Exodus 23:10

Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year, Exo 23:10, Exo 23:11. Every seventh year the land was to rest; they must not plough nor sow it at the beginning of the year, and then they could not expect any great harvest at the end of the year: but what the earth did produce of itself should be eaten from hand to mouth, and not laid up. Now this was designed, 1. To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them - that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the produce of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. 2. To remind them of their dependence upon God their great landlord, and their obligation to use the fruit of their land as he should direct. Thus he would try their obedience in a matter that nearly touched their interest. Afterwards we find that their disobedience to this command was a forfeiture of the promises, Ch2 36:21. 3. To teach them a confidence in the divine Providence, while they did their duty - that, as the sixth day's manna served for two day's meat, so the sixth year's increase should serve for two years' subsistence. Thus they must learn not to take thought for their life, Mat 6:25. If we are prudent and diligent in our affairs, we may trust Providence to furnish us with the bread of the day in its day.

II. The repetition of the law of the fourth commandment concerning the weekly sabbath, Exo 23:12. Even in the year of rest they must not think that the sabbath day was laid in common with the other days, but, even that year, it must be religiously observed; yet thus some have endeavoured to take away the observance of the sabbath, by pretending that every day must be a sabbath day.

III. All manner of respect to the gods of the heathen is here strictly forbidden, Exo 23:13. A general caution is prefixed to this, which has reference to all these precepts: In all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect. We are in danger of missing our way on the right hand and on the left, and it is at our peril if we do; therefore we have need to look about us. A man may ruin himself through mere carelessness, but he cannot save himself without great care and circumspection: particularly, since idolatry was a sin which they were much addicted to, and would be greatly tempted to, they must endeavour to blot out the remembrance of the gods of the heathen, and must disuse and forget all their superstitious forms of speech, and never mention them but with detestation. In Christian schools and academies (for it is in vain to think of reforming the play-houses), it were to be wished that the names and stories of the heathen deities, or demons rather, were not so commonly and familiarly used as they are, even with intimations of respect, and sometimes with forms of invocation. Surely we have not so learned Christ.

IV. Their solemn religious attendance on God in the place which he should choose is here strictly required, Exo 23:14-17. 1. Thrice a year all their males must come together in a holy convocation, that they might the better know and love one another, and keep up their communion as a dignified and peculiar people. 2. They must come together before the Lord (Exo 23:17) to present themselves before him, looking towards the place where his honour dwelt, and to pay their homage to him as their great Lord, from and under whom they held all their enjoyments. 3. They must feast together before the Lord, eating and drinking together, in token of their joy in God and their grateful sense of his goodness to them; for a feast is made for laughter, Ecc 10:19. O what a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before him, who feasts his servants when they are in waiting! Never let religion be called a melancholy thing, when its solemn services are solemn feasts. 4. They must not appear before God empty, Exo 23:15. Some free-will offering or other they must bring, in token of their respect and gratitude to their great benefactor; and, as they were not allowed to come empty-handed, so we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with grace, with pious and devout affections, holy desires towards him, and dedications of ourselves to him, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased. 5. The passover, pentecost, and feast of tabernacles, in spring, summer, and autumn, were the three times appointed for their attendance: not in winter, because travelling was then uncomfortable; not in the midst of their harvest, because then they were otherwise employed; so that they had no reason to say that he made them to serve with an offering, or wearied them with incense.

V. Some particular directions are here given about the three feasts, though not so fully as afterwards. 1. As to the passover, it was not to be offered with leavened bread, for at that feast all leaven was to be cast out, nor was the fat of it to remain until the morning, lest it should become offensive, Exo 23:18. 2. At the feast of pentecost, when they were to begin their harvest, they must bring the first of their first-fruits to God, by the pious presenting of which the whole harvest was sanctified, Exo 23:19. 3. At the feast of ingathering, as it is called (Exo 23:16), they must give God thanks for the harvest-mercies they had received, and must depend upon him for the next harvest, and must not think to receive benefit by that superstitious usage of some of the Gentiles, who, it is said, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its dam's milk, and sprinkled that milk-pottage, in a magical way, upon their gardens and fields, to make them more fruitful next year. But Israel must abhor such foolish customs.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Exo 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

Ver. 10. Thou shalt sow thy land.] Here the wise man’s counsel would be remembered, Laudato ingentia rura, exiguum colito. To be called a good husbandman, was of old a high praise.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo_23:10-11

The seventh year thou shalt let it rest.

