Exodus 35-37

PS: Do you think God was serious about the Sabbath day? Yesterday we were again reminded as we read Exodus 34:21, "You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest." During those two seasons the Israelites, and any farmers for that matter, would have been most tempted to burn the midnight oil, just like those "seasons" in our lives when we are tempted also to "buckle down" for a while to get it all done, but God reaffirms our call to rest! In today's reading, just as they are to start the work on the Tabernacle construction (which sure felt tedious and laborious as I read it!), He begins with, "For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on a sabbath day." (35:2,3) God demanded they still honor the Sabbath. They were to work in moderation, even when working for Him!

Do you know what resting does? It not only refreshes us and prepares us to go at it again. It also reminds us that the world is not held together by us! Sometimes I think everything will collapse if I stop going so hard. What arrogance we have when we think God needs us to sustain His activity. We think, only if I work through the weekend will this crop not spoil... only if I work through the weekend will this presentation go smoothly... only if I... I... I...

Rest reminds us that God is He who oversees everything. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do the good works that He has for us. Resting requires faith. It is putting aside the worries of the day, week, month, or year, to relax and remember that God is the one in control. Do you really think God will not honor you if you stop and rest? Do you really think that your world will collapse if you reprioritize and put His calling upon your life first? If everything that has to be done can't get done, maybe that should teach you something right there. Have you taken on so much that you can no longer honor God with your submission to His precepts?

Never quote "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" to God when you are walking in rebellion to Him. That is only heard as our attempted command over Him. He is not our cosmic servant, His is our sovereign Lord. His precepts are perfect. His words for creation's proper functioning can never be discarded or challenged. Only we will find ourselves in error if we walk against them.

The world does not hinge upon our strength and commitment to it, we are weak earthlings not suitable to sustain the activities of our world. So why do we try so hard to think we do? Could not God at any time, regardless of how well we think we are doing it all, come in and in a moment's time pull the plug on our hubris? One sickness, one accident, one broken bone, one stroke or heart attack, and everything we work so hard to maintain begins to overwhelm us. And why does God let these things happen? I think it partly has to do with the fact that we ever need to place and continue to place Him at the center of our lives, and part of that means submitting to His design for creation.

To all of us who have and are attempting to sustain the world, STOP. As the psalmist reminds us, "Be still and know that He is God," or, resaid, "Rest, and live by faith!" For in this we trust and obey, and I think I've heard somewhere, "for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey."