Exodus 23:10-11
“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This command isn't just about resting the land; it's a profound act of trust in God's provision. By requiring a complete halt to sowing and harvesting for an entire year, God was teaching His people to rely on His blessing from the previous year's abundance, rather than their own labor.
This passage introduces the concept of the Sabbatical year, a year of rest for the land, following six years of cultivation. It's part of a broader set of laws concerning justice, treatment of the poor, and religious observance, aimed at shaping the Israelites into a distinct people set apart for God. The command to let the land rest is tied to provision for the poor and a reminder that God is the ultimate owner of the land.
Did you know the land itself was meant to observe a Sabbath? This wasn't just about letting the soil rest.
The command in Exodus 23:10 to sow the land for six years and gather its yield sets the stage for the seventh year of rest. This 'Sabbatical Year' was a radical concept, unique to Israel. It served multiple purposes:
What happens when the land gives 'extra' without your direct labor?
Exodus 23:10 speaks of sowing and gathering for six years. The implication, especially when read alongside verse 11, is that the sixth year's harvest was intentionally superabundant. It was meant to provide enough sustenance for three years – the sixth year's harvest, the seventh year's natural yield, and the eighth year's planting before the next harvest.
This extraordinary abundance served as a powerful testament to God's ability to bless obedience. It demonstrated that faithfulness to His commands, even the seemingly costly one of letting the land rest, would result in provision beyond their immediate efforts. It was a divine 'bonus' package, ensuring that no one would suffer lack by adhering to the Sabbatical principle.
Understand the original words
shamat · Hebrew Verb
A period of cessation from labor, often commanded by God to acknowledge His sovereignty, provide for the needs of the land, animals, and humanity, and foster spiritual renewal. It reflects God’s own rest after creation.
shamat · Hebrew Adjective/Verb
Uncultivated or unseeded land; a state of agricultural dormancy intended to allow the soil to regenerate, demonstrating dependence on God’s provision rather than human toil.
ebyon · Hebrew Noun
Those who are destitute, helpless, or lacking resources; biblical law emphasizes God's specific concern for their well-being and the responsibility of the covenant community to provide for them.
This passage directly expands on the concept of the Sabbatical year, detailing the commandment for the land to rest every seventh year and specifying what should happen with its produce. It reinforces the idea of a divinely ordained cycle of rest within the agricultural and communal life of Israel.
Deuteronomy 15:1-11While focused on the Sabbatical year of debt cancellation, this passage shares the same underlying principle of divine provision and care for the people, particularly the poor, during years of mandated rest from labor. It highlights God's promise to bless those who obey, even when it seems counter-intuitive economically.
2 Chronicles 36:21This verse reveals the consequence of neglecting the Sabbatical year command, indicating that the land's rest was not observed for 70 years, corresponding to the period of Babylonian exile. It underscores the importance and seriousness with which God viewed this commandment and the land's mandated rest.
Nehemiah 8:1-18This passage describes the public reading of the Law, including instructions related to the Sabbatical year during the Feast of Tabernacles. It shows how this cycle of rest was integrated into the religious and communal life of Israel, reinforcing the spiritual significance of the land's sabbatical observance.
bensonExodus 23:10: "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:"
Exodus 23:10-11 . The institution of the sabbatical year was designed, 1st, To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them, that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the products of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. 2d, To teach them confidence in his care and bounty while they did their duty;…
pulpitExodus 23:10: "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:"
Verses 10, 11. - Law of the Sabbatical year. Days of rest, at regular or irregular intervals, were well known to the ancients and some regulations of the kind existed in most countries But entire years of rest were wholly unknown to any nation except the Israelites. and exposed them to the reproach of idleness. (See Tacit. Hist. 5:4: - "Septimo die otium placuisse ferunt, quia is finem laborum dedit;…
This command isn't just about resting the land; it's a profound act of trust in God's provision. By requiring a complete halt to sowing and harvesting for an entire year, God was teaching His people to rely on His blessing from the previous year's abundance, rather than their own labor.
This passage introduces the concept of the Sabbatical year, a year of rest for the land, following six years of cultivation. It's part of a broader set of laws concerning justice, treatment of the poor, and religious observance, aimed at shaping the Israelites into a distinct people set apart for God. The command to let the land rest is tied to provision for the poor and a reminder that God is the ultimate owner of the land.
This passage introduces the concept of the Sabbatical year, a year of rest for the land, following six years of cultivation. It's part of a broader set of laws concerning justice, treatment of the poor, and religious observance, aimed at shaping the Israelites into a distinct people set apart for God. The command to let the land rest is tied to provision for the poor and a reminder that God is the ultimate owner of the land.
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"“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise wit…" — This command isn't just about resting the land; it's a profound act of trust in God's provision. By requiring a complete halt to sowing and harvesting for an entire year, God was teaching His people…