The Sabbatic year

This law was intended--

1. To show the fertility of the land of promise. Every seventh year, without skill or toil, the land would produce of itself sufficient for the poor and the beasts of the field.

2. To encourage habits of thrift and forethought, so that they might provide for the year of rest.

3. To test

(1) their faith in the providence, and

(2) their obedience to the laws of God. The subject suggests--

I. That periods may arrive by the order or permission of God when work must re laid aside. Commercial depression, sickness, old age.

II. That the prospect of such periods should lead us to provide for them. We are not like fowls of the air, or grass of the field, which have to be literally fed and clothed by the providence of God, and are utterly unable to forecast and provide for contingencies.

III. That the prospect of such periods should teach us resignation to the will of God and faith in His goodness (Mat_6:25-34).

1. There remaineth a rest for the people of God.

2. Prepare for that rest by faith and obedience. (J. W. Burn.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 23:10-11. The institution of the sabbatical year was designed, 1st, To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them, that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the products of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. 2d, To teach them confidence in his care and bounty while they did their duty; that as the sixth day’s manna served for two days’ meat, so the sixth year’s increase should serve for two years’ subsistence. 3d, Thus he would try and secure their obedience, keep them in dependance upon himself, and give to them and all their neighbours a manifest proof of his singular and gracious providence over them. 4th, By this kind of quit rent they were likewise admonished that God alone was the Lord of the land, and that they were only tenants at his will. And being thus freed from their great labours in cultivating the ground, in manuring, ploughing, sowing, weeding, reaping, they were the more at leisure to meditate on God’s works, and to acquaint themselves with his will. 5th, Another reason also is given here, That the poor of thy land may eat. God gave a special blessing to the sixth year, whereby it brought forth the fruit of three years; and in years of so great plenty, men are generally more negligent in their reaping, and therefore, the relics are more. So that in this appointment God had in view a more comfortable provision for the poor. It was likewise a curb to avarice, and habituated them to the exercise of humanity to their slaves, and even beasts. In like manner with thy vineyard and olive-yard — Thou shalt not prune nor dress them, nor gather and appropriate to thy own use what they shall produce, but shalt leave them to the poor.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_23:10-12

SABBATIC YEARS AND DAYS

It has been said that a life according to nature is the highest good. Now, most certainly, a life conducted on the principles laid down by Him who is the God of nature and of grace is the highest good,—being productive of the largest amount of happiness The wisdom and benevolence of the Almighty are manifested in the appointment of the Sabbath; and those consult their highest good—not only their future, but their present welfare—who observe that appointment, and devote a seventh of their time to rest, and to the cultivation more especially of the spiritual life.

I. The beneficence of the Sabbatic year.

1. It is beneficent to the land. Every seventh year the land must rest and lie still. Even in high farming it is found needful to give the land a rest by a change of crops. The earth is wonderfully productive, and has a marvellous power of renewing its youth from year to year, and from age to age. But this power of productiveness must not be stretched too far. The land, too, must have its Sabbath. A shortsighted policy works the land until it becomes comparatively barren; and thus selfishness, in the long run, is not as profitable as a spirit directed by Divine regulations.

2. It is beneficent to the owner of the land. He learns by this arrangement to husband his resources, and to be provident. One reason of the poverty of uncultured tribes is, that they are not provident. They do not look into the future, and store up seed for the coming harvest. This Sabbatic year will teach the owner to be provident. It will teach him to have a wise management of affairs. He will be taught to take a large view of God’s dealings. He will see that the world is not conducted on the haphazard principle. There is method in the Divine government Thus the farmer’s reflective faculties are developed. He is not to be a mere working machine; but a king in nature moving in subjection to the Divine King, learning lessons of dependence upon God, and admiring the bounty of that God who in six years gives ample supplies for the seventh.

