Rest Example

Rest Example

Exodus 31: ¹² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³ “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ¹⁴ You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

 

¹⁸ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

 

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GOD told Moses to tell the children of Israel to rest on the seventh day. They were to refrain from working and rest, just as the LORD did.

 

My Observations:

• GOD made humans with the limitation of needing rest.
• GOD cursed the earth and caused it to need workers to produce food.
• Humans have a tendency to get nervous or greedy, therefore GOD addressed these mindsets by providing a structure of rest.

 

You would think this would be the easiest law to abide in, but it isn’t. When Satan made humans fall, he introduced anxiousness, lusts and power insatiability. Human accomplishments of creating food, shelter and clothing would cause us to forget GOD when HE was the provider.

 

GOD wanted an entire day where humans would get replenished. Renewing the mind was just as important as rejuvenating the body. Humans were not supposed to think of work on the Sabbath. Their minds were supposed to be focused on GOD and to communicate directly with HIM. GOD allows us to have thing to work on, but HE doesn’t want that thing to have us.

 

GOD also said HE rested on the seventh day. GOD does not need rest, but wanted humans to follow HIS very intentional example. In other words, if GOD, who does not need rest, rested, you should as well.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the Sabbath again?
• What is GOD saying to you about rest?
• Can you take time to rest and to reflect on getting renewed and replenished?

Fourth Commandment – Remember the Sabbath

Fourth Commandment – Remember the Sabbath

Exodus 20: ⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

 

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GOD continues HIS commandments with “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

 

My Observations:

• GOD may have given this commandment because HE knew the people would forget to rest.
• GOD went into detail with HIS examples to ensure the people would understand what HE meant by rest.
• GOD does not get tired, but showed an example that HE even rested.

 

From what I gather from the commands given so far is GOD wants to spend time with us. HE did not create us for us to leave HIM alone. HE wants a day of rest that is spent with HIM, HIS creation and HIS people. You worked all week, enjoy one day.

 

GOD does not want us miserable and working seven days will place us in misery. HE did not make the Sabbath as a day to try harder to please HIM. The slave mindset was to make sure Pharaoh got what he wished, no matter the cost. The children of Israel were willing to work seven days a week to make things happen.

 

This attitude of working for results would leave GOD out of the equation of being the provider. A self-made pridefulness would eventually creep in, causing the worker to think more highly of self. GOD wants to be GOD. HE made us with the physical need for rest, but rest is also spiritual. We can reflect on the week and say our work is good because we are mimicking GOD.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the need for everyone to rest?
• Are you trying to keep the Sabbath as a rule?
• Can you hear the love of GOD when HE tells you to rest and enjoy yourself once a week?

A Leader’s Responsibility

A Leader’s Responsibility

Exodus 16: ²⁷ Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? ²⁹ See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

 

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Instead of obeying the LORD, some of the people went out on the Sabbath to look for food. GOD spoke to Moses about the disobedient act.

 

My Observations:

• Some of the people disobeyed GOD and went to look for more food than they needed.
• GOD spoke to Moses versus the individuals who disobeyed.
• JESUS got excited when speaking to Moses.

 

I believe this conversation was between the preincarnate JESUS and Moses. “See!” was the word cried out in passion. I believe JESUS was standing right there, showing Moses how disobedient the people were getting. HE spoke to Moses because Moses was the leader.

 

HE was not blaming Moses for what the people were doing, rather HE was implying, “Handle this.” Once Moses talked with the LORD, then the got the people to settled down and rest. GOD means what HE says.

 

Challenge:

• Why did GOD speak to Moses and not the people who disobeyed?
• Have you made an issue between you and GOD by being disobedient about something?
• Are you ready for leadership responsibility that includes GOD holding you accountable for someone else’s actions?

 

Made to Rest

Made to Rest

Exodus 16: ²² And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³ Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” ²⁴ So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. ²⁵ Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

 

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After experiencing the supernatural rotting of their food and seeing the worms, the children of Israel were nervous about following GOD’s commands. On the sixth day of each week they were supposed to gather enough to sit and rest on the seventh day. They obeyed and the food did not rot and worms did not appear.

 

My Observations:

• GOD provided enough food for two days on the sixth day.
• GOD was serious about keeping the Sabbath holy and as a day of rest.
• GOD would withhold food on the seventh day so they should not even try.

 

Rest is important to GOD. HE made humans with limits. The limits require replenishment. I believe GOD wants us to spend time with each other, to talk about GOD and spend time with HIM. This does not mean needing to spend all day in a building, but to be reminded that we need HIM.

 

GOD seems to love spending time with us, but we look for reasons to not spend time with HIM. We go after fame and fortune while depleting our faith. GOD did not provide on the day of rest. HE knew that humans would leave HIM out of their plans. GOD rested on the seventh day as an example to humans to do the same. HE did not need the rest, but humans do. GOD wants us to mimic HIM

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about how HE treated provisions on the sixth day of each week?
• Have you gotten in the habit of not resting?
• Do you intentionally rest to replenish your energy, heal wounds and restore your faith in GOD?