The Open Field Shemitah: Part 2. The Torah Encloses the Open Field Shemitah

 The Open Field Shemitah did not begin at Mount Sinai.

Long before the Torah was spoken, we saw Yahuah providing in Eden, preserving Noah, blessing Melchitsedeq, calling Abraham by faith, multiplying Isaac's harvest during famine, and increasing Jacob's flocks despite human opposition.

The Open Field Shemitah was already alive.

So why then did Yahuah give YasharEL commandments concerning the land?

Was He creating something new?

Or was He revealing, protecting, and teaching a heavenly pattern that His people had already witnessed through the patriarchs?

To answer that question, we must begin before the covenant at Sinai was ratified, while YasharEL was still in the wilderness.

1. Manna — The First National Lesson in the Open Field Shemitah

Before Leviticus...

Before the Shemitah legislation...

Before YasharEL ever entered the Promised Land...

Yahuah gave His people a living demonstration of the Open Field Shemitah.

It came from heaven.

Not from the soil.

Not from their labour.

Not from Egypt.

Bread From Heaven

Exodus 16:4 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “See, I am raining bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not. 

Notice the language.

Yahuah does not ask YasharEL to sow.

He does not ask them to reap.

He does not ask them to cultivate fields.

He simply says,

"I will rain bread from heaven."

This immediately reminds us of Eden.

Provision before human cultivation.

It also echoes Abraham on Moriah.

Yahuah Himself provides.

The Open Field Shemitah has always begun with heavenly provision before human effort.

Gather, But Do Not Hoard

Yahuah then gives a remarkable command.

Exodus 16:16–18

Exo 16:16  “This is the word which יהוה has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, an omer for each being, according to the number of beings. Let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ” 

Exo 16:17  And the children of Yisra’ěl did so and gathered, some more, some less. 

Exo 16:18  And they measured it by omers, and he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered according to his need. 

No one was permitted to accumulate excess as a safeguard against tomorrow.

This was not because Yahuah opposed work.

They still had to rise early, go out, and gather.

The lesson was different.

Gather today's provision.

Trust Yahuah for tomorrow's.

The Open Field Shemitah does not encourage idleness.

It teaches dependence.

The people participate in receiving what Yahuah has already provided.

The Failure to Trust

Some ignored Yahuah's command.

Exodus 16:20 And they did not listen to Mosheh, so some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Mosheh was wroth with them. 

Fear produced hoarding.

Hoarding revealed unbelief.

YasharEL attempted to secure tomorrow by human planning instead of trusting Yahuah's daily faithfulness.

The manna became a test of the heart.

Would they trust the Giver?

Or would they trust their own stored resources?

The Sixth Day

Then Yahuah introduced another pattern.

Exodus 16:22–26

Exo 16:22  And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mosheh. 

Exo 16:23  And he said to them, “This is what יהוה has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה. That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ” 

Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did not stink, and no worm was in it. 

Exo 16:25  And Mosheh said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to יהוה, today you do not find it in the field. 

Exo 16:26  “Gather it six days, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there is none.” 

The extra portion did not spoil.

Why?

Because Yahuah blessed it.

Notice the contrast.

Extra manna kept on an ordinary day rotted.

Extra manna gathered in obedience remained fresh.

The difference was never the manna itself.

The difference was obedience to Yahuah's word.

Blessing follows covenant trust.

The Seventh Day

On the seventh day they were not to gather.

Yet they lacked nothing.

This becomes the first national lesson that provision continues even when human labour ceases.

The people lived because Yahuah sustained them.

The Open Field Shemitah is therefore introduced before the formal legislation of Leviticus 25.

The principle comes first.

The command follows.

Yahusha Reveals the Greater Manna

The wilderness manna was never the final reality.

Yahusha later declared:

John 6:31–35

Joh 6:31  “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it has been written, ‘He gave them bread out of the heaven to eat.’ ” 

Joh 6:32  Therefore יהושע said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Mosheh did not give you the bread out of the heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out of the heaven. 

Joh 6:33  “For the bread of Elohim is He who comes down out of the heaven and gives life to the world.” 

Joh 6:34  So they said to Him, “Master, give us this bread always.” 

Joh 6:35  And יהושע said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not get hungry at all, and he who believes in Me shall not get thirsty at all. 

I am the bread of life."

The manna pointed beyond itself.

Just as the Open Field Shemitah points beyond agriculture.

The true provision is not merely bread.

It is the Mashiyach Himself.

He is the Bread that comes from heaven.

As Israel gathered manna each morning in dependence upon Yahuah, so the disciple receives daily life through Yahusha.

The wilderness becomes a prophetic classroom, preparing YasharEL to understand that every form of true provision ultimately descends from heaven.

Deduction

The Torah does not begin by teaching YasharEL how to farm.

It begins by teaching them how to trust.

Before YasharEL receives laws about fields, vineyards, harvests, or the seventh year, they spend forty years living from bread that no human hand planted.

The Open Field Shemitah is therefore first written upon the heart before it is written into legislation.

The manna teaches that life is sustained, not by human control, but by the faithful provision of Yahuah.

The Shemitah Pattern Was Embedded Before the Commandment

Before Yahuah ever commanded the seventh-year Shemitah in Leviticus 25, He had already embedded its pattern in the manna.

The Open Field Shemitah was first demonstrated before it was legislated.

Yahuah did not simply feed YasharEL.

He taught them the rhythm of covenant trust.

For six days the people were commanded to gather manna.

Exodus 16:4 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “See, I am raining bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not. 

Even before Sinai, the manna became a test of whether YasharEL would walk in His Torah.

The First Five Days

During the first five days, every household gathered only enough for that day.

If anyone attempted to preserve it overnight,

Exodus 16:20 And they did not listen to Mosheh, so some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Mosheh was wroth with them. 

Why?

Because Yahuah would not allow tomorrow's provision to become today's security.

Every morning required fresh dependence.

Every morning required faith.

The Open Field Shemitah teaches that provision is received daily from Yahuah rather than secured by human control. 