3. It is beneficent to the poor and to the beasts, “that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat.” The poor have a divine right to the charities of the rich. There is no law against the plenty obtained by six years’ hard labour; but here is a wise limit to the spirit of acquisition. The poor must not envy the rich their six years’ plenty; and the rich must not deny to the poor the power to glean in the seventh year. God cares even for oxen; and the rich must care for those who are God’s care. If God cares for oxen, how much more for those made in His image. That community must be safe and prosperous where there is this mutual consideration. Communistic violence will not be known in that land where the rich do not oppress the poor. There is plenty for all in God’s vast universe. Let there be no waste, but a wise economy. Surely six years’ produce is enough for the reasonable and benevolent owner of property! Let the poor have the gleanings of the seventh year.

II. The beneficence of the Sabbatic day. The blessed Saviour said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” And in the Old Testament we find that the appointment of the Sabbath was a beneficent arrangement for man’s welfare. But some so read our Saviour’s words that the Sabbath is divested of any binding power. The Sabbath was made for man, and therefore if man does not want to keep a Sabbath he has no need to do so. Put the statement in another form. It is self-evident that food was made for man, and not man for food. No one would ever think that the statement meant that man need not take food. It was made to meet man’s physical necessities, and he cannot do without it. Now, just in the same way as food was made for man, so the Sabbath was made for man’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature. The Sabbath was not made for man as a toy is made for the child, to minister for an hour or two to its amusement, and then to be destroyed. The Sabbath was made for man as the sun was made for man, to give us light, heat, beauty, and productiveness. The Sabbath was made for man as the revolving seasons, as the sweet interchange of day and night were made for man, that this world may be to him a glorious dwelling-place. The Sabbath was made for man, as the Bible was made for man, that he may attain the true conceptions of manhood, that the true royalty of his nature may not be blotted out of existence, that he may rise above mere notions of animality, that he may stand in this world conscious of the dignity of his origin and the greatness of his sublime destiny. The Sabbath was made for man as the Saviour Himself was made a man for men, that the powers of evil may not gain a complete mastery, and that they may sit in heavenly places, clothed in garments of spiritual fashion, and radiant with Divine beauty. The Sabbath was made for man as heaven is made for redeemed man. A refuge from the storms of life. A home of peace after the six days of care and toil. A goal to which we look with glad hearts, and towards which we work with hopeful spirits amid the intense struggles and fervid contests and fierce strifes of existence. There are those who seem to regard the Sabbath as an infringement on their rights, and as a robbery of the time they might otherwise profitably employ in trade or commerce. And they strive to frustrate the purposes of Divine benevolence by putting seven days’ labour into the six, and then taking the seventh day for the purpose of recruiting an over-wrought physical or mental nature. But it will not do. By and by the man will be compelled to pay the penalty of his folly. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest. To put seven days’ labour into six is like stretching the bow until it snaps and is destroyed. Man needs periods of rest and release from care, from toil, and from business, and this need is met by the appointment of the Sabbath. This is one of the most beneficent of Divine institutions; and it is the one that is the most universally observed. The greater part of civilized humanity, as if by instinctive feeling, seem to appreciate its beneficence. Its infringement is only the result of a narrow selfishness that would soon bring the social fabric to awful ruin. The Sabbath is not for work, is not for pleasure that may be harder toil than our accustomed work, is not for doing little odds and ends for which we have not time in the week, but for rest—rest of body and rest of mind—rest in divine service, rest in peaceful worship, and rest in holy employments. The Sabbath day fosters the spirit of benevolence. The letter of the Old Testament is not binding, but the spirit is. We must do all that lies in our power so that the ox and the ass may rest, and the son of the handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. In this world of selfishness it will foster a benevolent spirit, and produce restful feelings to strive to minister to the welfare of the lower animals, and the refreshment even of the stranger. The Sabbath throws open the arms of love, and would enfold a wearied universe and impart abiding rest.—W. Burrows, B.A.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

THE SABBATIC YEAR.—Exo_23:9-11

For the whole subject, see Dr. Milligan’s article on “Sacred Seasons” in Cassells’ “Bible Educator.” This law was intended—

1. To show the fertility of the land of promise. Every seventh year, without skill or toil, the land would produce of itself sufficient for the poor and the beasts of the field.

2. To encourage habits of thrift and forethought, so that they might provide for the year of rest.

3. To test

(1.) their faith in the providence, and

(2.) their obedience to the laws of God. The subject suggests—

I. That periods may arrive by the order or permission of God when work must be laid aside. Commercial depression, sickness, old age.

II. That the prospect of such periods should lead us to provide for them. We are not like “fowls of the air,” or “grass of the field,” which have to be literally fed and clothed by the providence of God, and are utterly unable to forecast and provide for contingencies.

III. That the prospect of such periods should teach us resignation to the will of God and faith in His goodness (Mat_6:25-34).

Application.—i. There remaineth “a rest” for the people of God; ii. Prepare for that rest by faith and obedience.

—J. W. Burn.

LABOUR AND REST.—Exo_23:12

This verse teaches us—

I. That rest is needful, “May be refreshed.”

1. Rest is needful that the exhausted faculties may repose after past work.

2. Rest is needful that those faculties may be invigorated for future service.

3. Rest is needful that work may not become irksome; for if so

(1.) It will be done slovenly; and

(2.) Done imperfectly.

4. Rest is needful that work may be free and joyous.

II. That rest is mercifully provided.

1. This rest is provided by God, lest man should not overlook its necessity.

2. This rest is provided by God lest the servant, the foreigner, or the beast should be defrauded of their right to it.

III. That rest should be diligently earned. “Six days shalt thou do thy work.”

1. Not lounge over it;

2. Not neglect it; but

3. Do it earnestly, conscientiously, and well.

Application.—i. A lesson to employers. God has provided this rest, beware how you steal what God has given to man. ii. A lesson to working men. This rest is yours by right. Then

(1.) claim it;

(2.) don’t abuse it;

(3.) don’t curtail that of others;

(4.) work during your own time, rest during God’s. iii. A lesson to the world at large. Sabbath-breaking is the direct cause of

(1.) Intellectual evils; overtaxed brains, &c.;

(2.) moral evils; neglect of the rights of God and man;

(3.) physical evils. Science has demonstrated the need of one day’s rest in seven.

ILLUSTRATIONS

BY

REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON

Mosaic Morals! Exo_23:1-19. A modern jurist, Hennequin, says: “Good right had Moses to challenge the Israelites, what nation hath statutes like yours? a worship so exalted—laws so equitable—a code so complex?” A Frenchman and an infidel, he observes that, compared with all the legislations of antiquity, none so thoroughly embodies the principles of everlasting righteousness. Lycurgus wrote, not for a people, but for an army: It was a barrack which he erected, not a commonwealth. Solon, on the other hand, could not resist the surrounding effeminate influences of Athens. It is in Moses alone that we find a regard for the right, austere and incorruptible; a morality distinct from policy, and rising above regard for times and peoples.

“But what could Moses’ law have done

Had it not been divinely sent?

The power was from the Lord alone,

And Moses but the instrument.”

—Newton.

Sacred Seasons! Exo_23:10. The deeper basins of the African Sahara are frequently of great extent, and sometimes contain valuable deposits of salt. Wherever perennial springs rise from the earth, or wherever it has been possible to collect water in artificial wells, green aoses break the monotony of the desert. They might be compared with the charming islands that stud the vast solitudes of the Southern Seas. A wonderful luxuriance of vegetation characterises these oases of the wilderness. And what is life but a wilderness? What are the sacred seasons but these emerald, living oases! Here the pilgrims halt for refreshment and repose. Here they rest beneath the shadow of the lofty palm-trees, dip their vessels in the waters of the calm, clear fount, feed upon the luscious clusters of grape and pomegranate, orange and apricot. Then with recruited strength they go forth again upon their pilgrimage towards the Land of Rest; singing as they press onward over the sands of time, How sweet

“To hold with heaven communion meet—

Meet for a spirit bound to heaven;

And, in this wilderness beneath,

Pure zephyrs from above to breathe.”

