Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. – Leviticus 26:34

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 10, 2015): Leviticus 26

Probably the biggest damage made by the Judge with his ruling in the “Deflategate” scandal in the National Football League has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not the New England Patriots cheated and played with under inflated footballs. It also has absolutely nothing to do with the judgment that was vacated by the courts in the case of Tom Brady (It is important to note that Brady was not declared to be innocent, just that the NFL had not made its case against the future Hall of Fame Quarterback). The real damage is that now many expect that there will be more of the NFL’s ruling that are going to be brought into the courts for them to handle. Maybe it is just fear talking, but the question seems to be why would any league discipline be accepted when there is a chance that the courts might overturn it? And now we have a legal precedent that we didn’t have before – NFL vs. Tom Brady in “Deflategate.” Get ready for more football to be fought in the courts of law rather than on the field. The major casualty of this fight was the authority of the league to enforce its own rules.

It has been estimated that 123 Sabbath years should have been celebrated between Israel’s arrival in Palestine and the Babylonian Captivity during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. There is no evidence that any of them were actually celebrated. It was as if Israel doubted that God had the authority to actually enforce the laws that he had given to them. They lived their lives as if they believed that there was another power to which they could appeal – one that could, and would, overturn the decrees of God. Most often that other power seems to have been Asherah (the goddess of motherhood and fertility) and Ba’al (the god of the storm). And so Israel ignored much of the Mosaic Law, or at least the portions that they found inconvenient, assuming that it was spoken by a God who did not have the authority to actually follow through.

But this portion of the law would actually turn into a prophecy. Nebuchadnezzar would carry Judah into captivity and he would leave the land in Palestine empty. For the duration of the captivity, the land would remain empty. Those that were left in the land simply lived off of what the land grew naturally. For seventy years the land received it rest. Some have questioned why the land did not receive its full rest – 123 years. But it is likely that the number seventy was symbolic. Seven is the number of perfection. The land did not receive its full rest, but rather its perfect rest.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 27