Sabbath To The Land (Leviticus 25: 1 - 4)

When Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD told him to say to the community of Israel: After you enter the land that I am giving you, it must be allowed to rest one year out of every seven.
You may raise grain and grapes for six years, but the seventh year you must let your fields and vinyards resst in honor of me, your LORD.

There is a very important reason for this verses inclusion for in our survey of the Bible. The biggest reason that Judah went into captivity into Babylon is because they continually violated this very ordinace of God. God was testing the Jews to see if they trusted him to provide. He had already brought them out of Egypt and slavery there. In their journey to the Promised Land, he showerd down bread in the form of manna to feed them. Now that they are in the land, he gives them a sufficient amout of harvest in the first six years that they can honor God and the land by letting it rest according to his instruction for them. Instead, time after time they farmed the land in the seventh year until God brought down judgment and removed theim from their land so that the land could rest without them there. Thier failure to obey was rooted in a failure to trust.

Father, I say that I trust you, but so often by my actions I try to do things on my own. Forgive me father. Withing me dwells the Holy Spirit to strengthen me and uphold me. Teach me to walk by faith so that I do not do the things of the flesh. In Jesus name I pray Amen.