The Sixth Day

Then something remarkable happened.

Exodus 16:22–24

Exo 16:22  And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mosheh. 

Exo 16:23  And he said to them, “This is what יהוה has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה. That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ” 

Exo 16:24  And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did not stink, and no worm was in it.

This time, the manna did not breed worms.

It did not stink.

Nothing in the manna itself had changed.

What changed was the blessing of Yahuah.

The sixth day's provision already contained the sustenance for the seventh day.

Yahuah embedded the Shemitah principle into the manna before He ever wrote it into the Torah.

The blessing for the day of rest was prepared in advance.

This anticipates the promise of the land:

Leviticus 25:21 "Then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years."

The pattern is identical.

In both the wilderness and the land, the increase comes from Yahuah's commanded blessing rather than from additional human labour.

The Open Field Shemitah is therefore revealed first in the wilderness and later legislated in the land.

Men Ate the Bread of Heaven

Asaph later reflects upon the manna:

Psalm 78:24–25

Psa 78:24  And He rained down manna on them to eat, And He gave them the grain of the heavens. 

Psa 78:25  Men ate bread of the mighty; He sent them provisions to satisfaction.  (Many English translations render this "angels' food.")

The Hebrew expression is לחם אבירים (lechem abbirim), literally "bread of the mighty" or "bread of the powerful." The text itself does not explicitly say "messengers" (malakhim), since that word is not used here. The traditional rendering "angels' food" is an interpretive translation rather than the literal Hebrew.

Within this study, however, the emphasis is not on the identity of those who eat the bread but on the nature of the bread itself.

It is heavenly provision.

It does not originate from the earth.

It descends from above.

The Two Responses

Here the covenant distinction can be developed.

The same manna was given to everyone.

Yet it revealed two different hearts.

One heart attempted to preserve life through human control.

The other trusted Yahuah's daily provision.

Within the framework of this study, these become two ways of approaching the covenant.

The Legal Shemitah seeks security through human effort while observing the outward command.

The Open Field Shemitah rests in the blessing that Yahuah has already prepared.

The difference is not the manna.

The difference is the heart that receives it.

Fulfilled in Yahusha

Yahusha later declared:

John 6:32–35

Joh 6:32  Therefore יהושע said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Mosheh did not give you the bread out of the heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out of the heaven. 

Joh 6:33  “For the bread of Elohim is He who comes down out of the heaven and gives life to the world.” 

Joh 6:34  So they said to Him, “Master, give us this bread always.” 

Joh 6:35  And יהושע said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not get hungry at all, and he who believes in Me shall not get thirsty at all. 

The manna was never the destination.

It was the pattern.

As the sixth day's manna contained Yahuah's blessing for the day of rest, so Yahusha embodies the fullness of Yahuah's provision for His covenant people.

The Open Field Shemitah reaches its fulfilment in Him.

He is the Bread from heaven.

He is the commanded blessing.

He is the provision prepared beforehand.

Those who receive Him by faith enter the true rest—not by adding human work to secure life, but by trusting the provision that Yahuah has already given.

2. The Land Already Belonged to Yahuah

Before YasharEL entered the land...

Before they sowed their first seed...

Before they planted their first vineyard...

Yahuah established one unchanging truth.

The land never belonged to YasharEL.

They would possess it.

They would cultivate it.

They would inherit it.

But they would never own it.

This truth is the foundation upon which the Open Field Shemitah rests.

The Land Is Mine

When Yahuah later gave the Shemitah legislation, He declared:

Leviticus 25:23

"The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me."

This is one of the most important covenant declarations in the Torah "the land is Mine".

YasharEL are not owners.

They are covenant stewards.

The Open Field Shemitah begins with ownership.

If the field belongs to Yahuah...

then its increase belongs to Yahuah.

Its harvest belongs to Yahuah.

Its rest belongs to Yahuah.

Man cannot claim absolute ownership over what already belongs to Elohim.

The Garden Was Never Adam's

This principle did not begin with Mosheh.

It began in Eden.

Adam was placed in the garden.

He was commanded to guard it and serve it.

But nowhere is he told,

"This garden is yours."

The Creator remained the Owner.

Adam was the steward.

Leviticus is therefore restoring an Edenic principle.

The Torah does not create divine ownership.

It declares what has always been true.

Abraham Never Owned the Land

Abraham walked through the land.

Isaac dwelt in the land.

Jacob journeyed through the land.

Yet all three lived as sojourners.

Even after the covenant promises, Abraham confessed:

Genesis 23:4  “I am a foreigner and a sojourner among you. Give me property for a burial-site among you, so that I bury my dead from my presence.” 

The patriarchs understood something that later generations often forgot.

The inheritance is received by promise.

The ownership remains with Yahuah.

The Open Field Cannot Be Closed by Ownership

When man believes,

"This is my field."

"My vineyard."

"My increase."

"My harvest."

The heart begins to close what Yahuah intended to remain open.

The Open Field Shemitah continually reminds the covenant people that every harvest is received, not possessed.

Every increase is a gift, not an entitlement.

Every field remains under the authority of its true Owner.

Messiah Reveals the Same Truth

Yahusha repeatedly taught that mankind are stewards rather than owners.

In the parable of the wicked husbandmen,

Matthew 21:33

"There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard..."

The vineyard belonged to the owner.

Others merely worked in it.

When they acted as though the vineyard belonged to them, they rejected the owner's son.

The problem was never agriculture.

The problem was ownership.

The same warning applies to every generation.

The Open Field Shemitah calls the covenant people back to recognizing Yahuah as the true Owner of everything entrusted to them.

Deduction

The Torah begins by correcting the human heart.

The question is not,

"How should I use my land?"

The first question is,

"Whose land is it?"

Only when YasharEL acknowledges that the land belongs to Yahuah can the commandments concerning the Shemitah be properly understood.

The Open Field Shemitah therefore begins, not with rest, but with ownership.

The field is open because it belongs to Yahuah.

The harvest is shared because it belongs to Yahuah.

The blessing continues because it belongs to Yahuah.

