Charles Spurgeon Commentary Leviticus 25
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Leviticus 25
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Leviticus 25
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto Jehovah." — Leviticus 25:1-2 (ASV)
The Jews had much rest provided for them. If they had had faith enough to obey God's commands, they might have been the most favored people; but they were not a spiritual people, and the Lord often had to lament their disobedience, as in the words recorded by Isaiah, O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.
"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruits thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto Jehovah: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard." — Leviticus 25:3-4 (ASV)
Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD:
Think of a Sabbath a year long, in which nothing was to be done but to worship God, and so to rest!
"but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto Jehovah: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather: it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land." — Leviticus 25:4-5 (ASV)
You shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard. That which grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, neither gather the grapes of your vine undressed: for it is a year of rest to the land.
A restful period in a restful land; all land to have rest, and yet to have fruitfulness in that rest; the rest of a garden, not the rest of a task. Thus it is oftentimes with God's people: when they rest most, they work best; and while they are resting, they are bearing fruit to God.
"And the sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for thy stranger, who sojourn with thee. And for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food." — Leviticus 25:6-7 (ASV)
There was to be no private property in the spontaneous produce of that year. It was free to everybody; free even to the cattle, which might go and eat what they wanted, and where they wanted.
"And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am Jehovah your God. Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield its fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase; then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for the three years." — Leviticus 25:17-21 (ASV)
Not merely for the one year of rest, but fruit for three years.
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