The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 31:14-15,
"Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death."
The Lord was deadly serious about having the Israelites observe the Sabbath, the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Here we see the penalty for those failing to do so was death. It was a capital crime to not observe the Sabbath.
In this chapter the Lord explains why he was adamant the Israelites keep the seventh day as "holy to the Lord". "This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy." Verse 13b. The Sabbath was to be an important weekly reminder that the Lord was their God. The Israelites were to carry out their work for the first six days of the week, and then follow the Lord's pattern from the creation week by resting on the seventh.
It is just amazing how distracted people can become when it comes to acknowledging the Lord's presence. Since the Lord was preparing the nation of Israel to be his selected people he would bring his redemption into the world through, he wanted them mindful of himself. Sabbath keeping aided that.
Since the birth of the church, its members have been released from the law. Paul reminds us the purpose of the entirety of the law was to demonstrate our need of salvation, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." Romans 3:20. Once we embrace Jesus Christ in faith we serve the Lord differently than the Israelites were expected to when God was developing them as his people. "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:6.
Sundays are not Sabbaths. The Sabbath fell on the evening before Saturday (Friday evening) and lasted until the evening of Saturday (and still does). Whether we decide to set aside one day a week or a portion of a day to focus on the Lord is an entirely optional matter for each of us (and it need not be a Sunday, although many Christians do so in remembrance of the day of the week the Lord arose from the dead.) "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord." Romans 14:5-6a.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
"Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death."
The Lord was deadly serious about having the Israelites observe the Sabbath, the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Here we see the penalty for those failing to do so was death. It was a capital crime to not observe the Sabbath.
In this chapter the Lord explains why he was adamant the Israelites keep the seventh day as "holy to the Lord". "This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy." Verse 13b. The Sabbath was to be an important weekly reminder that the Lord was their God. The Israelites were to carry out their work for the first six days of the week, and then follow the Lord's pattern from the creation week by resting on the seventh.
It is just amazing how distracted people can become when it comes to acknowledging the Lord's presence. Since the Lord was preparing the nation of Israel to be his selected people he would bring his redemption into the world through, he wanted them mindful of himself. Sabbath keeping aided that.
Since the birth of the church, its members have been released from the law. Paul reminds us the purpose of the entirety of the law was to demonstrate our need of salvation, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." Romans 3:20. Once we embrace Jesus Christ in faith we serve the Lord differently than the Israelites were expected to when God was developing them as his people. "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:6.
Sundays are not Sabbaths. The Sabbath fell on the evening before Saturday (Friday evening) and lasted until the evening of Saturday (and still does). Whether we decide to set aside one day a week or a portion of a day to focus on the Lord is an entirely optional matter for each of us (and it need not be a Sunday, although many Christians do so in remembrance of the day of the week the Lord arose from the dead.) "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord." Romans 14:5-6a.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
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