As I stated in The Road to Emunah blog post, the road to emunah is the road we take on our journey through life. And like with any journey, especially a long a difficult one, we require rest along the way. HaShem, blessed is He, has provided us with rest stops along the way in the form of the Sabbath.
In Genesis 2, we read, “Genesis 2:2-3 ESV And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. (3) So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Because of His nature, HaShem doesn’t require rest, but He chose none the less to take the seventh day of the week and cease all work. He took a day of rest. He took the seventh day and firstly, He blessed it, and secondly, He made it holy, and set it as a day of rest from the very foundations of Creation.
We see in Exodus, “Exodus 20:8-10 ESV "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.” Here HaShem is not just instructing the Israelites regarding the Sabbath, but reminding them of it, to keep it holy, and to refrain from making it common, like all the other days of the week. This applies to all Israel, whether native born or grafted in.
Maschiach Yeshua gave us quite a few pieces of very important information, and among them are that HaShem’s loving instructions have not been done away with (Matthew 5:17-19 ESV "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (18) For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (19) Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.), and that the Sabbath was created for the benefit of Humanity (Mark 2:27 ESV And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.). So we see that the seventh day, which was blessed and made holy from the very beginning, is a special day, a day of rest, not just physically but also spiritually, so that we can travel on the road to emunah without tiring. There are six days on which we can do whatever we want, and HaShem asks of us only one day in the week, the seventh day that He blessed and made holy, to cease from our routine activities, from working and shopping and going to and fro.
Why is this rest important? If you have ever gone on a journey, especially a long one that involves several days, you know that if you push yourself without resting, you get tired and cranky, and you start to make mistakes. If, on the road to emunah, you find yourself in a deep dark forest, or in some dismal swamp, or a desolate, barren wilderness, and you are tired, you risk straying off of the road, and getting lost, and possibly perishing, G-d forbid. But if on your journey you stop, and you rest and allow HaShem to rejuvenate and refresh you, you can continue on with a clear mind and focus, and be able to stay on the road. The Sabbath is like an inn along the road, that can only found at specific locations along the way, and which if you bypass you miss entirely. Those waypoints along the road are the seventh day of the week, the holy Sabbath.
So, in your travels, when the Sabbath comes, take time to rest. Do as HaShem instructed us in such a loving manner, and put down the tools of work, put away the lawn mower and the garden trowel, put away the vacuum cleaner and the mop, turn off the radio and the television, and rest. Take time to connect with HaShem at the time that He has set apart to meet Him, and you will find that your journey on the road to emunah will be much more bearable, especially when you enter those forests, swamps, and deserts that we find along the way. HaShem loves us, and He blessed and made this day holy for our benefit. He didn’t make a mistake that He had to go and change it at some later time, or rescind it; we need rest today as much as Adam and Chava needed rest in the Garden.
May your Sabbaths be restful and refreshing, and may HaShem, blessed is He, bless you and keep you all the days of your life!
0 comments:
Post a Comment