Readings for today: 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36:1-21, Jeremiah 52
Today’s reading includes this fascinating line from 2 Chronicles 36:20-21, “Nebuchadnezzar took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” Most scholars believe the books of the Kings and the books of the Chronicles are written by two different authors with two different perspectives. Both agree that the reason Judah was now going into exile was due to the sins of the kings. Both agree that Nebuchadnezzar is an agent God has raised up to execute His righteous judgment. However, the Chronicler goes into further detail as to why judgment has come. Not only did the kings refuse to humble themselves before the prophet Jeremiah and obey the Word of the Lord, they ignored the Sabbath. They broke the fourth commandment. They refused to give the land its rest. According to Leviticus 25:3-4, “For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” Sabbath rest for the land was part of a healthy agricultural cycle God hardwired into creation. It also served as a reminder to the people of God of their dependence on Him. In the Sabbath year when the land is at rest, they would have to trust God to produce what they needed. Furthermore, it reset humanity’s relationship with the earth. It reminds us of the calling God placed on our lives at creation - to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and exercise dominion as stewards over all God has made. The earth is not a possession to exploit or abuse but something to nurture and cherish.
Our world would do well to recover the idea of Sabbath and God’s people should be the first to show them the way. Beginning in the way we lead our lives, we take one day out of every seven to rest from our labors. We worship. We rest. We sleep. We disconnect from technology. We enjoy time with those we love. We engage in those activities that bring us joy. Second, we seek to create Sabbath opportunities for those around us. If we are employers, we give our employees generous time off. We create space for them to worship and rest and recharge. We give our business a rest as well. We refuse to bow the knee to the relentless pressure to turn a profit. We refuse to believe the lie that “time is money.” This is what drives a company like Chick fil-A to remain closed on Sundays. Third, we create Sabbath for the world we inhabit. If we are engaged in agriculture, we practice crop rotations and other such things that give the land a rest and allow it recharge. If we are energy producers, we seek to minimize our environmental impact, expand into renewables, and do all we can to steward our resources well. If we are architects and engineers, we try to build with the land rather than against it. Rather than engage in a running war with the earth, we seek to build our communities in partnership with it. If are government leaders, we incentivize new technologies that leave less of a mark on the planet and regulate business in order to eliminate abuses like overfishing, strip mining, or slash and burn farming techniques. All of these examples are not just good social policy but actually have biblical warrant in the foundational principle of Sabbath.
Practicing Sabbath is revolutionary. It’s also deeply Biblical. God ordained the Sabbath when He chose to rest on the seventh day of creation. God set up all of life and all of creation to operate according to a divine rhythm. Mornings and evenings. Springtime and harvest. Six days to labor and one day to rest. Six years to plant and prune and one year to lie fallow. We ignore these rhythms to our peril. Those who refuse to take one day out of seven to rest find themselves anxious and stressed and unhealthy. Human beings simply were not meant to run 24/7. Employers who drive their employees relentlessly without giving them a break will find themselves with high turnover and lower quality products. Communities that ignore the contours of the land on which they are built will find themselves at greater risk of floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. These are the consequences of ignoring Sabbath and we see the examples all around us.
So what are we to do? What’s the first step towards change? It begins with each one of us making a conscious, intentional decision to set one day in seven apart for worship and rest before the Lord. Creatively finding ways to disconnect from email and social media, putting work aside, and getting outside to enjoy all God has made. What does Sabbath look like in your life today?
Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 41-44