For six yearsThe concept of a six-year cycle followed by a sabbatical year is rooted in the creation narrative, where God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. This pattern is reflected in the agricultural practices of ancient Israel, emphasizing the importance of work and rest. The number six often symbolizes human effort and labor, while the seventh year represents divine provision and trust in God.
you are to sow your land
Sowing the land refers to the agricultural practice of planting seeds, which was central to the agrarian society of ancient Israel. This command underscores the responsibility of the Israelites to cultivate the land God had given them. It also highlights the partnership between divine provision and human stewardship. The land was seen as a gift from God, and the act of sowing was an expression of faith in His continued provision.
and gather its produce
Gathering the produce signifies the harvest, a time of reaping the fruits of one's labor. This phrase reflects the blessing of productivity and abundance that comes from diligent work. In the broader biblical context, the harvest is often used metaphorically to describe spiritual truths, such as the gathering of believers (Matthew 9:37-38) or the final judgment (Revelation 14:15). The physical act of gathering produce serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness in providing for His people and the importance of gratitude for His blessings.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
MosesThe leader of the Israelites who received the laws from God on Mount Sinai, including the instructions found in
Exodus 23.
2.
IsraelitesThe people to whom the laws were given, who were to follow these instructions as part of their covenant relationship with God.
3.
Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which the Israelites were to enter and cultivate according to God's laws.
4.
Sabbatical YearThe seventh year, following six years of sowing and harvesting, during which the land was to rest, as part of God's commandment for the Israelites.
5.
Agricultural CycleThe cycle of sowing and harvesting that the Israelites were to follow, reflecting God's design for stewardship and rest.
Teaching Points
Principle of StewardshipGod calls us to be responsible stewards of the resources He provides. The command to sow and gather for six years and let the land rest in the seventh teaches us to manage our resources wisely and sustainably.
Importance of RestThe Sabbatical Year underscores the importance of rest, not only for the land but also for people. It reminds us to incorporate regular periods of rest and renewal in our lives, trusting God to provide.
Trust in God's ProvisionObserving the Sabbatical Year required faith that God would provide enough in the sixth year to sustain them through the seventh. This teaches us to trust in God's provision and timing.
Social Justice and CompassionThe Sabbatical Year also had social implications, as it allowed the poor and the animals to benefit from the land's produce. This encourages us to consider how our practices can support and uplift those in need.
Spiritual Rest in ChristThe concept of rest points us to the ultimate rest found in Jesus Christ. As believers, we are invited to cease from our own works and enter into the rest that He provides.
Lists and Questions
Top 10 Lessons from Exodus 23
What is the purpose of the Shemitah year?
What is the Bible's view on social security?
What is the meaning of Biblical stewardship?
Deuteronomy 15:1–2 prescribes canceling debts every seven years—how would this not destabilize an ancient economy?CEREMONIAL LAWS.
(10, 11)Six years . . . the seventh year.--The Sabbatical year which is here commanded was an institution wholly unknown to any nation but the Hebrews. It is most extraordinary that any legislator should have been able to induce a people to accept such a law.Prima facie,it seemed, by forbidding productive industry during one year in seven, to diminish the wealth of the nation by one-seventh. But it is questionable whether, under a primitive agricultural system, when rotation of crops was unknown, the lying of the land fallow during one year in seven would not have been an economical benefit. There was no prohibition on labour other than in cultivation. The clearing away of weeds and thorns and stones was allowed, and may have been practised. After an early harvest of the self-sown crop, the greater part of the year may have been spent in this kind of industry. Still the enactment was no doubt unpopular: it checked the regular course of agriculture, and seemed to rob landowners of one-seventh of their natural gains. Accordingly, we find that it was very irregularly observed. Between the Exodus and the Captivity it had apparently been neglected seventy times (2Chronicles 36:21), or more often than it had been kept. After the Captivity, however, the observance became regular, and classical writers notice the custom as one existing in their day (Tacit.Hist. v. 4). Julius Caesar permitted it, and excused the Jews from paying tribute in the seventh year on its account (Joseph.,Ant Jud.xiv. 10, ? 6). The object of the law was threefold--(1) to test obedience; (2) to give an advantage to the poor and needy, to whom the crop of the seventh year belonged (Exodus 23:11); and (3) to allow an opportunity, once in seven years, for prolonged communion with God and increased religious observances. (SeeDeuteronomy 31:10-13.)
Verses 10, 11. -
Law of the Sabbatical year. Days of rest, at regular or irregular intervals, were well known to the ancients and some regulations of the kind existed in most countries But entire years of rest were wholly unknown to any nation except the Israelites. and exposed them to the reproach of idleness. (See Tacit.
Hist. 5:4: - "Septimo die otium placuisse ferunt, quia is finem laborum dedit; dein,
blandiente inertia, septimum quoque annum ignaviae datum"). In a primitive condition of agriculture, when rotation of crops was unknown, artificial manure unemployed, and the need of letting even the best land sometimes lie fallow unrecognised, it may not have been an uneconomical arrangement to require an entire suspension of cultivation once in seven years. But great difficulty was probably experienced in enforcing the law. Just as there were persons who wished to gather manna on the seventh day (
Exodus 16:27), so there would be many anxious to obtain in the seventh year something more from their fields than Nature would give them if left to herself. If the "seventy years" of the captivity were intended exactly to make up for omissions of the due observance of the sabbatical year, we must suppose that between the time of the exodus and the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the ordinance had been as often neglected as observed. (See
2 Chronicles 36:21.) The primary object of the requirement was, as stated in ver. 11,
that the poor of thy people may eat, what the land brought forth of its own accord in the Sabbatical year being shared by them (
Leviticus 25:6.). But no doubt it was also intended that the Sabbatical year should be one of increased religious observance, whereof the solemn reading of the law in the ears of the people at the Feast of Tabernacles "in the year of release" (
Deuteronomy 31:10) was an indication and a part. That reading was properly preceded by a time of religious preparation (
Nehemiah 8:1-15), and would naturally lead on to further acts of a religious character, which might occupy a considerable period (
ibid. chs. 9. and 10.). Altogether, the year was a most solemn period, calling men to religious self-examination, to repentance, to the formation of holy habits, and tending to a general elevation among the people of the standard of holiness.
What they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. There was to be no regular ingathering. The proprietor, his servants, the poor, and the stranger were to take what they needed; and the residue was to be for the cattle and for the beasts that were in the land (
Deuteronomy 25:6, 7).
Thy vineyard - thy oliveyard. Corn, wine, and oil were the only important products of Palestine; and this mention of the vineyard and the oliveyard shows that one and the same law was to hold good of all the lands in the country, however they might be cultivated. The whole land was to rest.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
For sixוְשֵׁ֥שׁ(wə·šêš)Conjunctive waw | Number - feminine singular
Strong's 8337:Six (a cardinal number)yearsשָׁנִ֖ים(šā·nîm)Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 8141:A yearyou are to sowתִּזְרַ֣ע(tiz·ra‘)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2232:To sow, to disseminate, plant, fructifyyour landאַרְצֶ֑ךָ(’ar·ṣe·ḵā)Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 776:Earth, landand gatherוְאָסַפְתָּ֖(wə·’ā·sap̄·tā)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 622:To gather for, any purpose, to receive, take away, removeits produce,תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃(tə·ḇū·’ā·ṯāh)Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8393:Product, revenue
Links
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OT Law: Exodus 23:10 For six years you shall sow your (Exo. Ex) 
