Good morning! Today let’s talk about the sabbath. “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.” (Exodus 35:2)

While people are no longer put to death for working on the sabbath, it still holds up as an important spiritual milestone. And in fact, just last week on the Hebrew calendar, began the Hebrew sabbath year, Shmita, which is a sabbatical year following the sixth year of a seven-year agricultural cycle.

“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord.  Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.” (Leviticus 25: 1-4)

You may have heard of taking a sabbatical, but never knew that it was originally a biblical term coming from the word “sabbath.”

In sabbatical years, the farmer does not profit. Instead, “All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you.  Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.”“(Leviticus 25: 6-7) During this sabbath year, the needy, the employees, foreigners and even the animals share the fruit of the land.

Shmita actually means “release.” Release of what? You see, the Lord set up it up so that every seven years, all of our debts were to be wiped completely clean! And yes, I mean money debts.

Can you imagine if your mortgage, student loan or credit card debt was just suddenly wiped clean? And the only catch is that you, in turn, have to forgive every debt owed to you. It’s the golden rule! Will you give others what you want to receive?

In my life, this is something I have been praying about for years and when I first learned about the tradition I knew it was something I needed to obey! Because of that, I asked to be taken off payroll entirely in my business for the next full year.

Now I don’t have big money debts in my life any longer, but for those who follow directions, there are great blessings waiting! This sabbath year will be a year of blessing and also one of correction. Are you ready to forgive the debts of others?

Hopefully this message gave you something to think about today. I truly encourage you to look into Shmita and the Hebrew calendar yourself. These are more than just holidays, they are reminders of the workings and blessings of the Lord! These reminders are opportunities to bless each other and feed your personal faith.

Leave me your comments and be sure to Like and Share today’s message within your circle of influence.

I’ll be around twice today! Join us for a spiritual equipping message on The Dani Johnson Show at 12 pm ET and again at 7 pm ET. You can tune into the show on either your TV or radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right on our website.

In great faith,

P.S. Like what you read here? Just hit the “Like,” “Share” and “Tweet” buttons at the top of the page! That will help your friends and followers find this message!