When the disciple Nathaniel was informed that Jesus came from Nazareth he said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” When we read through the Bible and we reach the third book of the Torah, we are tempted to say, “Can anything good come out of Leviticus?” And now there’s the Coronavirus, can anything good come from that?
At the end of the book of Leviticus, God gives Israel some clear instructions about the cultivation of the land that He was giving them. Those instructions included includes regular periods of rest for the land itself. (Lev 25:1-7). Every seven years it was to be allowed to lo lie fallow and not undergo cultivation. The principle of “sabbath” was to be applied to the earth as well as the people. These ideas have of course long past into disuse. Maybe we assumed that they were just more of the strange things that God asked the Israelites to do, but are of no importance to the present day.
It is interesting that Covid 19, while its effects are devastating for so many, has had some fascinating side effects. As a consequence of God permitting the unthinkable and the pause button being pressed for the whole of the planet, we hear that China has seen blue skies for the first time in many many years. Air quality measurements have changed dramatically. Just two examples of wider observations set out in this article in the New York Times;
In China and Italy, the air is now strikingly clean. Venice’s Grand Canal, normally fouled by boat traffic, is running clear. In Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, the fog of pollution has lifted. Even global carbon emissions have fallen.
Perhaps, just as we are being given the opportunity to look carefully at the importance of rest, quiet and sabbath in our individual lives, God is also giving us a chance to recognize that the principles He gave to the Israelites for the care of the land are not so ancient and irrelevant after all.
From the Zebra Bag 
Just finished Leviticus, can anything good come out of it? Yes, but that question made me chuckle 🙂