Archive for Moses

Shavuot/Pentecost/Feast of Weeks, 5783/2023

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 23, 2023 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 23:15-16 ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.

On a Gregorian calendar, we are in the year of 2023, the holiday of Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost begins at sunset on Thursday, May 25th. The God Appointed holiday ends at sunset Saturday, May 27th. The Feast takes place in the month of Sivan on the 6th and 7th of a Hebrew calendar. This is the Hebrew year 5783.

Provisions for the holiday include two loaves of bread, sacrificial lambs, a bull, two rams, a goat, and a drink offering of wine. The holiday is also a day of rest with no work (Leviticus 23:17-21).

In the Old Testament and in the Hebrew, this holiday is referred to as Shavuot. The word means: weeks.

Shavuot is one of the three holidays where Jewish men are required to come to Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17). The men were to make their presentation and sacrifice before God at the Temple.

As stated in the Leviticus passage, it is seven weeks after Passover. It is a celebration of the completed grain harvest. The holiday is also a celebration of God giving the Torah (instruction or law) to nation Israel. Because of this, Shavuot is considered as the beginning or birth of Judaism.

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The Law was given on Mount Sinai roughly 1,500 years before Christ. Nation Israel honored this holiday every year. Eating and drinking dairy products are part of the celebration of Shavuot. Many think the custom of dairy products is in reference to Bible verses referring to a promised land flowing with milk and honey.

Exodus 3:8a “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/why-dairy-on-shavuot/

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Fast forward to 33 AD. Nation Israel is celebrating and living the holiday. 

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they (apostles) were all together in one place. 

In the Greek New Testament, Shavuot (Hebrew) is translated as Pentekoste (Greek). Per Strong’s Concordance, it means: the fiftieth day; the second of the three great Jewish feasts, celebrated at Jerusalem yearly, the seventh week after the Passover, in grateful recognition of the completed wheat harvest. We have transliterated the word to Pentecost (English).

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Pentecost or Shavuot is the day promised by Jesus of the giving of the Holy Spirit. 

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

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Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. 

It is seven weeks after the death of the sacrificial lamb, Jesus. Shavuot or Pentecost is also the day God the Father gave the Holy Spirit. Because of this, Pentecost is considered the beginning or the birth of the church (believers in Jesus Christ).

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Shavuot/shavuot.html

Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…”

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

Fall Feasts Come to Close, 5783/2022

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Fall Feasts, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2022 by paulthepoke

God’s Fall Appointments have come to an end. Here is a recap of events in and around Jerusalem as seen through the eyes of https://www.israel365news.com/

Israel365 was started on January 1, 2012 by Rabbi Tuly Weisz to connect Christians with the Land and the People of Israel, each and every day of the year, according to the verse in Deuteronomy above. Through the important causes we support and our educational materials, Israel365 is your daily connection to the Land of Israel. Our readers are eager to bless the families living in the Holy Land and have contributed to feed needy Israelis and Holocaust survivors and have planted multitudes of trees to beautify the Land and to help bring prophecy to life. 

photo: iStock

Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The kohanim or the Levitical Priests are preparing for Temple worship service. The Water Libation was completed in preparation for the Third Temple.

https://www.israel365news.com/275443/reenactment-of-the-water-libation-held-to-prepare-for-the-third-temple/

One can make a very strong argument from the Biblical text that Jesus will return at the end of a Jubilee year. Is this year a Jubilee year? Evidence is strong that we just completed a Shemitah or Sabbatical year. What time is it on God’s calendar and clock?

https://paulthepoke.com/?s=jubilee

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The Hakhel was completed.

https://www.israel365news.com/275449/thousands-gather-for-once-in-seven-years-mitzvah-of-hakhel/

Deuteronomy 31:10-12 And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law… -NKJ

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https://www.israel365news.com/275473/the-feast-of-tabernacles-returns-to-jerusalem-manifesting-zechariahs-prophecy-photo-spread/

Tabernacles is the last of three festivals where men are required to make a road trip to Jerusalem and go to the Temple.

