year of Jubilee? God gave His people the amazing opportunity to be able to start again, and they never took advantage of it.
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Men, what gift has God given you that you are refusing? Maybe it's salvation. God has offered it to you time and again, but you refuse to accept His free gift of grace. Maybe it's an opportunity. God has opened a door for you, it demands faith and trust, and it involves risk, but it's what you've always wanted. Maybe it is simply His presence and peace. He simply wants to fellowship with you and calm your heart and mind.

What blessing is God offering that you are refusing? The question to ask is why? Maybe you're refusing salvation because of what you think you'll be giving up. But are the momentary, sinful, pleasures worth an eternity of separation from God? Maybe you're refusing to step out in faith because you're afraid of the risk, or overwhelmed by it. But is the risk something you want to look back and regret not taking? Are you willing to wonder "What if" for the rest of your life? Maybe you just feel too busy, or unworthy for God's presence. Just know that you can't survive without it, and that He longs to fellowship with you.

The year of Jubilee was an unclaimed blessing for Israel, and it's too late for them. But we have a choice. We still have time. What are you going to do with the time that you have? Will we claim the blessings, embracing everything that they entail? Or will we choose to go our own way, play it safe, and rely on ourselves? The choice is ours.

May we choose to claim the blessings that God has poured out to us. Let us celebrate the Jubilee.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Sabbath Year

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.'" -Leviticus 25.2-7

God had commanded His people to take one day out of seven to rest. It was a time set aside for worship and renewal of their bodies, souls, and minds. On that day they were to do no work, simply to rest, worship, and fellowship with each other and God. While on the journey to the Promised Land it required faith because God didn't send any food on the sabbath, so they had to gather twice as much the day before.

Now He is telling them that the land is also to be given time to rest and renew itself. Every seventh year they aren't to plant any crops or prune their vineyards. They aren't to gather anything that is produced. Instead God had promised that during the sixth year the land would produce so much food that it would last for three years. They would eat it during the sabbath year, when they were planting the eighth year, and until they the harvest from the ninth year (Leviticus 25.20-22). The sabbath year was a test of faith, and a chance for the people to remember God's provision and blessing. It would give them yet another reason to rejoice and worship God for all that He had done.

Men, has God called you to take a sabbath year? I'm hoping at some point in the next decade (hopefully less) to find a decent piece of ground to live out my days on. I've made layout plans for all kinds of produce: fruit trees, grape vines, berry bushes, nut trees, and several garden beds. There is even a maple grove so that I can make syrup. Every time I'm at the grocery store to buy apples I look hopefully to the day when I won't ever have to pay for an apple again. I'm hoping to be able to grow most of what my family would eat. What if God asked me to do a sabbath year?

For you it might not be with gardening. Maybe God is asking you to take some time off of your job to pursue ministry. Maybe a mission trip, or your education. What do you do? Do you have the faith that He'll provide for you and your family financially? When God spoke to the people about the sabbath year He promised that in the sixth year they would have food for three years. They only needed food for two. They need food during the seventh year since they weren't plowing, planting or harvesting, and they needed food for the eighth year since they didn't collect anything the seventh year. But God goes above and beyond all that we could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3.20-21), and so just because of who He is He gives food for a third year, just to bless His people and show His love and provision for them.

We have no reason to doubt God. The Bible is full of His promises, and the fulfillment of those promises. Israel never practiced the sabbath year. They never trusted that God would provide for them. For 490 years they lived in self reliance, and they ended up as captives, exiled in Babylon for their lack of faith.

If we choose to ignore God, to not live in faith and trust of His promises, we too will be exiled. It might not be literally like Israel, but we may find ourselves exiled for the peace and joy, certainly from the full blessings of God, because we refuse to trust Him.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor