Leviticus 25:1-7 records the Lord’s instructions concerning the “Sabbath Year” his people the Jews were to observe. “For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard” (vv. 3-4). Instead of the Israelites planting and harvesting their own crops in that seventh year, the Lord himself promised to supply the food his people would need (vv. 6-7).
Why would God give such an odd command to his people? Some agriculture experts might suggest God was seeking to preserve the fertility of the land by commanding that it lie fallow once every seven years. That is perhaps part of the Lord’s reasoning, but retaining the fertility of the soil was not his main goal in ordering observation of the Sabbath Year. It is clear that once again God was seeking to teach his people total dependence on him for everything they needed, even their food. By having to trust God for a full year, without planting any crops, the people would grow in faith, for they would indeed see the Lord provide their needs.
The problem is that there is no record in the Old Testament that the Israelites ever observed the Sabbath Year of Leviticus 25:1-7—not even once. To the contrary, 2 Chronicles 36:21 hints that the Jews never observed the Sabbath Year at all after they entered the Promised Land. Undoubtedly the reason why was a failure to take God at his word; they failed to trust the Lord for provision of food during the year their land was supposed to lie fallow.
God loves his glory. One of the main ways that we glorify the Lord is by depending on him totally for all things, even the food we put on our tables, for when we do depend totally on God, we are showing the world around us that he is altogether true and trustworthy. Take time today to think of some area of your life in which you really are not depending totally on the Lord. Maybe you do not really depend on the Lord to provide the income your family needs, because you do not actually trust God to provide that income. Perhaps you withhold the tithe precisely because of this failure to depend totally on the Lord. As God puts his finger on some area of non-dependence in your life, confess that sin and ask God to cleanse you from it (1 John 1:9). Then seek the grace of the Holy Spirit to depend on and trust in the Lord “with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
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