Sabbath Rest, pt.2

In the Old Testament, it is obvious God is very serious about the Sabbath rest. We see it early. In Gen.2:2-3 we are told God rested on the 7th day of creation. In Exodus 20:8-11, the law of the Sabbath is given as part of the 10 commandments. Leviticus 25 sets forth the law regarding the Sabbatic year and the year of Jubilee. In 2 Chronicles 36 we have the story of the fall of Jerusalem to the Chaldeans. All who were not slain by the sword were taken to Babylon as slaves until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths.  The people of Israel did not fully follow the law of the Sabbath, much less giving the land its rest one year out of every seven, much less every 50th year (Jubilee). So, whether you consider the sole reason, or just a symptom of their overall disobedience, giving the land its rest was one of the key reasons given for their 70 years of captivity.

Our own bodies tell us we need a break sometimes. Our failure to do so is the cause for numerous illnesses both physical, mental, and emotional. Even more, it is the cause of much spiritual failure. The difference is, if we don't listen to our bodies, they will shut down. Eventually, we'll get so ill we have no choice but to stop and rest physically and/or mentally until we can recover - consider it a time of forced "sabbath" rest. Spiritually, however, we tend to just explain away our failures and breakdowns as part of life. We convince ourselves we have no option but to sin. It's just the way we are and will be until we get to heaven.

I submit the real problem is our definition of sin. We think of the "obvious" sins that we can see. We don't look at the sin that lies at the root. When Andrew Murray, a late 19th century minister in South Africa, grew ill and had to return to Europe for treatment, his church assured his wife she would be welcomed back after he had passed away. While in Europe, he met someone who taught him some significant lessons regarding the relationship between sin and health. In a letter back to his church he wrote that disease came as a result of sing, and was used by God to make us aware of sin in our life and lead us to repentance. Whether you or I agree with that assessment is not my point here. What struck me when I read this in his biography was the list of sins which followed.  He wrote, "This may be lack of complete consecration, the assertion of one's own will, confidence in one's own strength in performing the Lord's work, a forsaking of the first love and tenderness in the walk with God, or the absence of that gentleness which desires to follow only the leading of the Spirit of God."

The point of the New Covenant is that we have a new relationship with God. It is one of abiding in His presence. It is one in which His laws are written on our hearts. It is no longer so much a matter that "it is written," as it is that it is written on our hearts! Paul wrote that he served "the word of God, that is the mystery which...has now been manifested to His saints,...which is Christ in you the hope of glory." The New Covenant relationship with God is one in which the God of heaven Himself, in the person of His Son, takes up residence in the believer, inviting and making the way for the men who were once enemies of God to be made friends with God, and to ever live in the presence of the living God. He administers from heaven the life of heaven to the heart of the believer, so that men who could in no way in their own strength please God, now, in fact, have the righteousness of God Himself. Indeed, since "the way in" is to be in total dependence on God for the work necessary to accomplish salvation, and since we are to "go on" as we got in, there can be no more hideous sin than to neglect so great a salvation!

There is no more vile sin for the believer than to ignore God's grace and attempt to accomplish His will through some method other than that which He has set forth--total dependence upon and yieldedness to His strength, His ability administered in your life by His Spirit in the inner man! This dependence characterized your first love and tenderness in your walk with God. In those days there was a gentleness about you that desired to follow only the Spirit's leading. If Murray's list of sins describes you at any point, now is the time to stop and humbly repent. Here is the where we fail. From here we go on to lack of thanksgiving, and proceed further into the things we would normally consider when we think of a list of sins.