IMHO, the thing for the individual to do is TITHE, and keep on tithing. It demonstrates one’s faith in, and obedience to, God’s Word.
Having read the book months ago, it’s the only thing I know to do. Trust and obey....which is what Israel did not do.
As an aside, who KNEW that Christian-Founded United States of America was supposed to observe the Shemitah, too? Which of the great preachers of the past or present, OR Rabbis, for that matter, ever preached it?
Agree with your last sentence. I do think that up until the late fifties we honored God and fell into line spiritually as a nation by default. Our nation went through trials, not looking at/heeding a biblical calendar, but we were basically Christian.
We are not under the law any more and God loves us and reaches out to us even when we don’t keep it.
While I don’t have any problem with tithing, I wouldn’t advise it. He already knows out heart and our level of commitment to Him, and we don’t need to prove it to Him.
It almost smacks of trying to manipulate God, which is just doomed to failure anyway. He owes us nothing, even if we give everything we own to Him.
I would be very careful about observing the Shemitah. There are certain things God ordained for Israel that do not apply to the Church. Replacement theology is dangerous and wrong, the Church is not Israel. I’m not saying things cannot happen on these cycles, but I think a lot of discernment is in order.
As an aside, who KNEW that Christian-Founded United States of America was supposed to observe the Shemitah, too? Which of the great preachers of the past or present, OR Rabbis, for that matter, ever preached it?
(Waves hand) "I know! I know!"
None of them.
American Protestant preachers, Jonathan Edwards for example, were too hung up on whether the Sabbath should be observed on a Sat. or Sun. to look at the whole Jewish calendar picture.