Per Zechariah 14:16-19, the Feast of Booths is the only God appointed holiday gentile nations will be required to attend. The nations will be required to go before the Lord Jesus Christ during the Feast of Booths. For those nations who do not attend, no rain for your crops.

Zechariah 14:16-19 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

Tisha B`Av/9th of Av, 5782/2022

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy, Temple, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2022 by paulthepoke

Tisha B`Av or the 9th of Av, not a good day on the Jewish calendar. Av is a Hebrew month. It is the 11th month of the civil calendar or the 5th month of the religious calendar. It usually occurs during July or August in the Gregorian calendar. This year, the 9th of Av is observed on sundown of Saturday, August 6th and ends at sundown on Sunday, August 7, 5782/2022. The month of Av is not named in the Bible.

The 9th of Av is a day of mourning in Israel. Tragedy came about because of the account of Numbers 13-14. This event occurred immediately after God had delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt.

A Cliffs Notes like version is the Lord told Moses to send a group of spies to go scout the Promised Land. The spies came back and proclaimed the Jews could not take the land because of the inhabitants of the land were too big and too strong. The people rebelled against Moses. The people stated they would rather go back to Egypt. The nation (except Caleb and Joshua) did not believe God to give them the Promised Land.

Numbers 13:20 …and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

We know it occurred during the grape harvest per the text (Numbers 13:20). This event is said to have occurred on the 9th of Av. God pronounced judgment on the nation at that time. And this date is said to be a reminder of nation Israel’s lack of faith in God.

Historically, the date has resulted in heartache for the Jewish people.

Here is a list of Jewish history on the 9th of Av/Tisha B `Av.

  1. 586 BC, the first Temple was destroyed.
  2. 70 AD, the second Temple was destroyed.
  3. 135 AD, Betar fell. It was the last fortress to hold out against the Romans during the Bar Kochba revolt.
  4. 136 AD, one year after the fall of Betar, the Temple area was plowed.
  5. 1290 AD, Jews were expelled from England.
  6. 1492 AD, King Ferdinand of Spain issued the expulsion decree, setting Tisha B’Av as the final date by which not a single Jew would be allowed to walk on Spanish soil.
  7. 1914 AD, World War I began the downward slide to the Holocaust.
  8. 2005 AD, Israel turns over the Gaza Strip.

References for dates courtesy of (http://www.jewfaq.orghttp://www.chabad.orghttps://www.templeinstitute.org)

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We are less than two months from the onset of the Fall Feasts. It appears to be the close of a Sabbatical or Shemitah year. If history is any indicator, fasten your seat belts. Look at the world around us. There is significant geo political unrest. Global economies are headed towards recession. We are likely in for a wild ride.

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Over the past few years, the Temple Institute has chosen to look to the future and the promise of the building of the third Temple on Tisha B`Av or 9th of Av. They have chosen to post videos regarding the reconstruction of the third Temple.

Keep in mind, what Christians call the Old Testament is the source of information that is being referenced during the video.

The following is from Temple Institute out of Jerusalem, Israel.

We recently took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and asked the question: “What would building the Holy Temple mean to you?” We asked Israelis and tourists alike: men, women, older people and younger, religious and not religious, and were amazed at their answers. Everyone took time to think, to take a deep breath, and to answer us honestly, some with great hope and anticipation, some with skepticism and trepidation, but all with sincerity and heart. And now we are asking you: “What would building the Holy Temple mean to you?” “If you woke up tomorrow and the Holy Temple was built, how would it change your life?” “Will it bring peace to the world?”

Tell us your thoughts! #bethechange

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A Simple Legal Argument

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Freedom in Christ with tags , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2022 by paulthepoke

Excerpts taken from The Gospel 33 AD by Paul Lehr.

At the core of the need for the gospel message is a simple legal argument and matter. God made this very clear from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. Listen and obey God’s directions. “Eat all you want except for one.” There are consequences. Some consequences are good and some are bad.

