What is the meaning of Leviticus 25:20? Now you may wonder The Lord anticipates the very question that would rise in every heart when He commands a year-long rest for the land (Leviticus 25:4). • This phrase recognizes a legitimate concern, not unbelief; God welcomes honest questions (Psalm 103:13-14). • Throughout Scripture He addresses worries before they fester—compare His word, “What are we to eat?” in Matthew 6:31-32. • By acknowledging the question first, God shows He is neither surprised nor offended by our needs (Philippians 4:19). ‘What will we eat in the seventh year The seventh year is a literal, calendar-marked Sabbath for the soil. • Just as the weekly Sabbath teaches rest, the land Sabbath teaches dependence (Exodus 23:10-11). • During that year farmers release control: no sowing, no pruning, no structured harvest (Leviticus 25:4-5). • The question highlights that obedience often feels risky when livelihoods are on the line. • Cross-reference: God provided manna double on the sixth day so Israel could rest on the seventh (Exodus 16:22-30). The pattern repeats here—sixth-year abundance carries the people through the seventh. if we do not sow or gather our produce? Practical obedience meets a practical promise. Verse 21 immediately follows: “I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a crop sufficient for three years” (Leviticus 25:21). • The command not to sow or gather is absolute; the provision is equally absolute. • Historical proof: in Nehemiah 10:31 the returning exiles recommit to the Sabbath year, trusting the same promise centuries later. • Spiritual principle: God multiplies what we already have when we honor Him first (1 Kings 17:14-16; Malachi 3:10). • For believers today, the call may be to release overtime, extra projects, or anxious striving so that God’s sufficiency becomes visible (2 Corinthians 9:8). summary Leviticus 25:20 voices the natural fear that arises when God asks us to rest from self-reliance. The verse’s placement assures us that He not only welcomes our questions but has already prepared the answer: miraculous, measurable provision in the sixth year. Obedience to the Sabbath principle—whether agricultural, financial, or personal—becomes an invitation to experience His faithfulness firsthand, just as Jesus later affirmed, “Seek first the kingdom of God…and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). |
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