Some of us are getting worried. I know. Some of our family and friends are working in the medical field, and we are worried about them getting the virus. But all of us are worried about a loss of income for a few weeks or maybe a couple of months. Will we have enough financially?
Did you know that every seven years the nation of Israel took eighteen months off? They did, or at least they were supposed to, under the Law of Moses. It was called the “sabbatical year.”
In Leviticus 25:1-7 God told Moses to tell the people that when they come into the land that He was giving them, they were to practice another kind of Sabbath. Just as they rested from their work every seven days, they were to do similar for the land. The farm land was to be granted a year off every seven years. During this sabbatical year, for the faithful Israelite, there was to be no organized, intentional farming.
A whole year off! But wait. Think about that for a second.
That sabbatical year would organically turn into sixteen to eighteen months! For if you did not plant in the spring of that year, and you did not reap in the autumn of that year, then you still had to wait until the second spring to plant your seeds. Then further, you had to wait another six months for the second fall season before new food came up out of the ground to eat. That sabbatical year turned into a year-and-a-half because of the cycle of sowing and reaping.
During this long year-and-a-half, I’m sure they still ate the occasional lamb, goat, quail egg and caviar. But they used to complain in The Wandering days that they would love to go back to Egypt where they had fresh cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic, as well as wheat bread from their gardens.
So, how did they endure and survive during a sabbatical year that lasted a year-and-a-half? The Leviticus passage tells us: the Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, and for your servants, your traveling relatives who stop by, as well as your cattle. Even the wild animals will still find plenty of food to scavenge.
Here’s the principle: Let the ground and the vineyard lie fallow, and God will cause the earth to continue to produce food, and provide you what you need. “For the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 24:1)
God will cause the ground to bring forth from last year’s spilled seeds plenty of wheat, grapes, and barley to feed your family. Let the ground “rest” and it will of it’s own accord yield what everyone needs. God will grant it. God will grant you ENOUGH!
This is the starting point for a “Theology of Enough.” God will always make sure you have enough. He is your Shepherd, you shall not want!
Have you seen what God once told King David? He said, I anointed you king over the nation; I delivered you from being killed in a cave by Saul; then I gave you his throne; I gave you his wives; then I gave you the full united kingdom of Israel, “and if that was too little, I would have added so much more!”
You will never have too little. You will always have enough. Don’t worry about this coronavirus taking away your bank account. You might get low. You might have to go into your savings. You might work some place that goes out of business. You will definitely slide backwards in your financial forecast and dreams for 2020.
But God will cause the ground to give up what you need.
That client will still call you at the end. Another client you hadn’t thought about will be looking for you and find you. New business will come. Old business will still be there. What you might lose will be replaced. And if you need more, God will add even more!”
Don’t worry. Don’t fear. Keep praying and keep “resting.” “Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let her sing praise” (James 5:13). The Crowned King will be your corona-savior.
Carter