Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 24:17 - 25:17
Pastor Michael was gifted, charismatic, and ambitious. When he planted a church in a large, growing city, he dedicated himself to working as hard as possible in order to make the church plant a huge success. He worked seven days a week. Vacations were very rare. When his wife encouraged him to take some time off, he brushed her off, saying there was too much ministry to do.
For the first several years, his work ethic paid dividends. The church grew very large and successful. They established many programs and hired multiple staff members. For a while, it seemed like the church would grow forever.
However, Pastor Michael began having some health issues. His wife told him he was working too hard. When he finally went to the doctor, his doctor told him the same thing. He refused to listen. He insisted that if he stopped working so hard, the church would decline.
One day he was in his office and collapsed. He was taken to the hospital. His recovery took a long time. In fact, his health had failed so completely that he never returned to full-time employment.
Humans need rest. Resting was a requirement in the Mosaic Law. The twenty-fifth chapter of Leviticus tells us that even the land was to be allowed to rest. While the New Testament does not specifically tell us when and how often to rest, it makes it clear that rest should be a priority.
Following the instructions for the holy festivals in Leviticus 23, chapter 24 contains regulations for regular Tabernacle worship. God commanded the Israelites to keep the golden lampstand burning continually with clear olive oil and to set out twelve loaves of the Bread of the Presence on the golden table every Sabbath, to be eaten only by the priests.
The narrative then records a tragic incident: a half-Israelite man blasphemed the Name of Yahweh during a fight. He was placed in custody until God declared the penalty. The punishment was death by stoning for blaspheming God’s holy name, a rule that applied equally to native Israelites and foreigners.
Lev. 24:17 ¶ ‘If a man strikes down the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death.
Lev. 24:18 And the one who strikes down the life of an animal shall make restitution for it, life for life.
Lev. 24:19 If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him:
Lev. 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.
Lev. 24:21 Thus the one who strikes down an animal shall make restitution for it, but the one who strikes down a man shall be put to death.
Lev. 24:22 There shall be one standard of judgment for you; it shall be for the sojourner as well as the native, for I am Yahweh your God.’”
Lev. 24:23 Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the sons of Israel did, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
Lev. 25:1 ¶ Yahweh then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying,
This verse indicates that chapter 25 shifts to a different topic.
Lev. 25:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving to you, then the land shall have a sabbath to Yahweh.
Lev. 25:3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce,
Lev. 25:4 but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to Yahweh; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
Notice the word “rest”. Just as the Israelites were commanded to rest every seven days, so too the Israelites were told to allow the land to rest every seven years.
The New Testament does not require us to allow the land to rest. Therefore, farmers are not sinning if they plant crops every year. However, in recent years there has been concern about modern agricultural practices and the declining quality of our food supply. We should consider the possibility that allowing the land to rest every once in a while may be part of the solution. If nothing else, this passage should teach us that the land must be cared for, not merely used.
Lev. 25:5 What grows of its own accord from your harvest you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year.
Lev. 25:6 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be for food; for you and your male and female slaves and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who sojourn with you.
While the Israelites were not allowed to harvest what grew on unpruned grave vines, they could eat anything the land produced on its own.
Lev. 25:7 Even your cattle and the beasts that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.
Lev. 25:8 ¶ ‘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.
Lev. 25:9 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.
Lev. 25:10 You shall thus set apart as holy 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 possession of land, and each of you shall return to his family.
In addition to letting the land rest every seven years, the fiftieth year was an additional year of rest. It was also the year when everyone would return to their ancestral land.
Lev. 25:11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow; you shall not reap what grows of its own accord; you shall not gather in from its untrimmed vines.
Lev. 25:12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce out of the field.
Lev. 25:13 ¶ ‘On this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to his own possession of land.
Lev. 25:14 If you make a sale, moreover, to your companion or buy from your friend’s hand, you shall not mistreat one another.
Lev. 25:15 Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your companion; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of produce.
Lev. 25:16 In proportion to the extent of the years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price, for it is the number of crops it produces that he is selling to you.
Lev. 25:17 So you shall not mistreat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am Yahweh your God.
Many humans are ambitious and want to be successful in life. Perhaps they are building a business, a church, a non-profit, or their career. Regardless of their pursuit, there is a temptation to work non-stop in order to achieve their goals.
However, just as the Old Testament required the Israelites to rest and allow the land to rest, so too the New Testament encourages us to rest. We see this in the life of Jesus.
One day, when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He and His disciples got in a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. While crossing the sea, Jesus fell asleep. (see Matthew 8:18-24).
On another occasion, after a period of intense ministry, Jesus and His disciples were surrounded by so many people they didn’t have time to eat. Jesus took His disciples to a desolate place so they could rest. (see Mark 6:30-32)
There was a time when Jesus passed through Samaria on His way from Judea to Galilee. He came to the city of Sychar and sat down by the well because He was weary from the journey. (see John 4:1-6).
If the Israelites needed to rest, if the land needed to rest, and if Jesus needed to rest, then so do we.
How do you make sure you get rest?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”