Does the Law of Moses still apply today, or was that “fulfilled” with Jesus? There are three positions among believers in Israel. 1) Doesn’t apply at all. The pastor of Jerusalem Assembly holds this. 2) Applies to all. Many Messianics hold to this. 3) Applies to Jews but not to Gentiles. Some at the moshav believe this. There’s more to this issue, but I just mention it to introduce an article in today’s news concerning the “sabbatical” year. I, of course, am enjoying a “sabbatical year,” but this article is in reference to the land not being planted or harvested on the seventh year.
With the seventh-year Shemittah “year of fallow” less than a month away, the commonly-practiced “sale dispensation” formulated to help farmers and consumers deal with Shemittah challenges seems to be in danger. Possibly just in the nick of time, however, many leading religious-Zionist rabbis are making an effort to sway public opinion back in its favor.
According to Biblical law, Jews who own land in the the Land of Israel must let it lie fallow every seventh year, and may not work the fields. In the Shemittah year of 1889, with Land of Israel agriculture making a significant comeback for the first time in 18 centuries, rabbis of the Land of Israel agreed to temporarily sell parts of the Land to non-Jews, so that certain agricultural activities could be carried out. As the national economy grew and the potential losses – including the very destruction of the fledgling Jewish community – became more threatening, the dispensation became more widespread and institutionalized.
You can read the rest of the article and see how creative some have become to get around God’s laws. I have a solution: don’t plant, don’t reap, do trust God. Or a better solution: trust the Messiah who is our Sabbath and our Sabbath year and the fulfillment of rest that was pictured in this command and others.