The focus of this is Exodus 16. Especially since I'm still a college student, I find this passage to be very applicable to me in every possible way. Whether it's having that project due the next day or having that test to study for, I hope that others will hold me accountable for keeping the Lord's day.
1. The purpose of the Sabbath is a test. More specifically, God's commandment for a Sabbath in this context was a test (verse 4). This is because the Israelites have already forgotten was God did for them only a month ago. It's interesting to point out that the very thing God's people remember about Egypt was the food they had. They didn't remember God's plagues, Pharaoh's cruelty, their own cries to God, and the promise to Joseph. And this is why this is a test.
2. So what is the test? The test is to see whether or not we are willing to obey God's calling to rest on the seventh day and to trust in His provision daily. We see this in the passage, where the Israelites failed both parts of the test. God calls us to rest not just because it's good for us and to keep us from being burnt out for the week. He calls us to rest not for ourselves, but to rest in Him all seven days of the week. Six days resting in Him by doing productive work knowing He will provide, and that on the 6th day He will provide even more so that on the 7th we can stop to remember His provision the rest of that week.
3. What does this mean for us? It means we should keep the Sabbath holy because it shows whether we really trust God's provision in our lives daily and weekly. "God, I have this test tomorrow, I need to study" or "God, you'll understand, I have a project due tomorrow and I'm going to fail if I don't finish it". And God would say "Didn't I already give you six days to work, wasn't it by My hand that you're even at this point in your life to look forward to something like that? Do you trust me, that if you obey what I tell you to do that you will realize I have already provided for you those six days? That I will provide for what you need?" We can become so adamant about doing the right type of work for God. Christian businessmen try to live successful lives putting their all in their work. Missionaries do work overseas, devoting their entire lives to their work in other countries. Church staff have to work constantly to provide an environment of worship and ministry to everyone else. But God's calling to rest on the seventh day, to not do any productive work, is a universal commandment. We can point to any verse in the Bible and say "God, didn't you say I need to work hard? Didn't you say serve the poor? Serve the church?" Look at the Sabbath and know that it's in the top 10.
How do we get ourselves to rest, given how stressful different fields are? How do we advance in our careers if we are at a disadvantage because we lose 1 day in our week to God? How can we do well in class if our peers have that one extra day to study and we don't? It's knowing God gave us the six days. Practically speaking, we should be preparing on the 6th day for the 7th. In today's environment, we should be using the rest of the days so that we can make time for the 7th because God calls us to that Sabbath. And that is how we really devote our work to God, by preparing to obey His commandment every day of the week, and every week of the year. And on the Sabbath, we stop to remember how God has already provided for us the rest of the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment