B’har: ‘On the Mountain’ Fields & Vineyards

Adonai is instructing Moses to tell the family of Israel that there is a

rest for people and land as well. He says when you enter the Land that the

land itself is to ‘observe’ a Shabbat rest for Adonai. Meaning to ‘desist from

exertion, to put away suffering, and to rest and to celebrate! Every 7th year

the land has a Shabbat Year of rest. ‘But in the seventh year is to be a

Shabbat of complete rest for the land, a Shabbat for ADONAI; you will

neither sow your field nor prune your grapevines (vineyard).

Pruning was essential for ensuring the growth of grapes. According to Etz Hayyim commentators there were two prunings each year; one in the winter, or rainy season, when the shoots hat had not produced grapes the previous year were snipped off, and the second in June of July, when the new blossoms had already appeared. ‘You are not to harvest what grows by itself from the seeds left by your previous harvest, and you are not to gather the grapes of your untended, or undressed (KJV) vine; it is to be a year of complete rest for the land’. Identified as Strong’s number 5139, the word is naw-zeer meaning separate, consecrated (as a prince, a Nazirite), an unpruned vine (like an unshorn Nazirite). Nazir literally means ‘one who is separated’ which is taken from Strong’s number 5144 and is the root word naw-zar’ (nun Zayin resh) meaning to hold aloof, to abstain from impurity, and to set apart—conveying much in the same way the choices resultant from taking the Nazirite Vow.

In the Paleo it comes from the root word and means ‘to

dedicate’, or a ‘Crown’, like an ornamental placed on the head as a sign of dedication. Interestingly by observing the two letter root of the nun resh, we see the familiar word found in the center of another Hebrew word, Menorah. Ner’ means Lamp, or Light. Zayin means to scatter. So by leaving the field fallow, that is by choosing not to plow and to not scatter physical seed during the 7th year accomplished three things; One it showed you were being obedient to YHVH, two it allowed the field to rest, and three it showed that you were trusting in faith that HaShem would supply all your needs by dedicating the land He’d given you back to Him.

The field in Paleo-Hebrew looks like this, ( S-DH), a Samech,

a Dalet, and a Heh, often translated as field, country, land, wild, ground

and soil. Inside, within the field is the 2-letter root Samech-Heh meaning sheep. The central letter is the dalet and means the door, the path to enter, or way—‘Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture’. (Joh 10:7, 9). The field is to be dedicated unto YHVH because it is the place by which The Shepherd will call His sheep to return to Him.

Vineyard, in the paleo looks like this; ( K-RM), often

translated as vineyard, vines, or vintage {str# 3754}. From the Paleo we can pictographically translate a Vineyard as ‘man receives an open blessing from God’s mighty Hand!’. Both the field and the vineyard are gifts from YHVH when He brings His people back. He redeems the field or land where then the vineyard can be sown, tended, pruned and reaped to produce that cup of joy which make his heart glad (Ps. 104:15). But it’s also rich in symbolism speaking of the Nazerene—our Yeshua Messiah, as He eloquently spoke on the significance of faith properly combined with obedience to the commandments, commonly recognized today as Messianic Judaism. After reading Matthew chapter 9 verses 14-17, David Stern wisely asserts

‘If one tries to put new wine, Messianic faith, into old wineskins,

traditional Judaism, the faith is lost and Judaism is ruined. But if Judaism is freshly prepared, reconditioned so that is can accommodate trust in Yeshua the Messiah, both the faith and the renewed Judaism, Messianic Judaism, are preserved. The meaning of the figure is that the new wine of Messianic living cannot be poured into old religious forms if they remain rigid. But if the old religious forms become ‘fresh,’ they can accommodate Yeshua.’ (ps. 36-37)

In light of the fact that Messiah was recognized as a Nazerene, that we

dedicate our life to him, and that life as a farmer, especially a farming family dedicated to faith in YHVH and obedience to His commandments, can’t we see the vineyard and dedicating it to YHVH as a beautiful picture rich in the symbolism of our Messiah Yeshua? So how does God’s family survive a whole year without sowing or reaping? Stay tuned…

