Rest

The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God…Exodus 20:10

How gracious is our God! He commanded His people to take a day off from work. You shall do no work. Nor should anyone in your family, nor any guest, nor any servant do any work. The Sabbath is holy to the Lord. 

Having created man in His image, God wanted us to be like Him. He created heaven and earth, and all that is in them in six days, on the seventh day God rested. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it, Exodus 20:11. What a wonderful picture of what Jesus did! Jesus created a new life for us. He paid the penalty of our sins. He invited us to come to Him and accept His rest. Jesus is our Sabbath. 

The connection between the Sabbath of the LORD and Jesus our Savior is amazing. Both are a celebration of life. The Sabbath was to remember God created everything. Jesus created us as a new creation. Both are created by God for us. Resting from our past was not our idea. It is God’s desire. Both are voluntary. God did not force His people to rest. But He wanted them to enjoy the fruit of their hard work; theirs and God’s. Jesus does not force us to accept His rest. But His invitation to be connected (yoked) to Him and enjoy the fruit of His work. This is grace at work. 

So, both are an invitation from God to us to rest. Rest from obligation to the past. He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, Colossians 2:14. So, let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ, Colossians 2:16-17. Why live in the shadow when we can live in Jesus?

For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His, Hebrews 4:10. Thank God for Jesus who by His selfless work on the cross made us complete. Thank God we are free from not only our sin, but the heavy burden of a bad conscience regarding them. Thank God for the original Sabbath and for Jesus our sabbath. Both are a celebration of completion. Thank you, Jesus!