February 24th

Leviticus 23:1-25:23

God described all of the fixed festivals that He wanted His people to celebrate. The list included Passover, the Festivals of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, Pentecost or the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters (or Booths, Tents). All of these holy days were instituted to remind God’s people of all that He had done for them both individually and collectively.

God also reminded Moses and the Israelites to honor the Sabbath Day commandment; then, He initiated two more special times — the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee.

Oftentimes, when reading through the Old Testament, people tend to focus on God’s wrath but seem to overlook His goodness. He is kind, forgiving, and charitable. For example, God told the people not to harvest the corners of their land so that the needy could glean enough to eat. He ordered a Year of Jubilee in which every- one indebted to others was freed from their debt. He instituted days of rest such as the Sabbath, the Sabbatical Year, and all the time off during their annual festivals. God is good, even in the Old Testament.

Now, resting once a week would not have been a problem for me. Even missing time off for all of the holidays would have been nice. But this Sabbatical Year idea? Wow! Let’s talk about this one.

The Israelites were asked to work on the land for six years, but on the seventh year, they were commanded to let the land rest. When the Year of Jubilee came around, every 50 years, the people were commanded to let the land rest two years. The natural question they would have had was, “What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year?” (25:20). Good question. God’s response was, “I will order My blessing for you in the sixth year so that the land will produce a bumper crop, enough to support you for three years” (25:21). In essence, God told His people to trust Him. He would provide.

Daily Reflection

These periods of rest were meant to be a blessing to the people, to remind them that it is the Lord who provided for their needs, that He loved them, and that He would take care of them. However, these periods of rest would have been tremendous tests of faith. The people had to trust that the Lord would do what He promised, that He would indeed provide for their needs.

Trust and rest. These two actions don’t seem to be related. When we wait on the Lord to meet a need, rest is not usually one of our natural tendencies. Trust and worry would be a better combination, right? No, trust and worry are opposites, are they not? If we worry, then are we really trusting? And, if we truly trust the Lord, will we worry or fret? True faith or trust will produce a confidence in the Lord, and in that confidence we will rest.

What about you? How do you handle trusting and resting?

 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

BiAY.org | Day 55 — 310 Days to Go