Genesis 2:16-17 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

As time progressed, Moses was given the Law for the nation of Israel on Mount Sinai. God communicated His Law to Moses approximately 3,600 years ago. These directions were given to Moses approximately 1,600 years before Christ. In total, there were 613 laws given. This number includes the Ten Commandments. Jews have even broken down the number of negative and positive commands. 365 are negative commands and 248 are positive commands. Read the first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) of the Bible for these laws or mitzvoth (Hebrew term).

As far as God is concerned, there is no separation of moral and legal code. Culturally and legally the United States is different. We have a separation of church and state. That is not the intended case with God and His nation Israel.

Well so what if we break God’s Law? What is the big deal? Sin is a big deal to God. It does not matter the offense. If you break the law, the punishment is death. It does not matter if one steals, lies, commits murder or adultery, covets, or whatever. There are no “shades of grey” when it comes to sin. There is not a sliding scale for sin. One sin is not more condemning than another. If you break one, you break them all. That is God’s standard.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death…

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law…

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The critic often says, “Well, the Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament and we live during the church age in the New Testament. Jesus took care of the Law.”

A message for the critic, the Mosaic Law is still present whether you believe it or not. The issue is whether or not you have Jesus to cover your mess. The Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments have not gone away. Jesus Himself made this very clear.

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

A Deceitful Heart??? Joshua of Ghana

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Joshua Ghana with tags , , , , , , , , , , on December 8, 2021 by paulthepoke

TEXT: EXODUS 8:25-32

Key verse: “And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” (Exodus 8:29)

Photo: Wikipedia

The Scripture says, “The heart is deceitful above all things…” The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by many Roman senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus. They were said to have stabbed Caesar 23 times. But the stab that pained and surprised the dying Caesar the most was the one made by his trusted ally, Brutus.

Man, by nature, is not to be trusted. Pharaoh had proven on several occasions that he was not to be trusted as he reneged on his agreement with Moses. In the passage under consideration, Moses thought it wise to tell him his fears and tried to obtain Pharaoh’s authentic assurance. But like every sinner who operates on the dictates of Satan, he could not keep his words.

There are people who enter into agreements they know they cannot keep. Their heart is deceitful. Believers should not be deceitful. Our ‘Yes’ must be ‘yes’ and our ‘No’, must be ‘no’, regardless of the consequence. We must not honour agreements only when it favours us. We must be honest enough to follow through to our promise, whether written or verbal. Some people slip into a lying mode when they discover that things are not working in their favour. In his dealings with Pharaoh, Moses offered no compromise with the evil intent of the king. Thus, he demanded that he let his people go so that they would offer their sacrifices to the Lord. Moses knew that if they accepted to do the sacrifices in Egypt, the Egyptians would stone them for sacrificing sacred things in their land.

As believers, we must not behave cowardly in standing for the truth and in defending the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no room for compromise. Our motives must be pure as we relate with God and fellow men.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Integrity is not something you show others; it is how you behave in their absence.

The Bible IN ONE YEAR: MARK 4 – 6

Jubilee, Part 3, What About Food?

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Jubilee, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2021 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 25:11-12 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

The same agricultural rules apply for the Jubilee year as a Sabbatical or Shemitah year. A Jubilee year is like a Sabbatical or Shemitah year on steroids. By definition, a Jubilee year comes immediately after a Shemitah year (Leviticus 25:8-13).

https://paulthepoke.com/?s=shemitah

For two consecutive years, the land is to rest. There is to be no physical labor or working of the land. Seed is not to be planted. The soil is not to be tilled or turned over. Weeds are left to grow unchecked. Olive trees are not to be trimmed or pruned. Grape vines are left unattended to grow wildly. Whatever grows will grow. The farmers are not to harvest or gather crops that do grow during the Sabbatical year or the Jubilee year. The food that grows is for the farmer, servants, workers, foreigners, and the poor. Of the food that is not eaten by people, the remainder is for the animals.