The Jubilee

‘But what the land produces during the year of Shabbat will be food for all of you- you, your servant, your maid, your employee, anyone living near you, your livestock and the wild animals on your land; everything the land produces may be used for food. You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is, forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land; and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a yovel (Jubilee) for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is to return to his family. That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of untended vines; because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the fields produce will be food for all of you’. (Lev 25:8-12 CJB)

The word Jubilee comes from the word ( YW-BL) – or a

Trumpet; as an instrument of flowing air to make a sound, also the horn of a ram used as a trumpet. Oftentimes we see yovel in the King James translated as jubilee, rams horn, trumpet from Strongs# H3104. It comes

from ( YBL) meaning to flow, as a stream, or as a flowing of

wealth, water or sound. What we see in the paleo here is that in the 50th year, as property and family members were set free and returned to their family, it was a time of liberty and blessing coming back to the family. Yod-Bet-Lamed means to flow, as a stream, or as a flowing of wealth. While the celebration ensued on that 50th year on the ‘Day of Atonement’, it was absolutely pivotal as people and land and homes and fields and vineyards were restored to those, especially those who had suffered oppression and separation for so long that it was God’s doing that brings restoration and blessing to our lives. He wants us to all have second chances, and by abiding by His word we see that every 50 years is just another spectacular

way that He does it. In the Hebrew Jubilee is H3104 יבל יובל yo be l, yo-bale',

apparently from Strongs# H2986; the blast of a horn (from its continuous sound); specifically the signal of the silver trumpets; hence the instrument itself and the festival thus introduced: - jubile, ram’s horn, trumpet. The

horn itself is called a yobel, apparently from a ram—by the way, wasn’t it a

ram (ַאִיל Gen.22:13) that was ‘caught’ in the thicket after the angel ordered

Abraham not to harm his son Isaac that they were able to offer as the

acceptable sacrifice?

So we sound God’s Trumpet on the day of His Covering us, and

looking at the paleo for Jubilee we observe the Yod(hand of God), a

Vav(tent peg/used to secure the tent), a Bet(a house, a family), and a

Lamed(shepherd’s staff, shepherd’s authority). Trans-lated

pictographically we see in the picture that the Jubilee is ‘from God’s

mighty arm or hand that secures the ‘wealth that flows’ to His Set-Apart

people by our obedient walking in faith!” Baruch HaShem! Another

direct interpretation can be read that ‘The Hand of YHVH (His Right

Hand, which refers to Yeshua, Secures His House or Family by way of

The Shepherd’s Authority(which are His commandments)’!

Notice again we have 2 references to Messiah in the year of Jubilee

word. One is the Yod, representing the Hand, or outstretched arm of

YHVH, as it is Yeshua who is at the Right Hand of The Father; and the

Lamed, that looks akin to a Shepherd’s staff means Shepherd’s

Authority, drawing the comparison of the shepherd’s staff was is used to

direct, protect, and discipline His flock. God’s Word came in the flesh

and lived out Torah for all to have and see as an example to live by.

Lev. 25:18-22

This is a case of sowing in faith, or sowing to The Spirit, versus sowing to the flesh. We read in Galatians chapter 6:7-10 ‘Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Gal 6:7-10 NAS)

Is God going to bind your hands on the Sabbath and say, no, you cannot go to work today? No. Is He going to supernaturally prohibit you from reaching into your wallet to buy and sell on the Sabbath? No He won’t. He has faithfully instructed us over and over ‘But the children rebelled

against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances (Mishpatim), by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths (Eze 20:21 NAS). YHVH says repeatedly to sanctify His Sabbaths and if we observe them, we will live! If we read further down in that same passage in Ezekiel it says when we profane His Sabbaths by doing that which is contrary to His Word, we’re making an idol out of that act of disobedience. I say this, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow, because I am guilty of opening my wallet on the Sabbath. I have treated the commandment casually, and I am ashamed of that. But no more—some may say I ‘doth protest too much’, but if real change is going to occur it requires for us to first be willing to be honest.

