chapter, He gave instructions to gather only as much as you needed for that day; anything you collected above and beyond that would spoil.
Except for the sixth day. When that time rolled around, you gathered enough for two days (including the Sabbath), and then had faith that it would remain edible. It was an act of trust on man’s part to believe that God would provide for them, but it was also an act of obedience. Are you going to do what God says or not?
In Leviticus 25, the same practice is applied to the Israelites again—except this time, it’s not about a sabbath day, but a sabbath year. The Text says that the people are to gather during the first six years, but every seventh year, the land gets to rest. No intentional planting and no intentional harvesting. Just let nature take it’s course.
Naturally, a logistical question arises during the sabbatical year: What were the Israelites supposed to eat during that year? Given the Israelites tendency to complain about food—they did it at least three times in the wilderness—it’s expected that this is going to be a major complaint.
Fortunately, God pre-empts the situation. In Leviticus 25:20, God literally asks their question for them, then answers it by saying that whatever they gather in the sixth year will cover them through the eighth year. Their food from year six won’t run out until the ninth year.
As any farmer would tell you, soil exhaustion is a real thing. If you overharvest the land, your soil becomes depleted of all organic material and nutrients. It essentially becomes worthless for planting until all the land is restored. The Dust Bowl during the 1930’s is a perfect example of this concept.
That seems to be exactly what happened. In 2 Chronicles 36:21, Judah is taken off into exile and it says the land finally “enjoyed its sabbaths.” They were gone for seventy years, which is more than enough time to replenish the land.
It’s easy for us to argue that the Israelites should’ve just listened to God, but if they wouldn’t repent of their idolatry, why would they care about something like soil depletion?
To be fair though, it’s still an extraordinary act of faith to simply not plant for the following year. In developing areas, a single drought year can wipe out a population (or at least cause them to relocate). If Israel’s goal is to settle permanently in Canaan, simply not planting crops every seven years is a death sentence, practically speaking.
And yet that’s the faith that God told them to have. Work the land for six years, then trust that He would provide for an entire year. When you’re staring at the back of an empty cabinet though and don’t have anything coming in from the fields apart from what naturally grows, you find out real fast how much you truly depend on God.
