Leviticus 25:1-7: a reflection

1The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. 3You shall sow your field six years, and you shall prune your vineyard six years, and gather in its fruits; 4but 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. 5What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap, and you shall not gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for yourself, for your servant, for your maid, for your hired servant, and for your stranger, who lives as a foreigner with you. 7For your livestock also, and for the animals that are in your land, shall all its increase be for food.

God commands a sabbath for the land itself: for six years the people may sow and prune and harvest, but in the seventh year the land is to rest, a Sabbath to the LORD, unsown and unpruned. It was a command that required real trust, for to leave the fields unsown for a whole year meant depending on God to provide, rather than on their own continual labor. The land sabbath was an act of trust: ceasing from productivity, and trusting God to provide.

Notice what the land sabbath required: trust in God's provision, in place of ceaseless productivity. To rest the land for a whole year, ceasing to sow and harvest, meant the people could not rely on their own continual labor to provide; they had to trust God to provide for them through the year of rest. The command to rest the land was thus a command to trust, to lay down their striving and productivity and depend on God's provision rather than their own ceaseless work.

That connection, between rest and trust, speaks to us who find it hard to cease from our striving and productivity. We can feel that we must work ceaselessly to provide for ourselves, that we cannot afford to rest, that our security depends on our own continual labor. But the land sabbath called Israel to cease their striving and trust God to provide; and there is a rest to which God calls us that is likewise an act of trust. To rest, to cease from ceaseless productivity, is to trust that our provision depends not on our own unending labor, but on God. Do not be so driven by the feeling that you must work ceaselessly that you cannot rest and trust God to provide. Learn the trust that the land sabbath taught: to lay down your striving, to rest, and to trust God's provision rather than your own ceaseless work. Rest is an act of trust; cease your striving, and trust the God who provided for Israel through the year of rest to provide for you as you rest in him.

Lord, you commanded a sabbath for the land itself: six years of sowing and harvesting, but the seventh a rest, unsown and unpruned, which required real trust, for to leave the fields unsown meant depending on you to provide rather than on their own continual labor. Speak to me through that connection between rest and trust, for I find it hard to cease from my striving and productivity. I can feel that I must work ceaselessly to provide for myself, that I cannot afford to rest, that my security depends on my own continual labor. But the land sabbath called Israel to cease their striving and trust you to provide; and there is a rest to which you call me that is likewise an act of trust. To rest, to cease from ceaseless productivity, is to trust that my provision depends not on my own unending labor, but on you. Keep me from being so driven by the feeling that I must work ceaselessly that I cannot rest and trust you to provide. Help me learn the trust the land sabbath taught: to lay down my striving, to rest, and to trust your provision rather than my own ceaseless work. Rest is an act of trust; help me cease my striving, and trust you, who provided for Israel through the year of rest, to provide for me as I rest in you, Lord.