Everything begins with the covenant declaration:

"The land is Mine."

3. The Seventh Year — The Torah Encloses the Open Field Shemitah

Having established that the land belongs to Yahuah, the Torah now reveals how His people are to live upon His land.

The Shemitah was never merely an agricultural practice.

It was a covenant proclamation.

Every seventh year, YasharEL was required to publicly confess that the land, its increase, and their very lives depended upon Yahuah alone.

The Open Field Shemitah was now written into the life of the nation.

The Land Must Keep a Sabbath

Leviticus 25:1–4

Lev 25:1  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh on Mount Sinai, saying, 

Lev 25:2  “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall observe a Sabbath to יהוה. 

Lev 25:3  ‘Six years you sow your field, and six years you prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit, 

Lev 25:4  but in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to יהוה. Do not sow your field and do not prune your vineyard. 

Yahuah does not merely command the people to rest.

The land itself is commanded to keep a Sabbath.

Why?

Because the land belongs to Him.

The field is not simply soil.

It is covenant ground.

Just as mankind rests every seventh day, the land also rests every seventh year.

Creation itself participates in Yahuah's rhythm. 

You Shall Not Sow

Yahuah continues,

Leviticus 25:4–5

"...you shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard.

That which grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap..."

This command appears strange.

The land is producing.

Yet the owner is forbidden from treating that spontaneous growth as his private harvest.

Why?

Because during the Shemitah, the field is no longer functioning as a private possession.

It openly declares that the increase belongs to Yahuah.

The Open Field Shemitah is revealed.

The field remains productive.

But human ownership is restrained.

What Grows of Itself

The Torah does not say the land becomes barren.

Quite the opposite.

Something still grows.

Leviticus 25:5

"That which grows of itself..."

The Hebrew is significant.

The land continues to produce without deliberate cultivation.

Yahuah demonstrates that His provision is not limited to human labour.

The Open Field Shemitah does not deny work during the six years.

Rather, every seventh year it reminds YasharEL that life ultimately comes from Yahuah, not from relentless human effort.

The field itself becomes a living testimony that the Creator can sustain His people.

The Field Is Open

Then comes one of the most beautiful commands in the Torah.

Lev 25:6  ‘And the Sabbath of the land shall be to you for food, for you and your servant, and for your female servant and your hired servant, and for the stranger who sojourns with you, 

Lev 25:7  and for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land. All its crops are for food. 

Notice what disappears:

• Owner.
• Servant.
• Foreigner.
• Poor.
• Livestock.
• Wild animals.

All receive from the same field.

For one year, the field visibly proclaims the generosity of Yahuah.

This is why I believe the expression Open Field Shemitah captures the heart of the command. 

 The field is no longer functioning as an enclosed source of private gain.

It stands open under Yahuah's ownership so that all may receive according to His provision.

A Foretaste of the Kingdom

This command reaches beyond agriculture.

The Open Field Shemitah gives YasharEL a glimpse of Yahuah's Kingdom.

Provision flows outward.

The strong and the weak eat.

The wealthy and the poor eat.

Even the beasts of the field are remembered.

The land reflects the character of its Owner.

Yahuah's blessing is never intended to terminate upon one person.

It overflows to others.

Fulfilled in Yahusha

Yahusha continually embodied this same pattern.

• He fed the hungry.
• He welcomed the outcast.
• He ate with tax collectors and sinners.

He declared:

Matthew 11:28

"Come unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

The Shemitah offered rest to the land.

Yahusha offers rest to the weary.

The Open Field Shemitah finds its fullest expression in Mashiyach, where divine provision is no longer confined to one nation or one harvest but is opened to all who come to Him in faith.

Deduction

The seventh-year command is not merely about ceasing from labour.

It is a covenant proclamation.

The land belongs to Yahuah.

The increase belongs to Yahuah.

The harvest belongs to Yahuah.

Therefore, the field is opened under His authority so that His provision may be shared.

The Torah did not create the Open Field Shemitah.

It enclosed it within the covenant life of YasharEL, so that every seventh year the nation would remember what the patriarchs had already learned:

Yahuah alone is the Provider.

4. Gleaning — The Open Field Never Closed

After revealing the Shemitah, the Torah immediately shows that Yahuah never intended the field to become completely private.

Even during the six working years, He deliberately left part of every harvest outside human ownership.

The Open Field Shemitah was therefore not limited to every seventh year.

Its spirit was woven into every harvest.

Leave the Corners

Leviticus 19:9–10

Lev 19:9  ‘And when you reap the harvest of your land, do not completely reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 

Lev 19:10  ‘And do not glean your vineyard or gather every grape of your vineyard, leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am יהוה your Elohim. 

Notice what Yahuah does not say.

He does not command charity after the harvest.

He commands restraint during the harvest.

The owner is forbidden from taking everything.

The corners remain open.

The gleanings remain untouched.

The forgotten belongs to someone else.

The field itself becomes a testimony that provision belongs first to Yahuah.

Ownership Has Limits

The owner planted.

The owner laboured.

The owner harvested.

Yet the owner could not claim every stalk.

Why?

Because ownership under the covenant was never absolute.

The Open Field Shemitah teaches that every harvest already contains Yahuah's portion for others.

The poor do not receive leftovers.

They receive what Yahuah reserved for them before the harvest even began.

Messiah Reveals the Greater Harvest

Yahusha later says,

John 4:35

"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

The field is no longer merely agricultural.

It becomes the world ready for the harvest of the Kingdom.

The same Elohim who left grain for the poor now opens salvation to all nations through Mashiyach.

The Open Field Shemitah reaches beyond wheat and barley.

It becomes the open invitation of the Kingdom.

Deduction

The gleaning laws reveal that the Open Field Shemitah was never confined to one year in seven.

Even during ordinary harvests, Yahuah prevented the complete enclosure of the field.

Every harvest contained an opening.

Every field proclaimed mercy.

Every owner was reminded that he possessed only because Yahuah had first given.

