IS THIS FOR US?

 

JUNE 3, 2024

Recently, I've engaged in conversations with many individuals who are exhausted from the stress of a hectic lifestyle. Therefore, this week, I propose we explore how the Bible encourages us to seek rest and rejuvenation. Although summer is not upon us yet, it offers a chance for renewal. Let's ready ourselves for everything God has in store for us.

Nehemiah 13:15

15 In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day.

IS THIS FOR US?

This is and interesting Old Testament account in which we read that Nehemiah was concerned by the disregard for the Law. He is trying to correct the difficulties that had caused problems for Israel in the past. So, he orders the city gates to be closed at sunset on Friday. He requires the Levites (a Priestly class) to cleanse themselves and to guard the gates so that no one violates the Sabbath.

Ah Sabbath, any discussion of Sabbath immediately results in questions like: Should we also keep the Sabbath by refraining from work and travel? Isn’t sabbath observance from an ancient culture? What does this have to do with us moderns?

Perhaps the best way to answer such questions is to have a more complete understanding of the Sabbath regulations. These regulations imposed upon Israel were what the New Testament calls shadows, pictures of something even more important that God wants us to know and observe. The difficulty, I believe we can fall into, is to think that Sabbath observance is all about “don’t do’s”. We then look for loopholes. What I want us to think about today is that we observe the Sabbath when we live our lives based on what the Sabbath portrays.

At the heart of the Sabbath is the word rest. The Sabbath is intended for people, that they may learn to slow down and to rest. The Sabbath, some say, is God's stress management program! It is how to prevent exhaustion, fatigue, stress, and breakdown. Sabbath rest is the way to recover from too much pressure and a way we can catch up with ourselves. It is how we can gather ourselves together and become able to handle the work we must do.

There are two reasons given in the Scripture for the Sabbath. The first one is found in Exodus 20:11. There we are told that because God finished creation in six days and then rested on the seventh day, He asked His people to rest after six days of labor. Why did God rest? He accomplished His objective. God, it seems wanted people to recognize that there is a limit to their work. There is a need to stop, to allow the body, mind, and spirit to recognize their limitations. That’s the first one.

The second reason the Sabbath was given that is often overlooked. This reason receives little attention and should have more focus. God said to Israel, remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day (Deuteronomy 5:15). Do you see the second reason? God’s people were to rest in order to reflect on God's ability to work beyond the labors they had already completed.

So, there are two aspects of the Sabbath—creation and redemption. There is a rest of pausing, a ceasing from our own efforts and labours. But then there is the rest of rejoicing in the mighty power of God that provides us with deliverance from carrying the weight of our “to do” or “must do” and therefore invites us to trust in God’s ability. 

“Come to me, and I will give you rest.” --- JESUS