The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee: A Call to Trust and Rest in God

As we read Leviticus 25:1–7, we see that the Israelites were commanded to observe the Sabbath year. They were to sow their fields, prune their vineyards, and gather their fruits for six years. But on the seventh year, they were to do nothing—it was to be a Sabbath year, a year of rest for the land.

They were also instructed to count seven weeks of years—that is, seven times seven years, totaling forty-nine years. The fiftieth year was then to be a Year of Jubilee, a year of freedom and restoration for both the land and the people.

If they obeyed the LORD, He promised to bless them abundantly:

“The LORD your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.”
— Deuteronomy 15:6

God gave great importance to the observance of the year of rest because it was a sign of trust—a measure of how deeply the Israelites depended on Him. If they disobeyed, the blessings would be withheld, and they would face hardship and punishment (cf. Leviticus 26:33–39).

Unfortunately, the Israelites did not obey the LORD. They failed to give the land its rest. The Sabbath lost its meaning among them. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah declared:

“This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
— Jeremiah 25:11

They did not repent.

Because of this—and many other sins—the Assyrians and the Babylonians came to destroy them. As 2 Chronicles 36:20–21 records:

“He (Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon) took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”

Thus, what God had warned in Leviticus 26:34–35 came to pass:

“Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest—the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it.”

There is no small or great command of the LORD—all are equally important. The Israelites may have grown greedy and proud, neglecting the Sabbath rest even though the LORD had promised to bless them greatly in the sixth year (Lev. 25:21).

Today, we may think the Sabbath law is an Old Testament statute with no relevance for us. But if we look closely, we’ll see we are not much different. We have become driven by greed, failing to trust in God’s providence. Though everything belongs to the LORD (Deut. 10:14; Ps. 24:1; Hag. 2:8), we have failed to acknowledge Him as the true source of all things.

We have exploited the land, polluted it, and exhausted it. We no longer know how to rest. We neither observe the Sabbath nor respect even Sundays—not as a legalistic replacement, but as a day to pause and honor God. We are consumed by avarice and covetousness.

When the Israelites were in captivity, they longed for Zion and wept (Ps. 137).

When will we learn? How will we learn?

Isn’t it time to come humbly before the LORD and seek His guidance?

Think!