This is the third in a 5-part series on the spirit of the sabbath. Through this journey we press beyond the shallow ideas of sabbath that are commonly taught today, and go deeper to discover the real meaning and power that we’ve been missing.
Catch up:
3 - The Gift of Release
The Hebrew word for the sabbath year, "shmita," literally means "release." At times the Israelites called the seventh year "the year of release." You'll remember that the word for sabbath means "cease." There is a connection between ceasing and releasing.
Deuteronomy 15:1-2
1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
My first reaction when I read this passage was indignation. If someone is in debt to me, shouldn't they be obligated to repay me? Then my thoughts shifted from financial debts to other kinds of debts—betrayal, offenses, unreturned favors, broken promises. Doesn't God care about justice? Doesn't God see how I've been wronged?
Over time, I've come to realize that God is more concerned with who we are becoming than with our scores being settled. God knows that harboring bitterness or holding offense is catastrophic to our souls. He knows that sometimes the reason we are restless or weary is because of what we won't let go.
