The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest, a Sabbath to the LORD.” Leviticus 25.1-4

The rule of God’s Law in ancient Israel extended to their agricultural practices. The land on which the people lived was not their own; the earth and everything in it is the Lord’s (Ps. 24.1). The people of Israel were only stewards of the Lord’s property; therefore, they were expected to use the land in order to please Him. Whatever He intended for His land, they must be careful to perform.

We note four requirements for Israel’s agricultural practices. First, the land was to be cultivated. All arable land was to be developed and put to fruitful use, even as God had commanded Israel’s first parents (Gen. 1.26-28). The people were not to allow the land to fall into disuse, lest they fall into danger of wild animals encroaching on their living space or fail to provide for the needs of their families and their neighbors.

Second, the people were to be reminded that the land was the Lord’s and could only be kept and made fruitful as long as they bore this in mind. To that end God forbade them from planting two kinds of crops in the same field (Deut. 22.9). Not only would this allow all plants to grow as they should, but it would help to make the harvests more efficient, and serve as a reminder, season by season, that God was Lord of the land. Further, the land was to be given a rest from cultivation every seven years. Farmers today practice this rest by crop rotation. In Israel’s day, the seven-year rest recalled the seven days of creation and reminded the people that God was both their Maker and their Sustainer, their Redeemer and their Lord. Israel never succeeded in keeping this requirement.

Third, land must not be held so tightly that one’s neighbor could not enjoy the fruit of it under certain circumstances. People on a journey were free to cut through the property of their neighbors – being careful not to destroy anything – and even to refresh themselves with fruit from vine or stalk as they journeyed (Deut. 23.24, 25). No one could begrudge his neighbor this needed refreshment, and no one passing through another’s property should carry away any of the fruit of it, but consume what he must in transit only.

Finally, the land was held in trust for the poor, as we have seen in the laws of gleaning, and for those who served the Lord in the Tabernacle. Even agriculture came under the guidance of God’s Law in ancient Israel, so that the land could best fulfill God’s purpose of bringing blessing to His people.

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