Leviticus 25 – 27
Verse 25:3 & 4 shows the land also needs a time for rest:
3 Plant your fields, take care of your vineyards, and harvest your crops for six years; 4 but when the seventh year arrives, I want the entire land to have a Sabbath rest to Me. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during this seventh year.
God taught the people of Israel how to farm and knew the land needed to take a break. I am not sure I follow farming today real closely but assume with modern day chemicals they do not tend to let the land rest. This is part of the reason I believe Israel has been despised; they made a dry and arid land fruitful. God also blessed them for doing this.
See not only do people need a break, so does all of nature. Nothing can work all the time without failing in one way or another. Part of the negative for not letting the land rest is the farmer only returns to the soil what makes the plant look nice and not what makes it healthy for us. Everyone looks at God’s Laws from the aspect of us living to His standard, when much of them are helping man live a full and rich life. Is it a sin to not let the land rest? No, but it will ensure a healthy and abundant crop.
Verse 25:36 says we need to help the poor and not take advantage of them:
Let him borrow, but charge no interest and do not look for ways to profit from his need. Instead, fear God, and allow your fellow citizen to live alongside you.
I often think of banking today which is supposedly run by elite Jewish bankers. I often wonder how they justify having savings earn almost nothing, but a poor person has to pay exorbitant interest on their borrowing. The world has been turned upside down and no one is honoring what God intended. The poor do not need the government to help them, they need the community to do that. Today we just step aside those in need without thought.
Verse 26:6 is the promise:
I will see to it that you have peace in your land. You will be able to go to bed at night without a worry on your mind. I will take away the dangerous animals that roam your land, and no armies will invade your land.
This alone is immediately questioned since God quickly let his land get invaded. You must read on from verse 26:15 to verse 33 to see the conditions that must be met to remain in the blessing of God. This in a way is the first programming language ever! There are a bunch of “if – then” statements that will lead to Israel being removed from their blessing. As we see reading along, this happens often and sometimes very dramatically.