—Bowing.

Sabbath Beneficence! Exo_23:12. Stations on the line of your journey, remarks Pulsford, are not your journey’s end; but each one brings you nearer. A haven is not Home; but it is a place of quiet and rest where the rough waves are stayed. A garden is a piece of common land, yet it has ceased to be common. It is now an effort to regain paradise. Such are the Lord’s days. The true Lord’s Day is the rest that remaineth for the people of God—is the upper Eden of eternity. But its earthly type is the ever-recurring weekly world-Sabbath. By cultivating our earthly Sabbaths, we are making an effort to regain the lost Paradise. That benefit God designed, and that blessing God will confer.

“Sabbaths, like waymarks, cheer the pilgrim’s path,

His progress mark, and keep his rest in view.”

“In life’s bleak winter they are pleasant days,

Short foretastes of the long, long spring to come.”

—Wilcox.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

23:10-12 Renewal, rest (23:12), and refreshment are important. Just as humans and animals are to enjoy these in the weekly Sabbath, so the land is to be given rest every seven years (23:10-11; see study note on 20:8-11).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

six years thou shalt sow thy land--intermitting the cultivation of the land every seventh year. But it appears that even then there was a spontaneous produce which the poor were permitted freely to gather for their use, and the beasts driven out fed on the remainder, the owners of fields not being allowed to reap or collect the fruits of the vineyard or oliveyard during the course of this sabbatical year. This was a regulation subservient to many excellent purposes; for, besides inculcating the general lesson of dependence on Providence, and of confidence in His faithfulness to His promise respecting the triple increase on the sixth year (Lev 25:20-21), it gave the Israelites a practical proof that they held their properties of the Lord as His tenants, and must conform to His rules on pain of forfeiting the lease of them.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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 (2Ch_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 Cæsar 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 (Exo_23:11); and (3) to allow an opportunity, once in seven years, for prolonged communion with God and increased religious observances. (See Deu_31:10-13.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10, 11. The fallow year. In every seventh year the fields, vineyards, and olive-gardens are to remain uncultivated, such produce as they bear naturally being not gathered by the owners, but left to the poor. The terms in which the law is expressed leave it uncertain whether (as is generally supposed) a year common to the whole land is intended, or (Riehm, HWB. s.v. Sabbathjahr; Wellh. Hist. p. 117 f.; Nowack, Archäol. ii. 162; W. R. Smith in EB. iv. 4180; Bä.) one varying with he different properties, and reckoned in each from the year in which it first began to be cultivated: the analogy of v. 12 would favour the former interpretation; practical considerations, and the analogy of Lev_19:23-25, would support the latter. In Lev_25:1-7 (H) it is represented as a fixed year to be observed throughout the country simultaneously; but this does not determine the question whether it had that character from the beginning. A common septennial fallow year, must, in practice, have had its inconveniences: 2Ch_36:21 (cf. Lev_26:34-35) seems to imply that it was not observed, at least regularly, before the exile: but there are several notices of its observance in the Greek period (e.g. 1Ma_6:49; 1Ma_6:53 : DB. iv. 325b).