We can’t wink at sin gang. If we’re going to get it out we have to sweep up all of the leaven right? Because we do this every year and re-learn why we need to get it all, because if we leave even a little bit of leaven what happens? It will eventually take over! A little leaven leavens the whole lump. This is why it is so confusing to people who look at us say one thing and do another. We proclaim holiness, but privately conduct our lives differently. I love YHVH and I want the blessings that come from obedience to Him, and I certainly don’t want to make an idol out of the blessings He’s provided to meet my physical needs. So what do we do? We prepare beloved. The 6th year—He gives us a supernatural harvest that lasts for three years! It doesn’t cover just the food required to live for the 6th year, but it covers the 7th and the 8th as well!

Houses, Fields, & Vineyards:

We’ve discussed some about fields & vineyards, but now we read in verse 31 that homes within villages or ‘hachatzerim’ like people and fields and vineyards have redemption rights as well. Interestingly the homes located in these ‘unwalled’ areas are villages under the protection of the nearby walled city. Villages in Hebrew possess the root word ‘chat-zer’ meaning to blow. When the trumpets from the city were sounded as an alarm of invasion, the inhabitants of the surrounding fields and villages, or yards, were to go to the walled city for protection.

The beauty of this is if a person is struggling in poverty, loses their house in the village and has to sell their property, their home, and perhaps even themselves to become like a hired hand, on the year of Jubilee both they and their land and their home will be redeemed and they will be able

to go back home. And isn’t that what Messiah does? Doesn’t He tell us that He’s come to set us free. If we’re poor, were His freedman, if were rich were His slave of righteousness. Either way He redeems and restores us giving us life and blessing. We sound the Shofar, and celebrate the fact that we have a Kinsman Redeemer Who has redeemed us from a life of oppression in service to an evil master, to walk as children of light, dedicated to Him so that we can have security in the land, fresh wine and a supernatural harvest! YHVH is good, all we have to do is obey.

Blessed to Be Called Slaves

In closing we read in chapter 26 we are not to make idols, rather to keep YHVH’s Sabbaths and revere His sanctuary. He’s telling us we each have a part in placing a protective hedge around His Shabbat and His sanctuary. This is significant, but a clue to the heart of this points us to the last verse in chapter 25, verse 55 where He says ‘For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (Lev 25:55 NAS) What is the word for servant here? The word is eh'-bed taken from Strongs#H5650, meaning servant, or slave & comes from the root word of Strongs#5647 for aw-bad' meaning to work, to serve, till, to dress, worshipper.

Many of us recall Shau’l wrote the Ephesians YHVH has created us for a life of ‘good works’. If we examine this root word for service it traces all the way back to the creation account. The first occurrence of the word is in Beresheet chapter 2:15 ‘ADONAI, God, took the person and put him in the garden of 'Eden to cultivate and care for it. The word there for cultivate is the word aw-bad'. He was purposed to serve, to work, and to till the adamah—or ground from which he himself was fashioned. Here we strike at the heart of the matter. The ground or adamah was an especially designated holy place by Our Father for us to serve Him by way of tending and tilling the soil, but more than that the working of the land is symbolic of His work and His service in our hearts echoed through His Living Torah when Yeshua shared a parable and said ‘A certain man (YHVH) had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser (Yeshua) of his vineyard

(Israel), Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luk 13:6-9 KJV) Also it was a reflection to Adam of the principle of sowing and reaping not just physically, but what happens when we till the soil of ourselves, serving our Father faithfully as we tend this

especially holy soil of our heart, albeit outside the garden—in temporary exile, but sowing His word within it, tended, watered and guarded so that in due time, the fruits of our labors would yield a miraculous increase.

Hence why The Father emphatically instructs us not to set up any idols, graven images, or stones in our fields to bow down to! He’s speaking of the land in Israel, but He is also speaking directly about our heart! It is also why He entreats us to revere His Holy Sanctuary and to keep and to guard His Sabbath—that it would do a miraculous work in your heart and so yield in our life the promised bountiful increase! May it be so! Ahmein! Baruch HaShem.