Shalom!

 
Sometimes we get so fixed on how we can keep the commandments in our particular place of residence, whether that be the USA, Australia, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, or wherever, that we forget that YHWH's plan was to give the Torah to a specific people who were called OUT of Egypt at a specific time and taken to a specific place for a specific reason. The Father's desire was to bless His obedient children in a Land of Promise in a way that was totally out-of-this-world. Any nation witnessing this phenomenon would only be able to give glory to such an Elohim who could shower so much love on His chosen. Who would not desire to be a part of such love?
 
The Torah teaches, however, that the Israelites would not obey, with the result of ejection from the Land of their inheritance and a scattering throughout the earth:
 
Vayikra/Leviticus 26:33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
 
Devarim/Deuteronomy 28:63 "And it shall be, that just as YHWH rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so YHWH will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. 64 " Then YHWH will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known -- wood and stone.
 
 

The author of Chronicles gives details of what this looked like for the Jews:

 
2 Chronicles 36:17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the articles from the house of Elohim, great and small, the treasures of the house of YHWH, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of Elohim, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of YHWH by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
 
So here we are today in our various places of residences, mostly away from the Land of Promise and unable to witness His unbelievable physical provision of grace and mercy that He promised to a unified Israel who would love Him and love each other as they pursued His Torah. Is there any hope for recovering such a utopia? Actually there is. And it's not because of anything we are capable of. Instead, after a time of discipline, He will bring about a restoration:
 
VayikraLeviticus 26:41 ... if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt -- 42 then I will remember My covenant with Ya'acov, and My covenant with Yitzchak and My covenant with Avraham I will remember; I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am YHWH their Elohim. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their Elohim: I am YHWH.' "
 
Both the Sabbatical year (sh'mittah) and the Year of Jubilee were to be continual reminders of the true owner of the Land and the people. The Almighty made it very clear who owns the Promised Land:
 
Vayikra/Leviticus 25:23 ' The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.
 

Not only did He own the Land, but He also declared ownership over the Israelites:

 
Vayikra/Leviticus 25:42 'For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 'You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your Elohim.
 

Thus their Elohim brought them out of a land of slavery and gave them the Torah of freedom. From www.jewelsofjudaism.com:

 
Both the Land of Israel and the children of Israel belong to God. God owns it all and He alone determines how the Land and the people should be treated. The laws regarding the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee were not meant to be a burden to bear but rather a safeguard and a periodic reminder that the God of heaven and earth is watching over His Land and His people. God brought the children of Israel out of a land of slavery to set them free to live a life of freedom. The Israelites were to be like God and to declare His freedom every seventh year and every fiftieth year.
 
It is important to note that the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee are both based on the Israelites entering the Promised Land (25:1). The Land, the Israelites, and the Law of God go hand in hand. According to rabbinical Judaism the practice of the biblical mandate to obey the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee are only enforced when all the people of Israel are living in the Land. This has not occurred for nearly 2700 years, the time of the First Temple, when the ten tribes of Israel were taken into captivity. Since the captivity of Israel and the return of the exiles from Judah, the Sabbatical Year is somewhat followed in the Land of Israel but not fully. The Year of Jubilee has not been observed for the past 2700 years (Lau, Rabbi Israel Meir. Practical Judaism. 1997. p. 147).
 
Mr. Joe Snipes, www.gatestozion.net says it like this:
 
...The reason that these instructions are included here, is because they are about 'holiness'. YHWH is showing that the 'place' where He is bringing Yisrael, is 'The Land' that He Himself has sanctified, 'set apart', to be the home for His people. A HOLY Mighty One, has obtained a HOLY people, and they are to live in a HOLY Land. OUT OF ALL THE EARTH, THERE IS NO HOLIER PLACE THAN THE LAND OF YISRAEL! We have seen this same thing when it came to the days of the week. All of the 'days' are the same, until YHWH chooses ONE day, and sets it apart. Then, that day becomes 'holy', and is 'set apart' from all of the other days of the week. Thus, you have the weekly Shabbat on the seventh day.
 
Even so, ALL of the earth is full of land, and all that land is His. But, out from all the land of the earth, YHWH has chosen THE LAND of Cana'an to be the home for His Am Segulah/Treasured People. This LAND, which YHWH gave to Yisrael in betrothal, is 'other than' all the rest of the land in all the earth. It is holy...'set apart'. As such, it is to be treated in 'distinction' to all other land in the earth.
 
...The LAND of Yisrael is 'Holy Land'. It has been 'set apart' by YHWH for His people, Yisrael. It is the place of destiny to which we are all returning. It is our inheritance. No one has the right to give it away, to apportion it for so-called 'peace efforts'. The United Nations does not. The United States does not. The Palestinians, and Arab elements do not. Even the Yisraeli government does not.
 

Now some of you are asking the question, "Wait, what about the Messiah in all of this?" One of the attachments included this week is a commentary on Be'chukotai by www.jewelsofjudaism.com entitled "The True Prosperity Gospel". The writer raises some valid questions, such as: "Is God's blessing still valid for His people today?" "Does God's Word guarantee great wealth for His people if they walk in His ways?" "What about men and women of faith whom we read about in the Old Testament who suffered greatly from their enemies?" "What about Yeshua's teaching that those who follow after Him would be persecuted?" "What then is the true prosperity Gospel?"

 
The restoration that the Almighty has planned is perfect. Before His ascension, Yeshua's last words to His disciples gave a few clues as to how restoration would happen. What's very interesting, is that the timing of Yeshua's conversation with His disciples on the Hebrew calendar (40 days of the counting of the omer) corresponds with the date we're in today. Note how the restoration will take place by "witnesses of Yeshua" going out to those previously mentioned "ends of the earth":
 
Acts 1:3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Adonai, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
 
 
This year marks the 50th year of Jerusalem's liberation in 1967. Those "ends of the earth" are rising up and coming together to recognize and celebrate Jerusalem. Hayovel has a website (http://jerusalemfifty.com/) where you can find unity with others who declare:
 
Psalm 137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
 

At the website, watch the short video and also sign up to receive many helpful resources for education and celebration!


Shabbat Shalom!

Ardelle