10–12. The seventh year to be a fallow year, and the seventh day to be a day of rest. The motive, it may be noticed, is in each case a philanthropic one.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But the seventh year thou shall let it rest, and lie still,.... From tillage, and make its fruits common, as the Targum of Jonathan; the note of Jarchi is, "let it rest", from perfect tillage, as ploughing and sowing; "and lie still", from dunging and harrowing, or weeding: this law was intended to show that God was the original proprietor and owner of this land, and that the Israelites held it under him; and to teach them to depend upon and trust in his providence; as well as that there might be both rest for the land, and so it became more fruitful afterwards, having by this rest renewed its vigour, and also for servants and cattle; and that the poor might have an equal share in the fruits of the earth, and appear to be joint lords of it with others under God, as it follows:

that the poor of thy people may eat: that which grows up of itself, of which there were great quantities; for the sixth year bringing forth for three years, a great deal of seed fell, which grew up again; and especially, as through plenty they were not so careful to gather it all up; and besides this, there were the fruits of trees, of vines, olives, &c. which brought forth their fruit in course as usual, and which were all this year common to poor and rich; so that the former had an equal propriety and share with the latter:

and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat; signifying that there should be such plenty that there would be enough for all, and to spare; that there would be much left, and which should be the portion of the beasts of the field, and who would also be sufficiently provided for by the produce the earth brought forth of itself, as herbage, &c. and the fruits the poor left:

in like manner thou shall deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard; that is, these were not to be pruned, nor the grapes and olives gathered, but were to be in common with all: a larger account is given of this law in Lev 25:2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

This is the first mention of the Sabbatical year; the law for it is given at length in Lev 25:2. Both the Sabbatical year and the weekly Sabbath are here spoken of exclusively in their relation to the poor, as bearing testimony to the equality of the people in their covenant with Yahweh. In the first of these institutions, the proprietor of the soil gave up his rights for the year to the whole community of living creatures, not excepting the beasts: in the latter, the master gave up his claim for the day to the services of his servants and cattle.

Exo 23:12

May be refreshed - Literally, “may take breath.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

CEREMONIAL LAWS (vers. 10-19).

Vers. 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: 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, (Exo_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. (2Ch_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. (Lev_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 (Deu_31:10) was an indication and a part. That reading was properly preceded by a time of religious preparation, (Neh_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. (Deu_25:6, Deu_25:7) 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.

Vers. 10, 11. The Sabbatical year.

The Sabbatical year an institution peculiar to the Israelites, and quite contrary to anything of which they had had experience in Egypt is a remarkable proof,

I OF THE DIVINE WISDOM. Under the ordinary circumstances of tillage, land from time to time requires rest. In Egypt it was otherwise. There, under the exceptional circumstances of a soil continually recruited by the spread over it of a rich alluvium from the great river, not only was the whole arable area capable of producing good crops year after year, without ever lying fallow, but from the same soil several crops were ordinarily taken, in the course of the twelvemonth. The Israelites had had no experience of any other agriculture than this for above four centuries. Yet now, suddenly, a new system is adopted by them. God knew that the system of Egyptian tillage was not suitable for Palestine that there the soil would not recruit itself that, cultivated on the Egyptian system, it would rapidly become exhausted; and therefore he devised, in the interests of his people, a new system for Palestine. The whole land should have rest one year in seven. Thus only, in the then existing condition of agriculture, could exhaustion be prevented, productiveness secured, and the land enabled to retain its character of "a good land," "a land flowing with milk and honey," "a land of corn and wine, of bread and vineyards, and oil olive," "a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates a land of oil olive, and honey a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it". (Deu_8:8, Deu_8:9)

II OF THE DIVINE BENEFICENCE. Under the system thus Divinely imposed upon the Israelites, three beneficent purposes were accomplished.

1. The proprietor was benefited. Not only was he prevented from exhausting his farm by over-cropping, and so sinking into poverty, but he was forced to form habits of forethought and providence. He necessarily laid by something for the seventh year, and hence learnt to calculate his needs, to store his grain, and to keep something in hand against the future. In this way his reason and reflective powers were developed, and he was advanced from a mere labouring hind to a thoughtful cultivator.