5. Boaz — The Open Field Shemitah in Action

The Torah commanded that the corners of the field should remain open.

The Book of Ruth shows us what that command looked like when lived by a covenant man.

Boaz did not invent generosity.

He obeyed Yahuah.

His field became a living testimony that the Open Field Shemitah was more than a command—it was the character of Yahuah expressed through His people.

Ruth Enters the Field

Ruth 2:2 And Ruth, the Mo’aḇitess, said to Na‛omi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose eyes I find favour.” So she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

The field remains open because Yahuah had already made provision through His Torah.

Before Ruth ever arrived, Yahuah had already prepared a place for her.

By "Chance"

Scripture says something remarkable.

Ruth 2:3 And she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. As it turned out, she came to the part of the field belonging to Bo‛az, the near relative of Elimeleḵ. 

To human eyes, it appears to be chance.

But the covenant reader knows there is no chance.

Yahuah was directing every step.

Boaz Goes Beyond the Letter

Boaz does more than simply obey the gleaning laws.

He enlarges them.

Ruth 2:8–9

Rth 2:8  And Bo‛az said to Ruth, “You have heard, have you not, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close to my young women. 

Rth 2:9  “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and you shall go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 

The Torah required that Ruth be allowed to glean.

Boaz gives her protection.

Water.

Belonging.

Rest.

He reveals the heart behind the commandment.

The Open Field Shemitah is not satisfied with the minimum requirement.

It delights in abundant mercy.

Leave Handfuls on Purpose

Then Boaz gives an astonishing instruction.

Ruth 2:15–16

Rth 2:15  And she rose up to glean, and Bo‛az commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not embarrass her. 

Rth 2:16  “Rather, draw out from the bundles for her, and leave it for her to glean, and do not restrain her.” 

This is one of the clearest pictures of the Open Field Shemitah.

The workers are told to let grain fall intentionally.

Provision is no longer accidental.

It becomes deliberate grace.

Boaz Did Not Enclose the Harvest

Boaz harvested his field according to the Torah.

Yet Scripture never presents him as enclosing his abundance behind barns.

Instead, the harvest remained in the field, where the reapers, the gleaners, and Ruth all participated in Yahuah's provision.

• The field remained open.
• The poor entered.
• The stranger entered.
• Provision remained visible.

Boaz understood that the increase had come from Yahuah.

Therefore, the increase remained under Yahuah's covenant purpose.

The Open Field Shemitah was not merely about allowing Ruth to glean.

It was about refusing to turn Yahuah's blessing into private security.

The Rich Man Closed What Yahuah Had Opened

Yahusha later tells a striking parable.

Luke 12:16–19

Luk 12:16  He then spoke a parable to them, saying, “The land of a certain rich man yielded well. 

Luk 12:17  “And he was reasoning within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, because I have no room to store my crops?’ 

Luk 12:18  “And he said, ‘I am going to do this: pull down my storehouses and build greater, and store all my crops and my goods there, 

Luk 12:19  then say to myself, “Life, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, rejoice.” ’ 

Notice carefully.

Yahusha does not say the man made the ground fruitful.

He says,

"The ground... brought forth plentifully."

The increase originated in the blessing of Yahuah.

Yet the rich man never acknowledges the Giver.

Instead he reasons within himself,

"I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I store all my grain and my goods."

His first instinct is not gratitude.

• It is enclosure.
• Not sharing.
• But storing.
• Not trusting.
• But securing.

Not dependence upon Yahuah.

But dependence upon accumulated abundance.

The Open Field becomes enclosed.

The Shemitah spirit disappears.

The barn replaces the field.

Then Yahuah says,

Luke 12:20

"You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you..."

The judgment does not fall because he was wealthy.

It falls because he trusted the storehouse instead of the Provider.

His security rested in enclosed abundance rather than in Yahuah.

The land owner is Yahuah and hence the rich man usurping His Torah, his soul will be required of him.

The Temple Storehouses

The Torah provided storehouses for the tithes and offerings connected with the ministry of the Tabernacle and later the Temple.

Those storehouses existed to support worship, the Levites, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

They were never intended to become symbols of hoarding or exclusion.

When the stewardship of Yahuah's gifts became detached from mercy, the purpose of those provisions was distorted.

The issue was never the existence of storehouses.

The issue was whether what belonged to Yahuah continued to serve His covenant purposes.

David and the Bread of the Presence

This principle appears clearly in the account of David.

1 Samuel 21:3–6

1Sa 21:3  “And now, what do you have on hand? Give five loaves into my hand, or whatever is found.” 

1Sa 21:4  And the priest answered Dawiḏ and said, “There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is set-apart bread – provided the young men have kept themselves from women.” 

1Sa 21:5  And Dawiḏ answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are set-apart, and it is an ordinary mission, and also, it was set-apart in the vessel today.” 

1Sa 21:6  Then the priest gave him set-apart bread, for there was no bread there except the showbread which had been taken from before יהוה, in order to put hot bread in on the day it is taken away. 

1Sa 21:7  Now one of the servants of Sha’ul was there that day, detained before יהוה. And his name was Do’ěḡ, an Eḏomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Sha’ul. 

David and his men were hungry.

Ahimelek the priest questioned David regarding ceremonial purity.

After establishing that requirement, he gave David the Bread of the Presence.

The bread had been set apart.

Yet preserving life took precedence over a rigid application of the regulation.

Yahusha Himself appeals to this account.

Matthew 12:3–4

Mat 12:3  But He said to them, “Have you not read what Dawiḏ did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 

Mat 12:4  how he went into the House of Elohim and ate the showbread which was not right for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

Yahusha does not condemn the priest.

Neither does He condemn David.

Instead, He exposes a legal approach that had forgotten the purpose of the Torah.

The Torah was never given to prevent mercy.

The Open Field Shemitah reveals the heart of Yahuah.

His provision is always directed toward life.

The Rich Man and Elazar

Yahusha presents another picture.

A rich man feasts every day.

At his gate lies Elazar.

