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Land Sabbath
2 Chronicles 36:21 “To fulfill the word of YHWH by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.”
In two places in Scripture Jeremiah prophesied about the Jubilee of rest years that would take place, prophesying 70 years of rest.
- Jeremiah 25:11 “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
- Jeremiah 29:10-13 “For thus saith YHWH, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith YHWH, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Why 70 years? The Sabbathical Rest (Shmita) is every 7th year that the land should rest, YHWH would provide for all, and all debt are released (click here to see in Deuteronomy 15 the law about Sabbath Rest). If the land had to rest for 70 years, it means that at least for 490 (70 x 7) years the Israelites were not keeping this law. That would be since about the time of Samuel, because between Samuel and Babylon was about 480 years. All through out the book of Kings and Chronicles we see the Israelites have forgotten almost all the laws many times, and a few times with the “good” kings, they would attempt to restore the Laws.
The Babylonian exile, lasting 70 years, was a form of divine judgment for this persistent disobedience. During the exile, the land of Israel remained desolate and uncultivated, effectively receiving its long-overdue Sabbath rest. This 70-year period is described in 2 Chronicles 36:21 as fulfilling the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied that the land would lie desolate for seventy years to compensate for the neglected Sabbath years.
