Speak to the Israelites and say to them:This directive is given to Moses, who serves as the mediator between God and the Israelites. The Israelites are the descendants of Jacob, also known as Israel, and are God's chosen people. This phrase emphasizes the importance of communication from God through His appointed leader, highlighting the covenant relationship established at Sinai. It underscores the necessity of obedience to God's commands as a community.
When you enter the land that I am giving you:
The land referred to is Canaan, the Promised Land, which God pledged to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:7). This promise is central to the Abrahamic Covenant and signifies God's faithfulness. The phrase indicates a future event, pointing to the fulfillment of God's promise and the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled agricultural society. It also foreshadows the eventual conquest and settlement under Joshua.
the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD:
The concept of a Sabbath for the land introduces the idea of rest and renewal, extending the Sabbath principle beyond human rest to the land itself. This command reflects God's sovereignty over creation and His concern for the land's health and sustainability. It serves as a reminder of the creation narrative, where God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). The land's Sabbath is a type of Christ, who provides ultimate rest and restoration (Hebrews 4:9-10). This practice also anticipates the eschatological rest promised to God's people.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who commands the observance of the Sabbath for the land.
2.
MosesThe leader of the Israelites, through whom God delivers His laws and commandments.
3.
The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, who are to obey His commandments, including the observance of the land's Sabbath.
4.
The Promised Land (Canaan)The land given by God to the Israelites, where they are to practice the Sabbath rest for the land.
5.
Sabbath YearA year of rest for the land, occurring every seventh year, as commanded by God.
Teaching Points
Divine Ownership and StewardshipRecognize that the land belongs to God, and we are stewards of His creation. This principle extends to all resources and blessings we receive.
Rest and RenewalEmbrace the importance of rest, not only for the land but also in our personal lives. Regular rest is essential for spiritual, physical, and emotional renewal.
Obedience to God's CommandsUnderstand the significance of obeying God's commands, even when they challenge our understanding or economic practices. Trust in God's provision and timing.
Faith and Dependence on GodThe Sabbath year required faith in God's provision. Similarly, we are called to trust God in times of uncertainty and rely on His faithfulness.
Social Justice and Community CareThe Sabbath year also provided for the poor and marginalized, reminding us of our responsibility to care for others and promote justice in our communities.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Leviticus 25:2?
2.How does Leviticus 25:2 emphasize the importance of Sabbath rest for the land?
3.What spiritual lessons can we learn from allowing the land to rest?
4.How does the Sabbath year in Leviticus 25:2 connect to Genesis creation?
5.How can we apply the principle of rest in our modern lives?
6.What does Leviticus 25:2 teach about trusting God's provision during rest periods?
7.What is the significance of the land resting in Leviticus 25:2 for modern believers?
8.How does Leviticus 25:2 relate to the concept of environmental stewardship?
9.Why did God command a sabbath for the land in Leviticus 25:2?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Leviticus 25?
11.What is the Shemitah year?
12.How do Christians perceive environmentalism?
13.Does the sabbatical land rest of Exodus 23:10–11 have any archaeological or historical substantiation of its widespread observance?
14.Why do other civilizations around Israel not record similar extended fallow periods or Jubilees, if this commandment (Lev 25) was practiced widely?What Does Leviticus 25:2 Mean
Speak to the Israelites- God singles out the nation He has just redeemed from Egypt (Exodus 19:5-6).
- This covenant command is national, not optional personal advice (Deuteronomy 7:6).
- Addressing “Israelites” tiesLeviticus 25 to the whole law given at Sinai (Leviticus 25:1).
and say to them- Moses is God’s mouthpiece, underscoring prophetic authority (Numbers 12:6-8).
- The phrase reminds readers that every word comes straight from the LORD (2 Timothy 3:16).
- Hearing and heeding are woven together; “say” implies an expectation of obedience (James 1:22).
When you enter the land that I am giving you- The land is a gift, not a conquest earned by merit (Deuteronomy 9:4-5).
- Timing matters: the command activates only after settlement, linking promise and responsibility (Joshua 21:43-45).
- God’s ownership remains: “The earth is the LORD’s” (Psalm 24:1), yet He graciously allots territory to His people (Genesis 17:8).
the land itself- The soil, vineyards, and fields are participants in covenant life (Deuteronomy 11:11-12).
- Creation is treated as more than a resource; it shares in God’s redemptive plan (Romans 8:19-21).
- By personifying the land, God highlights stewardship over exploitation (Psalm 65:9-13).
must observe a Sabbath to the LORD- A literal, once-every-seven-years rest is mandated (Leviticus 25:3-4).
- The land’s Sabbath mirrors the weekly Sabbath given to people (Exodus 20:8-11), reaffirming God as Creator and Provider.
- Letting fields lie fallow teaches trust—Israel depends on God for year-seven and year-eight provision (Leviticus 25:20-22).
- Neglecting this rest later led to exile; the land “enjoyed its Sabbaths” while Israel was gone (2 Chronicles 36:21).
- The principle foreshadows ultimate rest in Christ (Hebrews 4:9-10), yet the historical practice was concrete and agricultural.
summaryLeviticus 25:2 lays out a divine pattern: God speaks with authority, gifts His people a land, and commands that even the ground share in regular rest. The statute underscores His ownership of creation, Israel’s covenant responsibility, and the faith required to let the soil lie idle. Obedience brings blessing and points forward to the deeper promise of rest found in the Lord Himself.
