Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. " 'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.' " When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God." Exodus 31:12-18
God had just finished giving Moses His direction and expectations over 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai. A majority of what the Lord said had to do with the construction of the tabernacle…the future, portable holy place of worship for the people of Israel as they continued their exodus to the Holy Land. Once God had given Moses the blueprints for construction, there was a lot of work to be done and Moses was about to return to the Israelites and tell them all God had said to him. But notice the last words of God before He sent Moses back. What did He talk about? The Sabbath.
For no matter how much work God gave His people to do, He still expected them to rest on the seventh day, as He did at the dawn of Creation, and observe the Sabbath…a word that means to desist or cease or rest. The people were to observe it because it was not only holy to them but "holy to the Lord" as well. They were take God’s command and make it a "lasting covenant", "celebrating it for the generations to come."
So how would the people receive all this? Well, we might believe that there would be little or no problem. After all, these were the same people who responded to hearing the covenant by saying, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey." (Exodus 24:7) But Moses is soon to discover how the people of Israel have a short-term memory. They will have seemed to forget everything they had promised God and instead, gave in to their own evil desires.
Question: How well do you honor the promises you make to God? Do you observe the Sabbath or is it just another day? Have you, like the people of Israel, chosen to follow your own evil desires instead of the desires of the Father? Where would we be today if God had decided to not make good on His promises to us? Do you observe the Sabbath or is it just another day?
Friends, we serve a God who does everything He promises to do. He never fails us but we all too often fail Him. This Lenten season, we would be well served to revisit what God expects and renew our promises to Him to remain obedient and true. After all, it’s through this season that we examine and celebrate the greatest promise ever fulfilled…the promise of a Savior…a Messiah…Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for fulfilling this promise and all others…perfectly. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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