Luke 16:20–21

Luk 16:20  “And there was a certain beggar named El‛azar, being covered with sores, who was placed at his gate, 

Luk 16:21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Indeed, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 

Notice the contrast.

Boaz deliberately instructed his servants,

"Let fall also some of the handfuls on purpose..."

The rich man allows nothing to fall.

Boaz opens his field.

The rich man closes his table.

Ruth finds covenant mercy in an open field.

Elazar finds exclusion before an enclosed house.

Within the framework of this study, this becomes a striking contrast.

The Open Field Shemitah intentionally leaves provision for the needy.

The enclosed heart withholds even crumbs.

The issue is not wealth.

The issue is covenant faithfulness expressed through mercy.

Deduction

Boaz understood that the harvest belonged to Yahuah.

Therefore, he left the field open.

The rich man enclosed Yahuah's increase within barns.

The rich man enclosed his table against Elazar.

The priest Ahimelek understood that preserving life reflected the heart of the Torah.

Yahusha repeatedly exposed every system that enclosed what Yahuah had opened.

The Open Field Shemitah is therefore not merely an agricultural command.

It is the revelation of Yahuah's own character.

His blessings are given to sustain life, extend mercy, and reveal His Kingdom.

Whenever mankind encloses what Yahuah has opened, the covenant gives way to legalism.

Whenever Yahuah's provision remains open to those whom He invites, the Open Field Shemitah is fulfilled in its true purpose.

6. Eliyahu — The Open Field Shemitah Beyond the Field

After the days of Boaz, YasharEL gradually turned from trusting Yahuah to trusting Baʽal.

Baʽal was worshipped as the giver of rain, fertility, grain, wine and oil.

The drought announced through Eliyahu was therefore more than a punishment.

It was a covenant confrontation.

Would life come from Baʽal...

or from Yahuah?

The Open Field Shemitah now moves beyond cultivated fields and demonstrates that all provision has always come from Yahuah alone.

The Heavens Are Shut

1 Kings 17:1 And Ěliyahu the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gil‛aḏ, said to Aḥaḇ, “As יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ěl lives, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew or rain these years, except at my word.” 

Without rain...

• there can be no harvest.
• No grain.
• No vineyards.
• No olive trees.

The entire agricultural system collapses.

If the Open Field Shemitah depended only upon the field...it would now end.

Instead...this is where it shines most brightly.

Go to the Brook Kerith

Yahuah commands Eliyahu:

1 Kings 17:2–4

1Ki 17:2  And the word of יהוה came to him, saying, 

1Ki 17:3  “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the wadi Kerith, which flows into the Yarděn. 

1Ki 17:4  “And it shall be that you drink from the stream, and I shall command the ravens to feed you there.” 

Notice again.

• Eliyahu does not sow.
• He does not reap.
• He does not store.
• He simply obeys.

The provision is already prepared.

Just as Abraham found the ram already provided...

Just as YasharEL found manna already prepared...

Eliyahu discovers that Yahuah has already appointed provision.

The Open Field Shemitah always begins with obedience.

The Orevim

The Hebrew text reads:

הָעֹרְבִים (ha'orevim)

Traditionally this is translated as "the ravens."

The orevim may refer to the ʽOverim/Arabs, emphasizing that Yahuah can appoint unexpected people outside YasharEL as instruments of His provision.

• Yahuah is not limited by expected channels.
• He appoints whom He wills.
• Provision comes from His command.
• Not from the status of the provider.

The Brook Dries Up

Then something unexpected happens.

1 Kings 17:7 "And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up..."

The very brook that Yahuah had appointed now dries.

Was Yahuah's provision finished?

No.

The source changed.

The Provider did not.

This is a profound lesson.

The Open Field Shemitah never rests in the means.

It rests in Yahuah.

When one stream ends...

He has already prepared another.

Faith must follow the voice of Yahuah rather than cling to yesterday's provision.

Go to Tsarephath

Yahuah now says:

1 Kings 17:8–9

1Ki 17:8  Then the word of יהוה came to him, saying, 

1Ki 17:9  “Rise up, go to Tsarephath, which belongs to Tsiḏon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”

Notice the pattern.

First the `orevim.

Now a widow.

Neither appears to be an obvious source of provision.

Yet Yahuah had already commanded both.

The Open Field Shemitah continually overturns human expectations.

Yahuah delights in providing through those whom the world considers unlikely.

A Handful of Flour

When Eliyahu arrives, the widow says:

1 Kings 17:12 And she said, “As יהוה your Elohim lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar. And see, I am gathering a couple of sticks and shall go in and prepare it for myself and my son, and we shall eat it, and die.” 

Give to Me First

Eliyahu replies:

1 Kings 17:13–14

1Ki 17:13  And Ěliyah said to her, “Do not fear, go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me. And afterward make some for yourself and your son. 

1Ki 17:14  “For thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ěl, ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor the jar of oil run dry, until the day יהוה sends rain on the earth.’

It is a call to trust the word of Yahuah before visible resources.

Just as the sixth day's manna already contained the seventh day's provision...

the little that remained in the widow's house already contained tomorrow's sustenance because Yahuah had spoken. While Yahuah said He had commanded a woman to sustain him,

Who Sustained Whom

Yahuah says:

1 Kings 17:9

"Arise, go to Tsarephath... behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you."

Yet when EliYahu arrives, the widow says:

1 Kings 17:12

"I have only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse... we shall eat it, and die."

How can Yahuah say she has been commanded to sustain EliYahu when she herself believes she is preparing her final meal?

Yahuah Saw What the Widow Could Not Yet See

The widow measured her resources.

Yahuah measured His provision.

She saw one final meal.

Yahuah saw an inexhaustible supply already attached to His word.

The Open Field Shemitah never begins with visible abundance.

It begins with the spoken word of Yahuah.

Just as the sixth day's manna already contained the blessing for the seventh day, the handful of flour already contained many days of provision—not because of its quantity, but because Yahuah had attached His blessing to it.

The command preceded the miracle.

Why Tsarephath?

Yahusha Himself draws attention to this account.

