Substack article by Pastor Jimmy Evans (Texas)

God created the Shemitah cycle

Through Moses, to the Hebrew people, God gave this command:

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land.”—Leviticus 25:2-5

The Hebrew word Shemitah—which you may also find spelled Shmita or Shemittah—means “let it rest” or “release.” This was a command given for Israel to incorporate upon their arrival in the Promise Land. The Shemitah year was when the ancient Israelites let the land rest.

They would sow their crops and benefit from six years of bountiful harvests, then take a year off to let the land lie fallow. Agriculturally speaking, this helps return valuable minerals and nutrients to the soil after years of those nutrients being depleted by growing crops. During the Shemitah year, all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting and pruning, was forbidden by Jewish law.

God counts time in sevens

The numbers are not arbitrary. God counts time in sevens. God took six days to create the world, then rested on the seventh day. That’s why our calendar weeks are divided into seven days.

But did you know the Hebrew calendar is also divided into seven-year cycles? God also gives this instruction in Scripture:

“And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.”—Leviticus 25:8

That means every seventh year is a Sabbatical year. Like the seventh day, the Sabbath, this seventh year is considered sacred. Every seventh year was a very special year in the lives of the people of Israel—a year of rest and release.

In the well-known “Seventy Sevens” prophecy given to Daniel about the Messiah, we also see how God keeps time in sevens:

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.” —Daniel 9:24

In this passage, the word translated “weeks” in English literally means “sevens.” The Tribulation will also last seven years.

Again, God counts time in sevens.

God intended the Shemitah to be a blessing

The Sabbath year also had non-agricultural laws related to it. God commanded that the Shemitah year be a year to forgive debts. This is related to the idea of “resting” or “release.” Deuteronomy 15 talks about this:

“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.”—Deuteronomy 15:1-5

That meant debts were canceled every seven years, and Scripture calls it “the Lord’s release.” Obviously, this is also related to rest. When you owe someone, you work hard to pay off that debt. Many of us find it difficult to rest or relax when we are indebted to someone.

But when those debts are forgiven, we can finally rest. We can be rejuvenated, like a parcel of land that has been allowed to lie fallow and have its nutrients restored. This is a picture of grace and redemption in the New Testament, because Jesus died to redeem us from a debt we could not pay.

The Shemitah reminds us of God’s grace. He is the source of every blessing.

We are nearing the end of a Shemitah year

We are in the Hebrew year 5782 right now. It began in September of 2021 and it concludes this September at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah starts the evening of September 25 and concludes the evening of September 27.

As my friend Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has mentioned in his book, The Mystery of the Shemitah, God not only commanded the Shemitah cycle but also follows it. Historically, significant things have happened during Shemitah years. They have not always been good things. The 9/11 attacks happened during a Shemitah year. The economic collapse of 2007-2008 were during a Sabbath year.

Of course, Rabbi Cahn will be one of the featured speakers at the Tipping Point Prophecy Conference this September—the week before the current Shemitah year concludes. I expect he will have much of interest to say about the topic.

The next few months represent the conclusion of a Shemitah cycle. In late September of this year, we will begin another seven-year period. You know that I do not like to predict anything specific in terms of the Rapture. I have neither the right nor the ability to set the exact dates when the end will come.

But I can tell you what the Bible says. The Bible says that Shemitah years are important, that God takes them seriously, and that He uses them as a time to bless His people and release them from burdens.

Due to war, inflation, persecution, gun violence, heartache and economic turmoil, this year has been an enormously burdensome one for everyone on the planet—including the people of God. I am hopeful that we will find release and rest at some point in the coming months.

If nothing else, I remind you of this: We are in the season of the Lord’s return, and 2022 is a special year.