Day Twelve - April 12, 2010
SABBATH... READ LEVITICUS 25: 1-7 & DEUT. 15: 1-11
When Moses was on Mount Sinai, the LORD told him to say to the community of Israel: “After you enter the land that I am giving you, it must be allowed to rest one year out of every seven. You may raise grain and grapes for six years, but the seventh year you must let your fields and vineyards rest in honor of me, your LORD. This is to be a time of complete rest for your fields and vineyards, so don't harvest anything they produce. However, you and your slaves and your hired workers, as well as any domestic or wild animals, may eat whatever grows on its own.
SPEND A FEW MINUTES IN PRAYER
Rest is a good thing. God rests. Land rests. We ought to rest. The reality, however, is that we often push ourselves too far. Many of us are overcommitted – we work, go to school, play sports, have families, are involved in activities outside of school, go to church, attend youth group, hang out with friends, and the list could go on - and on – and on. Then, even in our moments of rest we’re preoccupied with an array of technological gadgets from Facebook, Twitter, XBox 360, Playstation, texting, etc. The bottom line is – we do too much.
When you finally arrive home family members and friends will be eager to hear about your experiences – see pictures – and play with things you’ve bought. While this is certainly good it is important for you to rest – to continue reflecting on your experience.
Historically the Jews lived in an agrarian society. This means that the majority of people owned parcels of land and raised produce. Leviticus 25 reflects this and their early method of crop rotation. The land was to rest every seven years. It needed to be replenished with nutrients in order to sustain and nourish crops in the future. In doing so the people were able to worship and adore God.
Similarly you need to rest. Make a commitment to not jump quickly back into your fast paced life. Instead, be still and know God – trust that God will provide and take care of you. After all, the Jewish people had to trust that God would provide enough crops to sustain them during their time of rest.
“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
- Genesis 2: 1-3
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