BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

How does a person rest like God rests? In today’s reading, Moses reviews key Sabbath and festival commands that build divine rest into Israel’s calendar. These instructions show that God’s rest includes much more than avoiding labor. For Yahweh, genuine rest compels his people to pursue generosity, freedom, and justice toward all.

Once settled in the promised land, each year is to start with Passover. The Israelites will roast lamb and break unleavened bread together, not only remembering the night God rescued them from slavery but also how he kept them from entering back into bondage. Israel continues to share in that moment, year after year. And that’s not all. As the video explains, the Hebrew word for “remember,” zakar, often refers to attention that inspires action—which is exactly what we find in today’s reading. In memory of their life in bondage, the Israelites must set their slaves free every seven years.

Several months after Passover, the harvest festival comes, where the people spend seven weeks reaping grain from the fields. Then comes the Feast of Weeks, where the people gather to celebrate God’s generous provision. And then, every seventh year, the Israelites will show the same generosity to others by cancelling all debts throughout the land.

Yahweh’s rest creates a radical new community—one that intends to end grinding poverty, snowballing debt, and dehumanizing slavery. When God’s people embrace the way of Sabbath rest according to God’s instruction, the result is joy and blessing for everyone.

Reflection Questions

• Deuteronomy 15-16 corresponds to the fourth commandment. What have you learned about honoring God’s Sabbath rest from the laws in today’s reading?
• In Deuteronomy 15:9, Moses warns the Israelites not to show ill will toward the needy. The Hebrew phrase here literally warns against having a “bad eye,” a metaphor for being stingy. How does this figure of speech—and the laws around it—help you understand Jesus’ teaching about having a good eye in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:19-24)?