For the past 2 weeks our Parashat has focused on the Sabbaths, the Sabbath days and the Sabbath years. Our reading this week focuses on the regulations, the blessings and the curses tied to the Sabbath years. The blessings are amazing that we were promised. God promises to send the rains and harvest seasons will overlap. There will never be any form of lack. There will be safety and security in the land. God will remove wild animals and your enemies. You will chase down your enemies and kill them. 5 will chase 100 and 100 will chase 10,000. God will make you fertile and multiply. You will have so much you will need to remove the old to make room for the new. God will live among you and walk with you.

When you refuse to honor the Sabbath God bring curses on you. Notice in all the curses God says 4 times that He will punish you 7 times over your sins. There are levels to the curses. There are 4 levels of curses that God releases. In each series of curses God gives you the opportunity to get thing right and return to Him and follow His Word. Notice there are 7 days in a week. Since you refused to rest and give the land rest God will not give you rest in the curse. You will be cursed 7 times not 6 times. If you look at the curses you will see the compassion God has to bring you back into right standing. The purpose is to break our prideful spirit. God keeps turning up the heat to get your attention. No matter how Hot His anger gets He is faithful to forgive us once we confess our sins and the sins of our ancestors who got us in the mess we are in. He will deliver us from His wrath.

We live in a microwave society today. We do not know how to rest or take time and wait. We are the give it to me now generation. We focus so much on our desires we don’t give glory to the one who gave us the desire. God has a desire to be a part of your life. Take time and slow down. Spend time with the one who created you. Spend time with the ones God has given you. Be in the moment don’t try to manipulate the next moment. Rest is the outward sign of the covenant. People know you belong to God when you honor the Sabbath. How do people know you belong to God?