Leviticus 23
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Leviticus 23:3, There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.
This chapter details the appointed feasts that God instituted for his people. These were national celebrations, during which the people of God renewed their allegiance to God. For the most part, the religious feasts coincided with the agricultural seasons. I do hope you have read through the chapter and gotten a feel for the religious festivals. I would suggest you pick one or two and do some deeper research online. These are fascinating! God truly cared about his people, their well-being, and their dedication to him.
What's interesting to me is that the Sabbath is considered the primary, foundational religious festival. I guess I've never looked at Sabbath that way, but it was the most celebrated feast (once a week) and it was the basis of all the other feasts. It was so important that it was included as part of the ten commandments.
The reason I picked this particular feast on which to focus is that we as a society truly struggle with it. How many of us take one day every single week and set it aside for rest and focusing on God? I'll be very honest - I am terrible at this! Since Sunday is a work day for me, I've always said that Friday or Saturday is my Sabbath. However, it's very tempting to simply work through those days too. It needs to be done, right? God doesn't care, right? As I sit here and think about how Sabbath was the foundational religious feast, I'm really convicted. While I'm not legalistic and I do believe that things are different on this side of the cross, I still think that God designed us to take times for rest.
When do you take your Sabbath day? Do you treat it as a feast or simply another day?
Let's pray...God, we live in a society that never stops. Help us to find a way to take time each week that is dedicated to rest and focusing on you. Lord, help us (help me!) make this a reality. We need you, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.