Last נָשַׂג

We are moving into chapter twenty-six of Leviticus with our word for today. נָשַׂג collect, reach, be sufficient, produce, appear, overtake, last. It is used 49 times in the Old Testament. Our word is used in the sense to overtake, to catch up with and possibly overtake. Genesis 31:25 And Laban וַיַּשֵּׂ֥ג overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. Our word is used in the sense to reach a point in time, or a certain state or level. We see this translated as attaining like with Jacob referring to the years of his life. Genesis 47:8-9 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not הִשִּׂ֗יגוּattained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” It is also translated as rich in the sense of reaching a point of abundance. Leviticus 25:26, 47, 49  If a man has no one to redeem it וְהִשִּׂ֣יגָה and then himself becomes prosperous … If a stranger or sojourner with you תַשִּׂ֗יג becomes rich … Or if he הִשִּׂ֥יגָה grows rich he may redeem himself. This is how our word is used twice in our chapter today. Leviticus 26:3-5 If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall וְהִשִּׂ֨יג last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall יַשִּׂ֣יג last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I like how our word is translated in our chapter what the people need will last. They will have an abundance of what they need because they listened to God. As we have seen sin steals and obedience enriches. This is a consistent theme throughout the Bible that blessings come from following God’s direction. 2 Corinthians 9:6, 8, 10-11 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully … And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work … He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. Did you see the promise of sowing generously will bring generous results so we can always be generous? And earlier in this New Testament book we have. 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Did you catch that the people gave themselves first to the Lord then to the needs of their fellow believers? When we follow God’s direction we always have more than we need. I’ll close with this great Psalm that makes this point very well. Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.