Luke 4:25–26

Luk 4:25  “But truly I say to you, many widows were in Yisra’ěl in the days of Ěliyahu, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a great scarcity of food in all the land, 

Luk 4:26  and Ěliyahu was sent to none of them, but to Tsarephath of Tsiḏon, to a woman, a widow. 

This statement enraged those listening.

Why?

Because Yahusha declared that Yahuah's covenant mercy was demonstrated outside YasharEL while many within YasharEL remained in unbelief.

The issue was never ethnicity alone.

The issue was faith.

Yahuah sent His prophet where His word would be received.

Those in the synagogue understood the implication, which is why they attempted to throw Yahusha down the cliff (Luke 4:28–29).

A Widow Indeed

Connection with Shaul's teaching is worth exploring.

Shaul writes:

1 Timothy 5:5 "Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in Elohim, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day."

In its immediate context, Shaul is instructing the assembly about supporting widows who are truly alone and whose hope is in Elohim. He is not directly commenting on the widow of Tsarephath.

However, there is an interesting theological parallel.

The widow of Tsarephath is:

• truly destitute,
• without visible provision,
• yet she entrusts her final meal to the word of Yahuah spoken through EliYahu.

Within the Open Field Shemitah framework, she becomes an example of someone whose hope is not ultimately in the contents of the jar but in the faithfulness of Yahuah.

Her Last Meal Became Her First Meal

This is perhaps the greatest irony in the narrative.

She believed she was preparing the last meal before death.

Yahuah transformed it into the first meal of continual provision.

The final loaf became the beginning of an unending supply.

That pattern echoes throughout Scripture.

• Abraham offers Isaac and receives him back by Yahuah's provision.
• YasharEL enters the wilderness expecting death and receives manna.
• The widow prepares for death and receives life.
• Later, Yahusha takes five loaves, gives thanks, breaks them, and they become sufficient for the multitude.

The Open Field Shemitah repeatedly overturns human calculations.

Where mankind sees the end, Yahuah reveals the beginning.

Where mankind counts scarcity, Yahuah speaks abundance.

Where mankind prepares for death, Yahuah prepares life.

7. Hezekiah's Recovery, the Heavenly Sign and the Deliverance from Ashshur

Although the accounts place the destruction of the Assyrian army before Hezekiah's sickness, the narrative itself reveals that Hezekiah's sickness preceded the deliverance from Ashshur.

When Hezekiah lay under the sentence of death, Yeshayahu declared:

Isaiah 38:5–6

Isa 38:5  “Go and say to Ḥizqiyahu, ‘Thus said יהוה, the Elohim of Dawiḏ your father, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. See, I am adding fifteen years to your days. 

Isa 38:6  “And out of the hand of the sovereign of Ashshur I shall deliver you and this city, and protect this city.” ’ 

The promise of healing and the promise of deliverance were given together.

Before Yahuah destroyed the Assyrian army, He first reversed the sentence of death upon Hezekiah.

Hezekiah then requested a sign.

Yahuah caused the shadow upon the steps of Ahaz to move backward.

The heavenly sign revealed that Yahuah is Master over time itself.

He is not governed by the order of creation.

He governs it.

The One who can reverse the shadow can also reverse death, preserve His covenant people and govern the appointed times that He Himself established.

The Two Years of Spontaneous Increase

After promising deliverance from Ashshur, Yahuah gave another sign.

Isaiah 37:30  “And this shall be the sign for you: This year you eat such as grows of itself, and the second year what springs from that, and in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

2 Kings 19:29 "You shall eat this year that which grows of itself; and the second year that which springs from the same; and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit."

The Assyrian siege prevented normal cultivation.

The people could neither sow nor harvest.

Yet Yahuah did not merely preserve them.

He caused the land to provide for two successive years through spontaneous increase.

When this passage is read alongside the legislation of Leviticus 25, the pattern becomes evident.

It cannot be Years 5–6–7, because Years 6 and 7 already contain Yahuah's promised provision. Two extraordinary years of spontaneous increase would add nothing distinctive.

It cannot begin with Year 1, because after the seventh-year rest the Torah already provides for eating from the previous increase while sowing resumes.

This leaves the working years of the cycle—Years 2, 3 or 4—as the setting in which the siege most naturally fits.

Under this pattern, two ordinary working years functioned as Shemitah years.

The people did not cultivate the land.

They lived from what grew of itself.

Yahuah inserted the Open Field Shemitah into ordinary years because His people were unable to labour.

The heavenly sign demonstrated His authority over time.

The earthly sign demonstrated His authority over the covenant cycles.

The same Elohim who reversed the shadow also caused ordinary years to function as years of divine increase.

The Eschatological Pattern Concealed in Hezekiah

The account extends beyond the historical deliverance of Yerushalayim. It reveals the transcendent Yahuah as immanent in creation as the two 7's are brought near. 

A prophetic pattern emerges:

• Yerushalayim is surrounded.
• Human labour ceases.
• The remnant survives by the direct provision of Yahuah.
• Heaven intervenes against the enemy.

Life continues because Yahuah Himself sustains His people.

The Open Field Shemitah appears in the midst of national crisis.

The harvest no longer depends upon human effort.

It depends entirely upon the spoken Word and provision of Yahuah.

The siege becomes the setting in which Yahuah reveals that His covenant provision cannot be stopped by earthly armies.

The Pattern of Creation and the Great Shemitah

The pattern reaches back to creation itself.

Yahuah created the heavens and the earth in seven days.

Man was created on the sixth day.

Before man existed, Yahuah had already prepared the earth.

Genesis declares that no rain had yet fallen because Yahuah had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground.

Instead, a mist arose from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

• Yahuah planted the garden.
• Yahuah caused every tree to grow.
• Yahuah prepared every provision before placing mankind within it.
• Yahuah was the first Husbandman.
• The first Seed Planter.
• The first Giver of increase.

Man entered a prepared creation.

He laboured only after receiving what Yahuah had already established.

The same pattern unfolds throughout Scripture.

Creation reveals Yahuah preparing before mankind labours.

The wilderness reveals Yahuah giving manna before YasharEL can cultivate.

The Shemitah reveals the land resting while Yahuah provides.

Hezekiah reveals Yahuah causing the land to sustain His people during siege without cultivation.

The consummation reveals the final harvest belonging entirely to Yahuah.

The recurring pattern reveals that the increase has always belonged to Him.

The Convergence of the Two Sevens

The two prophetic sevens ultimately converge into a single covenant pattern.

The first seven is established at creation.

Yahuah completed His works in six days and sanctified the seventh.

Before man was formed, Yahuah had already prepared the earth. He planted the garden, caused every tree to grow, watered the ground and prepared every provision before placing man within it. Man entered a completed work rather than an unfinished creation.

The Open Field Shemitah is therefore first revealed in Eden. Yahuah Himself was the Provider, the Planter and the Giver of increase. Man received before he laboured.

Yet mankind did not remain within that order.

After the transgression, Adam was expelled from the garden.

"Therefore Yahuah Elohim sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." (Genesis 3:23)

The ground that had once yielded under the direct provision of Yahuah now required labour, sweat and toil. The loss of Eden marked the loss of the Open Field order, replacing divine provision with the burden of fallen labour.

The second seven unfolds through redemptive history.

As Kepha declares: "One day is with Yahuah as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

The seven days of creation therefore correspond to one great Day of Yahuah, extending through seven thousand years until creation reaches its appointed consummation. What began in Eden moves toward its restoration, as the final Sabbath brings creation into the rest that was set apart from the beginning.

Throughout this great Day, the Open Field Shemitah continues to appear as a witness that Yahuah alone gives increase.

It is seen before the Torah through Yoseph.

It is legislated within the Torah through the covenant ordinances.

It is preserved during famine through EliYahu.

It breaks into ordinary years during the days of Hezekiah.

It is proclaimed openly by Yahusha Mashiyach.

It reaches its consummation in the final harvest revealed to John.

These two sevens are not isolated patterns. The weekly creation cycle and the unfolding history of mankind mirror one another, both moving toward the same appointed Sabbath.

Yahusha drew attention to the closing days of this great pattern when He declared:

Mat 24:22  “And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the sake of the chosen ones those days shall be shortened. 

The sun, moon and stars darkening is the eschatological sign of YasharEL after the flesh falls into deep darkness whereas the remnant Ruach YasharEL attain the LIGHT Yahusha ha Mashiyach i.e the Day 1

Gen 1:3  And Elohim said, “Let light come to be,” and light came to be. 

2Co 4:6  For Elohim, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts for the enlightening of the knowledge of the esteem of Elohim in the face of יהושע Messiah.  

The closing generation therefore stands within the final compression of the appointed time in Mashiyach Yahusha. The preservation of life depends not upon human strength, but upon the intervention of Yahuah, just as the remnant was preserved in every previous manifestation of the Open Field Shemitah.

From Eden onward, Yahuah has continually demonstrated that true life is sustained by His provision rather than by human effort.

The Open Field Shemitah becomes the thread that binds the entire covenant narrative together. It begins with Yahuah preparing before man labours. It continues as Yahuah sustains His remnant in times of abundance and famine alike. It culminates in the final harvest, where the increase belongs wholly to Him.

The contrast also becomes evident throughout the ages. One response remains occupied with the outward administration of the covenant, measuring obedience chiefly by external observance. The other is drawn into the greater reality toward which the covenant continually points: the life and provision that proceed from Yahuah Himself. As the great Day advances toward its consummation, the invitation is not merely to observe appointed times, but to enter the rest prepared from the foundation of the world, where Yahuah Himself becomes the source of life, provision and everlasting increase.

EliYahu and the Reversal of the Shemitah

The days of EliYahu reveal the opposite condition.

Instead of abundance, the heavens were shut.

Rain ceased.

The land withheld its increase.

The covenant nation experienced the reversal of the Open Field Shemitah because of syncretism.

The blessing of the land was withdrawn.

Yet Yahuah never abandoned His remnant.

EliYahu was sustained.

The Overim became instruments of provision.

The widow of Tsarephath and her household never lacked.

Her son received life.

Obadyahu preserved one hundred prophets with bread and water.

The Open Field Shemitah continued among the faithful remnant while the nation experienced covenant famine.

The three and a half years reveal the divided seven.

• Time, Times, The dividing of time.
• One thousand two hundred and sixty days.
• Forty-two months.

The pattern of the divided seven repeatedly appears throughout Scripture.

The physical famine anticipates the greater famine foretold by Amos.

Amos 8:11 "Behold, the days come, says Adon Yahuah, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Words of Yahuah."

The scarcity ultimately becomes the hearing of the true Words of Yahuah while the faithful remnant remains preserved by His provision.

The Two Halves of the Shemitah Pattern

The Shemitah reveals two prophetic halves. The Covenant Woman in Rev 12 was always in the Wilderness showing that she followed the Open field Shemitah.

Patterns in scripture depict:

• The first half manifests abundance.
• The second half manifests famine when mankind overturns the covenant order established by Yahuah.

Hezekiah reveals abundance breaking into ordinary years.

The Open Field Shemitah appears during years of labour.

The land provides without cultivation.

Yahuah interrupts the ordinary cycle with extraordinary increase.

EliYahu reveals the opposite.

The covenant nation abandons Yahuah.

The heavens close.

The land withholds its increase.

Scarcity replaces abundance.

Yet the faithful remnant continues to live from the direct provision of Yahuah.

Thus the divided seven reveals two covenant conditions.

The first half reveals Yahuah's abundance.

The second half reveals the consequences of covenant corruption.

The remnant remains sustained in both because the Open Field Shemitah ultimately depends upon Yahuah rather than human labour.

12. The Great Famine — Yoseph as the Pattern of Mashiyach

I have placed this pre Torah portion in Torah as the captivity of children of YasharEL originated from Yaaqob and his sons going upto Mitsrayim and it holds an eschatological pattern.The pattern first appears in its fullest form through Yoseph.

