Sabbath for the Animals we call Livestock

The Sabbath laws in scripture are insistent that a true Sabbath rest is not just for the head of the household, not just for the wealthy who can afford it, but for everyone, and everything. If the rest isn't for everyone, it isn't Sabbath. The Scriptures also constantly remind us that God is deeply concerned with they way we treat animals. No small part of the law is dedicated to what animals can be eaten, and how they can be eaten, as our God is not the God only of humans, but of all living things.

 

So as we continue to discover in this series how Sabbath and Jubilee express God's dream for our neighbourhood and the flourishing of the world in which we live we discover this week what God's instruction to us to care for the animals - and the animals themselves - can teach us about the vision we are building for the flourishing of all creation.