Rest

Then Moses called together the whole community of Israel and told them, “These are the instructions the Lord has commanded you to follow. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. You must not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath.” [Exodus 35.1-3]

As I have been reading the early part of the Bible this year, the Sabbath has stood out to me.

I remain confident that in Christ all things are fulfilled, but that doesn't change the need for us to consider even the symbolism of the Sabbath! If indeed, in Christ, as Paul stated, we enter into a 'rest', then we should carefully examine what that means. The only place to understand what that means is in the Old Testament where it gives the descriptions and rules for the practice.

Complete rest is the main theme of the Sabbath. It is a holy day and it is the Lord's. Working on the Sabbath was just cause for the death penalty. Not even a fire for cooking or (I suppose) heat was allowed - at least a fire may not be "lit" (perhaps an ongoing fire from the day before was allowed?).

If, in Christ, every day is a Sabbath of rest, we must carefully discern what that means! Hebrews 4 addresses the issue of entering God's rest in Jesus. It is pretty clear that those who do not enter that rest should fear the outcome!

Father, help us to see the importance of understanding the correlation between the Sabbath and being in Christ! Help us to see and experience that rest!