On the surface, this does not seem very practical. What are we going to eat if we let the land rest for two consecutive years? God says no farming activity for every 49th and 50th years. It would be three years before any organized farming and harvest is to take place.

The context of these verses is the discussion of consecutive Sabbath years of rest for the land, a seventh year Sabbath and year of Jubilee following. The question is being asked of God. If we cannot work the fields, how are we expected to eat and survive?

Has God lost His mind? What kind of law is this? Crazy…

Relax, God has taken this into consideration. He has a plan.

Leviticus 25:20-22 ‘But if you say, “What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?” then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. ‘When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in.

God says He will abundantly provide with bumper crops in the year before the land’s Sabbatical rest, three times the usual amount. Three times the production should do it; one for the Shemitah year, one for the Jubilee year, and one for the crop planted when farming is re-initiated until harvested.

A point of the Shemitah and Jubilee is to turn and trust in God. He will provide.

Provision given by God. Prepare and save for the season. He tells you what is coming.

Granted, the Shemitah and Jubilee are part of the Mosaic Law for the Promised Land of God’s chosen people, Israel. But do take these into consideration on a global scale.

Jubilee, Part 2, Jesus Offers a Clue?

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Isaiah, Jubilee, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 24, 2021 by paulthepoke

Luke 4:17-21 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD.

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” -Jesus

Jesus read and spoke these words in the synagogue of His home town Nazareth (Luke 4:16). Jesus is reading Isaiah 61:1-2a. He reads verse 1 completely. Jesus then stops reading in the middle of Isaiah 61:2. By reading these words, He was claiming to be the Messiah. In other words, “Here I am!!”

The stoppage of reading in the verse has lasted close to 2,000 years. At His first coming, Jesus was a suffering servant who died for our sins. His death freed us from the bondage of sin. Christ did not come in vengeance the first time, hence the pause. And we wait for the remainder of Isaiah 61:2b-11. It describes the future conditions of the nation Israel under the leadership of the Messiah, Jesus. He returns the second time in wrath and judgment.

At this point, many have stopped their analysis. There remains another question. Who is the prophet Isaiah quoting?

…to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…?

Isaiah is quoting Moses who received instruction from God.

Leviticus 25:10 You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.

The context of the verses quoted is a description of the jubilee year. Release the inhabitants and freedom for all the slaves.

Is Jesus leaving a clue about the timing of His second coming? Will He return in a year of Jubilee?

Here are some prophetic implications. The seven year peace covenant between the antichrist and Israel would likely be confirmed in God’s fall holiday season. A jubilee year is proclaimed on the Day of Atonement, Tishri 10 after the end of a set of seven years per Leviticus 25:9.

The Bible tells us a jubilee year is proclaimed after a Sabbatical or Shemitah year (Leviticus 25:8-11).

This would allow for the culmination of the seven year Tribulation to occur one year after a Sabbatical or Shemitah year, a possible jubilee year by definition.

A jubilee year has not been kept by Israel in over 2,000 years (www.chabad.org). As for the timing of the next jubilee year…

no one knows, only the Father.

Jubilee

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Jubilee, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2021 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 25:8-13 “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field. In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property.”

Moses is the author of Leviticus. God relayed the information to Moses. This took place in the desert at the tent of meeting or the tabernacle. God’s chosen people are out of Egypt. They had not entered the Promised Land of Israel. It is mentioned over 50 times in the book of Leviticus. God communicated to Moses.

Leviticus 1:1 Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying…

The Hebrew word for “jubilee” is yovel. Per Strong’s Concordance: It means ram’s horn, trumpet, or cornet. It is also translated jubilee.

Per Scripture, we do know a jubilee year is proclaimed after the seventh Sabbatical or Shemitah year. The sequence calls for back to back years of rest for the land. By definition, the 50th year is proclaimed after the 49th (see above verses). The question is knowing the sequence of Sabbatical or Shemitah years. Which Sabbatical/Shemitah year is the first in the sequence?

