True rest

DEVOTION

EXODUS

TRUE REST

Ex 35:1-3

35:1 Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. 3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."

NIV

And so it begins. We are about to enter the phase of the construction of the Tabernacle. We will see the offering brought of all the needed material for its making. We will see all the skilled craftsman the LORD has inspired, actually knit together in their mother’s womb with the knowledge and skill of their trades. But we start first with the first thing. What we find is that Moses assembled the whole Israelite community. Now some of our scholars believe that was not the whole of the community, but rather the leaders and representatives from each tribe. They in turn would report what he said to their tribes and sub-sets. The original language leaves room for this thinking as it says the Moses gathered a crowd or congregation of the children of Israel. However, because Moses is a type of Christ and is the one mediator between God and the Israelites, we could not have the mediator making smaller mediators. So we are left with the idea that he did in fact gather the whole Israelite community which would have been millions of people. How exactly he managed to speak loud enough for all of them to hear is questionable. Perhaps that is why some of our scholars want to consider the other idea of just a few leaders who passed on his message to their smaller groups. If that was so we would have been told so, but we are told he gathered the whole of the children of Israel and God would have inspired a way for all the people to hear Moses. That is but part of the lesson with Moses. What we see is that he told them the things the LORD has commanded them to do. Moses was faithful as a servant of God. There is a side lesson about this fact as well.

Heb 3:1-6

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

NIV

However, for the point we need to see about the faithfulness of Moses telling all the people what the LORD commanded them to do is his faithfulness to tell them only what the LORD commanded them to do. Moses did not leave anything out, nor did he add anything. This should be a great lesson for us. Whenever we have the opportunity to share God’s word, whether that be through verbal communication, either a conversation, or Sunday school leading, or preaching, or through some written form, such as a book, an article or devotion, we need to be faithful to share only the word, leaving nothing out, nor adding anything in. This would or should include our opinions. It seems we all have certain opinions. Maybe a better word would be interpretations of what the scriptures say. One of the greatest differences in opinions is the debate between Calvin and Wesley. Yet in all reality they were but two men with opinions that differed. We can be sure that God neither ascribes to Calvin’s or Wesley’s opinion, but only to his own. Moses was faithful to tell only that which God had spoken to him regarding his commands for the people. It would have been easy for him to add something about his authority in all matters, or that he was to be exalted or whatever. But he only told them what God said and all that God said. We should be that faithful in our communication of God’s word. This would mean we need to keep ourselves free of the opinions of others, but only true to what God has said, leaving nothing out and adding nothing. This also means we too cannot ascribe to either Calvin’s or Wesley’s opinions. We must only ascribe to the word of God. He has given us the Spirit who will lead us into all truth. It is only the Spirit who we need to listen to in order to know all that God has commanded us to do. The rest of this beginning narrative in the construction of the Tabernacle is set in the concept of working diligently for six days and taking that one day, the Sabbath to do no work on the Tabernacle at all. The idea about the fires not to be struck had to do with the workers of metal, or other work which would need the fire. Nevertheless, the Sabbath was to be the day of rest. We could carry that into our culture, as we have considered before. Again, we do not actually celebrate the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week with no work. So then in the strictest sense we are not fulfilling the command of God. But then we have discussed all that about Jesus and Christians choosing Sunday instead, but then we still do some form of work on that day as well, if nothing else we lite a fire to cook our food. But there is an eternal Sabbath that is coming.

Heb 4:1-11

4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.   3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."   5 And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."   8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath — rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

NIV

There will be a day, when we will in fact rest from all our work, that Day of the LORD. If we are faithful to our LORD, if we do not disbelieve, but remain true to our faith, we will enter his rest, his eternal Sabbath. But for now, let us continue with the task set before us building the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God among his people, our very beings. Let us be true to his word, not the opinions of man, but his word. Let us not forget or leave anything out and let us not add anything to it. All we have is God’s word. Let us not add those human rules and regulations, those denominational bias that can so easily distort the truth by either leaving something out or adding something in. Let us be true to God and God alone, then we will enter his Sabbath, his rest.