Dear Family,
Today is Thursday, May 11, 2023. It is Day 33; Day 5 of Week 5 as we Count to Pentecost.
In the Bible we find more than one kind of Sabbath commanded by God. In addition to the 7th day weekly Sabbath that God had created from the beginning and reemphasized when Israel was in the wilderness, God also instructed the nation of Israel regarding giving the land a rest every 7th year.
Just as God had promised Israel that He would give them extra manna to last over the weekly Sabbath, He also promised an extra abundance of food to harvest in the 6th year of the land rest so that the food would last until the crops came in two or three years later.
Leviticus 25:1-5, 20-22 (1) And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, (2) 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 the LORD. (3) Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; (4) But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. (5) That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. (20) And if ye shall say; What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: (21) Then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. (22) And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
It is truly amazing how God can so easily multiply an amount of food or a harvest’s yield. God simply says; “I will command My blessing upon you,” then it is done! And, we know that is because God’s Word never returns to Him void.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Brethren, we serve a wise, generous, powerful, and unstoppable God. Faithful, loving obedience to God through His Holy Spirit will bring an abundant harvest of blessings to each of us! May He bless us that we always cooperate with Him and trust Him to supply whatever it is we may need.
Ben Faulkner, Pastor
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