2. The poor were benefited. As whatever grew in the seventh year grew spontaneously, without expense or trouble on the part of the owner, it could not be rightfully considered to belong exclusively to him. The Mosaic law placed it on a par with ordinary wild fruits, and granted it to the first comer. (Lev_25:5, Lev_25:6) By this arrangement the poor were enabled to profit, since it was they especially who gathered the store that Nature"s bounty provided. In the dry climate of Palestine, where much grain is sure to be shed during the gathering in of the harvest, the spontaneous growth would probably be considerable, and would amply suffice for the sustenance of those who had no other resource.

3. The beasts were benefited. God "careth for cattle." He appoints the Sabbatical year, in part, that "the beasts of the field" may have abundance to eat. When men dole out their food, they have often a scanty allowance. God would have them, for one year in seven at least, eat their fill.

Vers. 10-20. Sabbaths and feasts.

I SABBATHS.

1. The Sabbatic year (vers. 10, 11). Every seventh year the land was to lie fallow, and what it spontaneously produced was to be a provision for the poor, and for the beasts of the field. There was connected with the ordinance a special promise of unusual fertility in the sixth year of such plenty as would make the nation independent of a harvest in the seventh. (Lev_25:21, Lev_25:22) The Sabbatic year was

(1) A period of rest for the land. Even nature requires her seasons of rest. Only thus will she yield to man the best of her produce. The seventh year"s rest was an agricultural benefit.

(2) A period of rest for the labourer. It gave him time for higher employment. Moses enjoined that the whole law should be read on this year at the feast of Tabernacles. (Deu_31:10, Deu_31:14) This may have been designed to teach, "that the year, as a whole, should be much devoted to the meditation of the law, and engaging in services of devotion" (Fairbairn).

(3) A merciful provision for the poor. It laid an arrest on man"s natural selfishness, and taught beneficence and consideration for the needy. It showed that if man cared not for the poor, God did.

(4) It was a test of obedience. It would test conclusively whether the people were disposed to obey God, or would be ruled only by their own wills. In point of fact, the ordinance was not kept. It proved to be too high and Divine a thing for covetous and selfish dispositions. The neglect of it commenced very early, and lasted till the period of the captivity. (2Ch_36:21)

(5) A periodical reminder that the land, and everything that grew upon it, belonged to God. Had the Israelites observed the ordinance, the recurrent plenty of the sixth year would, like the double supply of manna on the sixth day in the wilderness, have been a visible witness to them of the supernatural presence of Jehovah in their midst.

2. The weekly Sabbath (ver. 12). The invaluable seventh day"s rest was also to be sacredly observed by the nation. Well-kept Sabbaths have much to do with national prosperity.

II FEASTS. The stated festivals were three (vers. 14 17). The design in their appointment was to commemorate mercies, to keep alive the memory of national events, to foster a sense of unity in the people, to quicken religious life, to furnish opportunities of public worship. They afforded a means of strengthening the bond between the people and Jehovah, promoted brotherly intercourse, infused warmth and gladness into religious service, and were connected with a ritual which taught the worshippers solemn and impressive lessons. The feasts were:

1. The Passover here called "the feast of unleavened bread" (vers. 1518). It commemorated the great National Deliverance. (see on Ex 12) The use of unleavened bread was a call to spiritual purity. (1Co_5:8) The blood was offered (ver. 18) as an ever-renewed atonement for sin. The "fat" of the sacrifice betokened the consecration of the best.

2. Pentecost here called "the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours" (ver. 16). Its primary reference was agricultural. It was a recognition of God in the gift of the harvest. It besought his blessing upon the labours of the field. It consecrated to him the first-fruits (ver. 19) of what he had given. (two wave-loaves, Lev_23:17) In the dedication of the wave-loaves, as in the weekly presentation of the shewbread in the tabernacle, (Exo_25:30) there was further symbolised the dedication to God of the life which the bread nourished. Fitly, therefore, was this day chosen for the presentation to God of the first-fruits of his Church. (Ac 2)

3. The feast of Tabernacles feast of ingathering" (ver. 16). This was the feast of the completed harvest, when the corn, the wine, and the oil, had all been gathered in. During the seven days of the feast the people dwelt in booths, in commemoration of their wanderings in the wilderness. The dwelling in booths was a symbol also of their present pilgrim condition on earth, as "strangers and sojourners". (Psa_39:12) The precept in ver. 19, which seems related to this feast, shalt not seethe a kid in his mother"s milk," had probably reference to some harvest superstition. On its moral lessons, see Deu_14:21. J.O.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The institution of the sabbatical year was designed,

1. To shew what a plentiful land that was, into which God was bringing them, that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the products of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year.

