We are walking in today: Testimony Tuesday--The Importance Of The Shemittah
Witness encourage throughout the Bible: H2388 chazaq to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute
Deuteronomy 1:38, 3:28; 2 Samuel 11:25; Psalm 64:5
Fiveamprayer, you have heard on this line quite a few times about this being the shemittah year. What does that mean? Why is that something that we need to know or be aware of? Is this some new thing that just got added to the calendar?
Let's start with defining shabbat from the Hebraic mindset:
H7676 shabbat from the root word H7673 shabath to cease, desist, rest. Scripture reference Genesis 2:2, Yahweh ceased from His work on the 7th day
Using the Pictograph understanding of the letters gives us this image:
First letter, the letter Shin, which means teeth has a point on the upper right hand corner a Chowlem. This point means the opposite, of what the letter is--the opposite of what it stands for.
The second and third letters, in Sabbath the beit and tav is the word brit which is the word covenant. The letter beit has an internal point. The emphasis here is intimate, or deeply internal to the letter.
The three letters added together are as follows:
Shin (Chowlem) = Stop Chewing, stop processing
Beit (Shurwreq ) = House internal
Tav = Covenant
This gives us a picture of work stopping inside the house, that is tied to a covenant. This does mean more than that, this is the rest that is found in the Torah, the covenant of the Sabbath. Will we work 6 days and trust that Yahweh will provide what is needed for us on the 7th day? When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they were to collect double the portion of manna on that day alone to have enough for the 7th day. Many that first week did not trust Yahweh and went out on the 7th day and found no manna available. Exodus 16 shows whether the people would trust Him or no. Would they try to save for the next day that was not the Sabbath or go out on the 7th day to collect? Will we trust the Almighty Yahweh, the all knowing, all powerful one? It is in our obedience we have what He has prepared for us. This ceasing from work was not only a weekly event. There was another time that the land was to rest which was every 7 years. The year before was a higher yield in crops to provide for the people as they were not to work the land for a year. Yahweh would provide from the land naturally and the people were to freely eat that which came forth without their effort. This time that the children of Israel were not working in the fields allowed for more study of the Torah. The last cessation that the children of Israel have is yovel--this is year of Jubilee. Calculated by counting up 7 shemittah years for a total of 49 years, the following year would be the Jubilee a season of rest for the land and people, debts erased, slaves released, and land returned to the original owners. In the book of Ruth we have Boaz who was to redeem the land of Naomi due to both her husband and son's dying while outside the land. Ruth being the childless widow and daughter-in-law of Naomi was to be redeemed by the close relative of Elimelech's family. This was a two fold concern that the land would not pass out of the hands of the family and that an heir would be raised up in Ruth's husband steed. Once the closer relative did not want to be the kinsman redeemer, Boaz steps in. Will we trust in our Kinsman Redeemer, Yeshua to step in and provide for us when we are in a place where we cannot take care of ourselves?
As we have in the Brit Chadasha or New Testament with the prodigal son who demanded his inheritance early which is equal to wishing his father dead and demanding his money now. He leaves out in such great shame to the other family members and the community, to quickly spend his demanded wealth with wild living. The prodigal son comes to find that by leaving his fathers teaching and instruction, he has little recourse when the famine hits while he was in a far away land. Once the demanded money was gone he finds that the error of going away from his father's teaching and instruction--he was in deep poverty and was suffering physically, emotionally and physically. This desparation drew him to offer to sell himself as a hired servant back to his father than to continue to eat the food that he was to feed to the pigs. The instructions that the prodigal son got from his father were not to be disregarded nor tossed out the window, without leading to dire consequences on his own behalf. Fiveamprayer we too must follow what Yahweh has directed us to do to keep out of the outer darkness. The light of the Torah aids us and directs us as this is Avinu Malkinu's plan for us. Rest in this season, He has this all in control and has our best interest at heart--who better than our Creator to know that which we need and when? He is so awesome that he provides for us before the shemittah year arises there is a double portion that is received before the time of ceasing arises. But the question is do you trust in your own ability and power over the awesome, mighty and incomparable power of the Lord God King of the Universe? Will you trust and obey? Remember in Exodus 16, Yahweh was testing the people if they will obey His law or no? How about you, fiveamprayer, in who do you trust? To hear more of this awesome message click here.
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