4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” 24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16: 4 – 5 and 21 – 30)
Theme: If not You, then Who?
Today, we turn our attention to the Discipline of Sabbath. This is the final Discipline we will consider before Holy/Passion Week. For 40-Days of Discipline, practicing the Discipline of Sabbath does not require adherence to any specific day of rest. Instead, it calls for regular intervals of rest from labour.
One of the reasons this Discipline is extremely important is that it portrays reliance on God. No matter how hard we try, we will never be able to work ourselves to fulfilment. Work has value but it can’t fulfill our deepest needs. We should rest and more importantly we should rest in God and trust Him to supply our needs.
Our passage for today illustrates the ability of God to supply, and the need for us to follow his commands including the command to rest. For some of us, there are times when it seems impractical to take a break. We should discuss those circumstances with God. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He desires to meet our needs.
Please read the passage above and answer the questions below.
Questions:
- How much value do you place on taking regular intervals of rest?
- What are the major challenges you face and how are you addressing them?