The jubilee year is to be proclaimed on the Day of Atonement, one of God’s fall appointments. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 

Determining the next year of jubilee is highly controversial. Some believe a year of jubilee was proclaimed on Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement in the fall of 2015. Others believe it is not possible to determine the next jubilee. Some believe the year cannot be determined until nation Israel is represented by all tribes.

The nation of Israel and religious leaders did not proclaim a year of jubilee in 2015.

Nation Israel has not recognized a jubilee year in 2,000 years plus (God’s Final Jubilee, Dan Goodwin). At this point, only God knows.

A famous American Landmark, the Liberty Bell, was inspired by the Hebrew concept of jubilee. The inscription on the Liberty Bell quotes… 

Leviticus 25:10b…proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants…

Sabbatical Year/Shemitah, Part 4

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 10, 2021 by paulthepoke

Exodus 23:10-11 You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

So what is the big deal? Does God really care if this law is followed? After all, farmers have to make money. We all have to eat. How can we survive during the seventh year if food is not grown? Is God being unreasonable? Is this practical? Does God know what He is doing?

Are there consequences for Israel not keeping the Sabbatical or Shemitah year? God’s response is straight forward. He told Moses and nation Israel at Mount Sinai. If you do not keep the commandments, I will kick you out of the land and disperse you. There will be pain and suffering. See Leviticus 26:14-39 for Israel’s complete consequences of disobedience. Specifically, these are the issues related to the disobedience of the Sabbatical or Shemitah year.

Leviticus 26:34-35 Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.

Leviticus 26:43 For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes.

Eventually, Israel disobeyed God and His commandments. God counted 70 Sabbatical or Shemitah years Israel had not kept. Judgment came via the Babylonians. Jews of all ages were slaughtered. The temple was raided. The articles for worship and service were stolen and taken to Babylon. The temple was burned. The walls of the city were destroyed. Buildings and resources were plundered. Those who survived were taken into captivity in Babylon. And why did these events take place? 

Chronicles 36:21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete. 

And when 70 years were completed, a decree went from Cyrus. Israel went back to their land (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

This is what happened to Israel historically. The Jews were kicked out of the land again in 70 AD and scattered throughout the globe… Israel became a nation again in 1948.

For whatever reason, there is an element of the Jewish people who are interested in giving the land its rest this Sabbatical year ending 5782 or 2022 in a western Gregorian calendar.

The Shemitah started in the late Summer or early Fall of 2021 and ends in late September 2022 on the Gregorian calendar. To the Jew, this will be their civil New Year, Rosh Hashanah, 5783.

Sabbatical Year/Shemitah, Part 2

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2021 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 25:1-7 The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

Exodus 23:10-11 You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

In Biblical times, the farmer would scatter and sow seed first. This occurred during the fall after the holidays and God’s appointed feasts. A team of two oxen would be yoked together to drag a plough and till under the seed. It was customary to use two of the same animals per the law. 

Deuteronomy 22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 

Farming was a year around job. The land was constantly being worked. It was necessary to keep the ground free of weeds by hoeing from December until February. With the harvesting of grain in late spring and summer, stalks were cut near the top and bundled. The remainder of the plant was left for animals to eat (New Manners and Customs of Bible Times). This cycle occurred for six consecutive years.

In the seventh year, the land is to rest. There is to be no physical labor or working of the land. Seed is not to be planted. The soil is not to be tilled or turned over. Weeds are left to grow unchecked. Olive trees are not to be trimmed or pruned. Grape vines are left unattended to grow wildly. Whatever grows will grow. The farmers are not to harvest or gather crops that do grow during the Sabbatical year. The food that grows is for the farmer, servants, workers, foreigners, and the poor. Of the food that is not eaten by people, the remainder is for the animals.

Imagine that, an economy with a built in one year vacation every seventh year. No need for a worker or union to negotiate time off.

Trust in the Lord to provide.

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