Leviticus 25:1-24
A Year of Sabbath Rest
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1Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.
3For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops.
4But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.
5You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest.
6Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you,
7and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food.
8And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years.
9Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.
10So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.
11The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.
12For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.
13In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.
14If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other.
15You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining.
16You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.
17Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
18You are to keep My statutes and carefully observe My judgments, so that you may dwell securely in the land.
19Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and dwell in safety in the land.
20Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’
21But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.
22While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.
23The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
24Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
The LORD speaks to Moses at Mount Sinai and commands Israel to observe a Sabbath for the land. For six years the people may sow fields, prune vineyards, and gather crops. In the seventh year the land is to have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the LORD.
Israel is not to sow, prune, or gather the spontaneous produce as a regular harvest. The land's rest does not mean that no one may eat; the people, servants, foreigners, livestock, and wild animals may eat what the land produces by itself.
Seven Sabbath years are counted, making forty-nine years. In the seventh month, on the tenth day, trumpet blasts announce the Day of Atonement. In the fiftieth year, liberty is proclaimed throughout the land, and each person returns to his property and family.
God anticipates the question: what will they eat without sowing or gathering? He promises a sixth-year crop sufficient for three years, carrying them through the next sowing and harvest. The commanded rest comes with His provision.
Land is not to be sold permanently because the land belongs to the LORD. Israelites are described as strangers and sojourners with God. The price of land is calculated by the number of harvests until the Jubilee, which prevents a temporary sale from becoming an endless loss of ancestral inheritance.
Questions
1 What happened in the seventh year?
AnswerThe land had a complete Sabbath rest and was not to be sown, pruned, or harvested normally.
2 Who could eat the land's spontaneous produce?
AnswerThe people, servants, foreigners, livestock, and wild animals could eat what the land produced.
3 How many years made the Jubilee cycle?
AnswerSeven cycles of seven years made forty-nine years before the fiftieth-year Jubilee.
4 Why could land not be sold permanently?
AnswerThe land belonged to the LORD, and Israel lived on it as tenants with Him.
What This Means for Us
Israel's worry about food receives an answer, not a rebuke for asking. God promises provision for the rest He commands. The land belongs to Him, and the people must not use its sale to take advantage of one another.
This is a particular crop promise to Israel, not a guarantee that every risk we take will pay. But it challenges the fear that only relentless work or unfair gain can keep us secure. Bring a concrete worry about provision to God, and do not let it become an excuse to exploit someone else.
Prayer
God, you know what we need and what we fear losing. Help us trust you with our work and rest. Keep worry from making us grasping or unfair toward a neighbor. Amen.
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