Entering into His rest
November 8, 2008 at 8:29 am 5 comments
What is meant by this? Do people who profess to enter His rest each seventh day really do it?
Why did God command the Children of Israel in the wilderness to “Remember the Sabbath day”? Exodus 20:11 tells us why. “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” The seventh day sabbath was given as a day of remembrance, for God blessed the seventh day and rested. The seventh day is the Sabbath (rest) of the Lord. In six days He made the heavens and earth and all that is in them and then rested. He has not had to “create” anything since the first 6 days. He is STILL resting from creation.
The Lord created a wondrous world that is designed to carry on, self procreate. The Lord does not have to keep creating things over and over again. God entered His rest from creation. The Lord commanded that the Israelites do no work on a sabbath, even their children, livestock and the stranger within their gates were not to do any work. People in neighboring nations worked 7 days a week to eek out a living and here the Children of Israel would work only 6 days and prosper more than their neighbors. In fact, they would be so blessed by God that every 7 years God told them to not even plant or harvest, as the harvest from the 6th year would be enough to carry them through.
But after the fall, He did immediately begin to work on redemption. Jesus said My Father worketh until now and I work John 5:17. He was saying that because the Jews wanted to kill Him because He was working on the 7th day sabbath. Jesus Himself said He was working!
What does “sabbath” mean in Hebrew? From Strongs “to repose, that is, desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causatively, figuratively or specifically): – (cause to,let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking,leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still, take away.”
We then now conclude that the “sabbath” is not a day, but an action (lack of action actually). It is a conscience choice, a relationship with our Lord. It isn’t something that happens because it is on the calendar, like Monday. Monday’s happen every week whether or not we are paying attention. To sabbath is an action, we “chose” to rest, do no labor, repose and keep.
God does ALL things for a reason, there are no random events in the bible. This includes the sabbaths as we will see in the following verses.
Colossians 2:16 & 17 “So let no man judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ.”
Sabbaths are a “shadow”! Shadows are not “real”. They are merely an outline with no substance. Christ is the substance, He is the real thing! It gets better!!
The sabbath is one of the most wonderful things God has or will give to us and here is why. In Hebrews 4:4 the Holy Spirit through Paul says “For He has spoken in a certain place (Gen 2:2) of the seventh day in this way “And God rested on the seventh day from all His work.”"
He then continues in verse 8 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”
We are not required to observe the seventh day as the Jew were. Paul instructs us to move on, to be diligent to enter into that Rest, Jesus Christ. Rely on Him for all things pertaining to life and salvation.
I have entered in to that Rest! Praise God and thank you Father for your Son, King Jesus!
Dee
Entry filed under: Grace, Spiritual. Tags: Church, EGW, Ellen G. White, Ellen white estate, GOD, keeping sabbath, rest, Sabbath, saturday, SDA, Seventh-Day Adventist.
1.
Adrian | November 17, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I take it you are not a Seventh day Adventist?
2.
haldog | November 18, 2008 at 9:44 am
Adrian,
I was born and raised an SDA but through the Grace of God am now saved. I am a Spirit-filled child of God. I noticed that you have a link to McVey on your blog, ye has been very instrumental in my walk. Initially Joseph Prince helped me to understand God’s Grace and then McVey, Charles Capps and Kenneth Copeland.
Shalom
3.
Madiäk | December 1, 2008 at 4:49 pm
In order to answer your question in my way, I will just give you a summary. For your information, I am coming from the context of the Bible as a whole in the Seventh-day Adventist’s perspective. I am a Dinka by tribe, one of the cushitic/Nilotic tribe. I pray you enjoy it.
The reason why God said to the children of Israel to “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” is the follow:
(1) God rested on it, blessed it, and sanctified it for the benefit of man’s rest and sanctification (Genesis 2:1-3; Ezekiel 20:12,20; Isaiah 30:15).
(2) It is a memorial of Creation (Exodus 20:10-11) and Redemption from bondage and sin (Deuteronomy 5:15).
(3) Also the sabbath observance would make the children of Israel as examples to the other nations whom God already had in mind to save as well (Isaiah 56:1-8; Acts 13:42-44; 17:2). Ethiopian(Cushite) Eunuch whom Philip Baptized was a Sabbath keeper.
(4) The Sabbath commandment represents all the other nine commandments in that it is the only commandment that point to God as the Creator and that He is worthy of worship (Ex.20:11;Rev.14:7)
(5)The sabbath preserve for the children of Israel and the Gentiles the two great commandments (Love to God and Love to man); the first which points to the first four commandments of the Decalogue, and the second which points to the second six commandments of the Decalogue (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Isaiah 58:1-14; Matt.22:37-40).
(6) The Sabbath introduces both the children of Israel and the world at large to the Messiah who is both their Creator, Redeemer, Ruler (Genesis 49:10; Numbers 20:16; Proverbs 8:30-31; Matthew 12:8; Luke 6:5, 9)
(7) The Sabbath is not only a foretaste, but it is a part of the Canaan and the heavenly rest (Exodus 16:23-29; Isaiah 66:22-23; Hebrews 4:4-11).
We the children of the Heavenly King who has accomplished the kingdom of Grace (Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world -John 1:29) and the kingdom of glory (He who shall come in the name of the Lord – Matthew 23:39).
4.
Madiäk | December 1, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Have more questions? contact me at holyplace70@yahoo.com
5.
David Moorman | July 30, 2009 at 5:19 pm
What do you make of this?
Deu 5:14 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Deu 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.