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| Photo source: babyteetime.com |
I was sitting around the breakfast table with my family, reading about the account of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. After much grumbling and complaining, God had offered His people a new source of food--manna--a strange, wafer-like substance that would appear every morning to be harvested, and if it was not, would melt away as though it were the morning dew. God gave very specific instructions regarding this new food: they were to gather just the amount of manna their families would need for the day each morning except on the Sabbath. To account for this, they were instructed to gather twice the needed amount the day prior to the Sabbath, so they could rest and honor the Lord's Day.
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.'" Exodus 16:4-5
But an interesting thing happened: some of the Israelites went out to gather manna on the Sabbath anyways...
"On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.' So the people rested on the seventh day." Exodus 16:27-30
So we are left with several questions:
Why did some of the Israelites gather manna on the Sabbath? God had explicitly provided a way for them to rest and honor the Lord's Day without the need to work by gathering and preparing food! So why did they choose to disobey?
After some reflection, I think their actions highlight several issues that we all wrestle with, if we are truly honest with ourselves:
- We fear that God will not provide for us, so we work to provide for ourselves
- We fear the future, so we gather and prepare more than we need for the day
- We like to feel productive--this makes us feel powerful and in control
- We have an addiction to excess--if some is good, more must be better, right?
I know God has much to teach me about rest--my need for it, and His provision in it. As we've discussed before, sometimes God forces us to rest through illness or tragedy.
But why do I, like those Israelites, resist this God-given gift of rest?
As I sit to write this post, it is Sunday, the Lord's Day. After spending time with my family at our place of worship, how will I fill the rest of my day? Will I try to get a jump on our next household project? Will I run some errands? Will I continue to busy myself with the week's activities?
OR
Will I choose to rest? Will I relax and spend time loving on my children and husband? Will I take time to read and reflect on God's word? Will I *gasp* take a nap? Will I slow down to pray and praise God and seek His face?
How about you, dear friend? Like me, do you wrestle with the biblical concept of rest? If so, I'd encourage us to take some time out today and confess our spirit of pride and self-sufficiency that bucks against God's purpose for us to rest! If you think of it, it is truly a privilege--to rest and be cared for by our Heavenly Father. I think our entire week--and by extension, our very lives--will be transformed if we choose to obey God and enjoy Sabbath rest!
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