Yahuah revealed to Pharaoh that seven years of extraordinary abundance would be followed by seven years of severe famine.

Gen 41:29  “See, seven years of great plenty are coming in all the land of Mitsrayim, 

Gen 41:30  but after them seven years of scarcity of food shall arise and all the plenty be forgotten in the land of Mitsrayim. And the scarcity of food shall destroy the land, 

Although the prophecy was first given concerning Mitsrayim, the famine extended far beyond its borders. The scarcity spread throughout the surrounding lands, including Kena'an, so that even Ya'aqob was compelled to send his sons to Mitsrayim to purchase grain.

Genesis 41:57 "And all countries came into Mitsrayim to Yoseph to buy grain; because the famine was so severe in all lands."

Gen 42:1  And when Ya‛aqoḇ saw that there was grain in Mitsrayim, Ya‛aqoḇ said to his sons, “Why do you look at each other?” 

Gen 42:2  And he said, “See, I have heard that there is grain in Mitsrayim. Go down to that place and buy for us there, and let us live and not die.” 

Gen 42:3  And Yosěph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Mitsrayim. 

During the years of abundance, Yoseph gathered the increase into storehouses according to the wisdom given by Yahuah. 

Gen 41:48  And he gathered all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Mitsrayim, and laid up the food in the cities. He laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 

Gen 41:49  Thus Yosěph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he ceased counting, for it was without number. 

When the famine began, the whole earth came to Yoseph because life was found only through the one whom Yahuah had appointed beforehand.

Gen 41:55  But when all the land of Mitsrayim hungered, and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the Mitsrites, “Go to Yosěph, do whatever he says to you.” 

Gen 41:56  And the scarcity of food was over all the face of the earth, and Yosěph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Mitsrites. And the scarcity of food was severe in the land of Mitsrayim. 

Gen 41:57  And all the earth came to Yosěph in Mitsrayim to buy grain, because the scarcity of food was severe in all the earth. 

The famine became so severe that even Ya'aqob sent his sons into Mitsrayim to buy grain.

Yoseph preserved the covenant family during the years of famine.

Gen 45:5  “And now, do not be grieved nor displeased with yourselves because you sold me here, for Elohim sent me before you to preserve life. 

Gen 45:6  “For two years now the scarcity of food has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there is neither ploughing nor harvesting. 

Again Yoseph declared that his appointment was not merely political, but covenantal.

Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, you thought evil against me; but Elohim meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."

While the covenant family was preserved, the uncovenanted experienced progressive judgment.

Their money failed.

Genesis 47:13–15

Their livestock was exchanged for food.

Genesis 47:16–17

Their lands were surrendered.

Genesis 47:18–20

Finally, they sold themselves into servitude in exchange for bread.

Genesis 47:23–25

Thus, one complete Shemitah of abundance was followed by one complete Shemitah of famine.

The abundance prepared for the famine.

The provision preceded the crisis.

The redeemer was appointed before the need arose.

Yoseph therefore foreshadows Yahusha Mashiyach.

Before the famine came, Yahuah had already prepared the one through whom life would be preserved. Those who came to Yoseph found bread and life, while those outside the covenant progressively surrendered their wealth, their possessions, their inheritance and finally themselves in order to survive.

The pattern established through Yoseph becomes the foundation upon which the later manifestations of the Open Field Shemitah are revealed throughout the Scriptures.

13. The Babylonian Captivity — The Land Recovers Its Sabbaths

The Torah concluded with the very covenant warning that Yahuah had spoken through Mosheh.

If YasharEL refused to walk in His statutes, the land itself would recover the Sabbaths that had been neglected.

Lev 26:34  and the land enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies waste and you are in your enemies’ land. Then the land would rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 

Lev 26:35  ‘As long as it lies waste it rests, for the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you dwelt in it. 

For generations the nation profaned the covenant and neglected the Sabbatical years that belonged to Yahuah.

The result was not merely political defeat but covenant judgment.

Yahuah removed His people from the land so that the land could receive the rest that had been denied to it.

The Babylonian captivity therefore became the land's appointed Sabbath.

2Ch 36:20  And those who escaped from the sword he exiled to Baḇel, where they became servants to him and his sons until the reign of the reign of Persia, 

2Ch 36:21  in order to fill the word of יהוה by the mouth of Yirmeyahu, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay waste she kept Sabbath, until seventy years were completed. 

Yirmeyahu had already declared that the captivity would last seventy years.

Jer 25:11  And all this land shall be a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the sovereign of Baḇel seventy years. 

Jer 25:12  And it shall be, when seventy years are completed, that I shall punish the sovereign of Baḇel and that nation, the land of the Kasdim, for their crookedness,’ declares יהוה, ’and shall make it everlasting ruins. 

The seventy years were not an arbitrary period of exile.

They were the land's recovery of the Sabbaths that had been withheld.

The covenant people were removed.

The land rested.

Yahuah remained faithful to His own ordinance.

The Open Field Shemitah could be neglected by man, but it could never be abolished, for the land belongs to Yahuah, and He alone determines its appointed times.

Conclusion of Part 2

From the wilderness to the Babylonian captivity, the Torah continually reveals that the Open Field Shemitah belongs to Yahuah.

He fed YasharEL with manna before they possessed the land.

He declared, "The land is Mine."

He legislated the Shemitah and the gleanings for the poor, the stranger, the widow and the fatherless.

He sustained His remnant during the famine in the days of Eliyahu.

He caused the land to provide without cultivation during the siege in the days of Hezekiah.

Finally, when the nation neglected His Sabbaths, He removed them from the land until it had enjoyed the rest that belonged to Him.

The Torah did not establish the Open Field Shemitah. It revealed, protected and testified to the covenant provision that had belonged to Yahuah from the beginning.

The next stage of the covenant unfolds when Yahusha Mashiyach appears, not to introduce a new reality, but to openly proclaim the invitation into the Open Field Shemitah that had been foreshadowed from creation and witnessed throughout the Torah.