2. To teach them a confidence in the Divine Providence, while they did their duty, That as the sixth day's manna served for two days meat, so the sixth year's increase should serve for two years subsistence.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The Holy Periods and Feasts

v. 10. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof, whatever it yields under careful cultivation;

v. 11. but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still, let it remain unused, make no attempt to cultivate it, that the poor of thy people may eat, namely, that produced by the land without cultivation, the so-called volunteer grain; and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. This fallowing of the land would give it an opportunity to recuperate. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard and with thy oliveyard. There also the fruits were not to be gathered, but left for the poor and needy, for the beasts of the field, and for the fowls of the air. This was the so-called Sabbath of Years, analogous to the Sabbath of the Week.

v. 12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, mainly by desisting from work, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed. So the slaves and the strangers, as well as the domestic animals, were to be given a breathing spell once a week, the Sabbath thus serving not only religious, but also humanitarian ends.

v. 13. And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect, be on your guard, watch most carefully; and make no mention of the name of other gods, the very reference to them being prohibited, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Jehovah was to be adored exclusively in the midst of Israel.

v. 14. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year. This is the enumeration of the great Jewish festivals, as it is repeatedly found in the ordinances given through Moses in the wilderness.

v. 15. Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in connection with the Passover; (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, Exodus 12, in the time appointed of the month Abib, from the fourteenth to the twenty-first; for in it thou camest out from Egypt, it was the festival in commemoration of the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty, that is, with empty hands, everyone being expected to bring sacrificial gifts to the Lord;)

v. 16. and the Feast of Harvest, afterwards known as the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field, the festival of the grain harvest; and the Feast of Ingathering, afterwards known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the end of the year, in the fall of the year, in October, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field, not only the grain, but also the fruits, the three great products being usually mentioned as corn, wine, and oil.

v. 17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. So it was specifically ordered that on the above-mentioned feasts the men of the congregation were obliged to appear before the Lord, a fact which excludes neither women, 1Sa 1:3, nor children, Luk 2:41 ff.

v. 18. Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice, that of the Passover, which, in a most particular sense, belonged to the Lord, with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My sacrifice (or feast) remain until the morning. This is a reference to the institution of the Passover and of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for the Lord had decreed that leaven and leavened bread should not be found in the houses of the Israelites when this great sacrifice was made, and also that no part of the Passover lamb was to remain till the morning.

v. 19. The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord, thy God. This refers to the festivals in general, for not only were the firstlings of the barley sheaves offered at Passover and two pentecostal loaves during the Feast of Weeks, but the people were expected in general to bring gifts of first-fruits to the Lord. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk, this practice being prohibited as unnatural and tending to make the feasting the central feature, especially in connection with the great festivals. The Old Testament Sabbath and festivals with their ordinances are no longer binding upon the Christians of the New Testament; yet God expects also us to thank and to praise, to serve and obey Him in true faith and love.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues telling Moses his laws for the people of Israel.

its produce

"the food its plants produce"

unplowed

uncultivated, untilled

fallow

in its natural state, not used for to grow food

so that the poor among your people may eat

The poor can eat any food that grows on its own in a field that is not cultivated. This can be stated clearly in the translation. AT: "so the poor among your people may harvest and eat any food that grows on its own in that field" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

plant

vineyard

olive

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ואספת את תבואתה AND SHALT GATHER IN THE INCREASE THEREOF — אסף is a term denoting “bringing into the house”, like, (Deuteronomy 22:2) “thou shalt gather it (ואספתו) into thine house” (cf. Rashi on Genesis 49:29).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.