The Importance of Rest

Exodus 31:15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

When we look at the sabbath and its importance, we could really go into depth with it and bring to the surface some amazing truths, but in its simplicity, it is about rest. When the creator finished designing this complex universe of ours, He declared it to be "very good" and He rested on the seventh day. Now in the wilderness journey, He commands that His people take a day every week to rest. He called this day the sabbath, and it was so important and necessary that if anyone chose t not honor it, they got to take a really long nap if you know what I mean. Well, like a lot of things, the Israelites, in keeping the law, lost the meaning or the heart of the law. Many years after the command was given, man had added so many stipulations to God's commands that they had lost all of the original intentions of the sabbath. One day a man with a withered hand came up to Jesus on the sabbath day, and everyone watched to see if He would heal on the sabbath, so that they could condemn Him. Can you believe that? They had taken a law that was made to benefit them, and had made into something that would hinder them from receiving from God! Of course, Jesus healed the man, but He also took these opportunities to reveal God's heart. In another setting where His disciples were accused of breaking the sabbath, He told them that man wasn't made for the sabbath, but instead, the sabbath was made for man. As a Father, God has given us commands to help us, not to hinder us. Even better than that, God has given us His Spirit, and has written His laws upon our hearts so that we might receive His grace and be free to serve Him out of love. There is now a "rest" for the people of God, and we need take time, not weekly, but daily to curl up in His arms and cast all of our cares upon Him.