(2)
When ye come into the land.--Better,
When ye be come into the land,as the Authorised Version renders the same phrase in
Leviticus 14:34. (See Note on
Leviticus 19:23.) This is the fourth instance in Leviticus of a law being given prospectively which had no immediate bearing on the condition of Israel. (See
Leviticus 14:34;
Leviticus 19:23;
Leviticus 23:10.) According to the authorities during the second Temple this law came into operation in the twenty-first year after the Israelites entered Canaan. As the conquest of the promised land occupied them seven years (
Joshua 14:10), and as the division of it between the different tribes took seven years more (
Joshua 18:1, &c.), the real cultivation of the land only began at the end of the second seven years. Hence the first seventh year in which laws of the sabbatical year came into operation was the twenty-first year after their entrance into Canaan. . . .
Verses 2-7. - The sabbath of the seventh year could only be observed
when ye come into the land which I give you. The habit of making no distraction in the seventh year during the whole of the life in the wilderness may have led to the neglect of the law after the settlement in Canaan. Another excuse for the neglect may have been a difficulty which would have presented itself of fixing the date from which to count up to the seventh year, as different parts of the land were conquered at different times. According to the law, from New Year's Day of the seventh year (the 1st of Tisri, which occurred about the middle of September) to the following New Year's Day, there was to be neither sowing nor pruning, reaping or gathering. The expression,
Neither shalt thou gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, would be more literally rendered,
the grapes of thy Nazarite vine, the vine with its unpruned tendrils, being likened to the Nazarite with his unshorn locks. As to sowing and reaping, an exception was made with respect to the barley sown and reaped for the Passover sheaf, and the wheat sown and reaped for the Pentecost loaves. The spontaneous fruits of the earth, and they were very large in the rich fields of the valleys and plains, were to be the property of all alike, whether the owners of the land or not, "that the poor of thy people might eat" (
Exodus 23:11). And what was left by man was to be food for the cattle and beasts of the field. The cessation of agricultural labours must have served, and may have been intended to serve, as an encouragement to mercantile pursuits, as well as to the study of the Divine Law (
Deuteronomy 31:10-13). The Feast of Tabernacles of the seventh year was specially appointed by Moses as a day for reading the Law to the assembled people (
Deuteronomy 31:10-13). And the Mishna appoints the following passages of Deuteronomy to be read on that day: -
Deuteronomy 1:1-6;
Deuteronomy 6:4-8;
Deuteronomy 11:13-22;
Deuteronomy 14:22;
Deuteronomy 15:23;
Deuteronomy 17:14;
Deuteronomy 26:12-19;
Deuteronomy 27, 28. ('Mish. Sotah.,' 7:8). The other ordinance connected with the sabbatical year, the release of debts to the poor (
Deuteronomy 15:1-6), was, like the fifth commandment, made of none effect by rabbinical traditions - notably by one which required a debtor, when his creditor said, "I remit," to insist that nevertheless he should accept payment. The moral purpose of the sabbath of the seventh year is well drawn out by Keil: - "In the sabbatical year the land which the Lord had given his people was to observe a period of holy rest and refreshment to its Lord and God, just as the congregation did on the sabbath day; and the hand of man was to be withheld from the fields and fruit gardens from working them that they might yield their produce for his use. The earth was to be sacred from the hand of man, exhausting its power for earthly purposes as his own property, and to enjoy the holy rest with which God had blessed the earth and all its productions after the Creation. From this, Israel, as the nation of God, was to learn, on the one hand, that although the earth was created for man, it was not merely created for him to draw out its power for his own use, but also to be holy to the Lord and participate in the blessed rest; and on the other hand, that the great purpose for which the congregation of the Lord existed did not consist in the uninterrupted tilling of the earth, connected with bitter labour in the sweat of the brow (
Genesis 3:17, 19), but in the peaceful enjoyment of the fruits of the earth, which the Lord their God had given them and would give them still, without the labour of their hands, if they strove to keep his covenant and satisfy themselves with his grace."
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
“Speakדַּבֵּ֞ר(dab·bêr)Verb - Piel - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 1696:To arrange, to speak, to subduetoאֶל־(’el-)Preposition
Strong's 413:Near, with, among, tothe Israelitesבְּנֵ֤י(bə·nê)Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121:A sonand say,וְאָמַרְתָּ֣(wə·’ā·mar·tā)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 559:To utter, say‘Whenכִּ֤י(kî)Conjunction
Strong's 3588:A relative conjunctionyou enterתָבֹ֙אוּ֙(ṯā·ḇō·’ū)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 935:To come in, come, go in, gothe landהָאָ֔רֶץ(hā·’ā·reṣ)Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776:Earth, landIאֲנִ֖י(’ă·nî)Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589:Iam givingנֹתֵ֣ן(nō·ṯên)Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5414:To give, put, setyou,לָכֶ֑ם(lā·ḵem)Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrewthe land itselfהָאָ֔רֶץ(hā·’ā·reṣ)Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776:Earth, landmust observeוְשָׁבְתָ֣ה(wə·šā·ḇə·ṯāh)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7673:To repose, desist from exertiona Sabbathשַׁבָּ֖ת(šab·bāṯ)Noun - common singular
Strong's 7676:Intermission, the Sabbathto the LORD.לַיהוָֽה׃(Yah·weh)Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel
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OT Law: Leviticus 25:2 Speak to the children of Israel (Le Lv Lev.) 
