God has worked in my life in so many ways, but I find it’s so easy to forget His goodness. Blessings come and I recognize them as gifts from the Lord – but the next time I encounter challenges or struggles, I so often forget that He’s gotten me through before, and He’ll do it again.
I rest assured knowing others have this same short-term memory loss – and this isn’t a new phenomenon either. Others in Biblical times have encountered the same! To remedy this and help them remember God’s goodness, many in Biblical times have set up memorials to help remind them of God’s goodness at certain points of time, in certain scenarios (see Bethel, Gilgal, and Ebenezer).
I love that during this dedicated time of Rest during Shmita, the Sabbath Year, God calls on Israel to remember His law, and remember His grace.
remembering God’s law
Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Deuteronomy 31:9-13
Today, having God’s law and Word ready at a moment’s notice, either on our phones or our physical Bibles, is truly a luxury. Back in Biblical times, much of God’s law was passed through Oral Tradition. As such, a normal Israelite’s options were to commit His word to memory, and/or simply listen to what the Levites would command, as they were the priestly class who knew God’s law.
However, with Shmita (the Sabbath Year), God instructed Moses and the priests to re-read the full law given to them to all the people, every 7th year. In the rest of Deuteronomy 31, we see God’s reasoning: He wants all people, Hebrew and Gentile, Young and Old, Men and Women, to “hear and learn to fear the LORD your God and be careful to do all the words of this law.” As a part of this 7-year cycle, He wanted the people to always remember His words of wisdom, and His laws that give abundant life.
remembering God’s grace
I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.
GOD (Leviticus 25:21)
In resting from work in the 7th year, the Israelites would be forced to acknowledge that their crops in years 7 and 8 are purely a gift from God, through no action and work of their own (note: no sowing in year 7 means no harvest in year 8). But I believe this call of “remembrance” also reminds the Israelites that the same lesson applies in years 1-6; even though they are working the rest of the time, all the harvest from the land is still purely a gift from God! Without His common grace, the rains don’t come down to nourish the land and produce fruit:
But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.
1 Chronicles 29:14-15 (NLT)
Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
Acts 14:17
I see this as also extending to the fruit of our labor. In this life, we work and toil, but positive results are not guaranteed. This goes for our secular work, the effort we put into relationships, and even into ministry! God is the one who gives the growth in all areas of our life, and God is the one who gives the ability to enjoy that fruit.
And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
Qoheleth (The Teacher; Ecclesiastes 8:15)
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
Paul the Apostle (1 Corinthians 3:6)
so what?
When I originally drafted this post prior to pausing my career, I was anxious to step away for a while and not earn any income. Though I knew God had provided enough money to sustain me in the 7th year and trusted He would provide for my job when I returned, it was still a bit scary.
However, I was able to apply these two takeaways from this aspect of Shmita:
- Remembering God’s grace helped me to realize all that I had (career, skills, finances, etc.) were a gift from Him anyways, and He would provide exactly what I needed.
- Remembering God’s laws reminded me that He is in control of the universe, not I.
And finally, the theme of Remembrance has been a continual reminder of the beauty of the Gospel, Good News of Jesus. Even though I was a wreck, disobedient child, and a sinner, God still sent His son Jesus to take all the punishment for me and die the death I deserved. Jesus restored me to a right relationship with God!
The Gospel applies to all of us. If you’re already following Jesus, may we always remember the beauty and magnitude of His Good News. If you’re not a Christian, I encourage you to take steps to better understand Jesus, who He is, and what He’s done for you. Deciding to follow Him was the best decision I ever made.