All I Want is a Couple Days Off Part 2

This week, we looked deeper at the importance of Sabbath rest to God. Sabbath is actually the very first principle God establishes for us on earth – even before the command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This “rest” is established in Genesis 2:2. The word for “rest” in Hebrew was “shabath,” which is where we get the word Sabbath. God was not resting from His work because He was tired. He was doing so because it was finished. The concept we should get is that we need to enter into the place where God’s work is finished. If He is finished, then it is perfect. That’s where we want to be.

 Of course, we realize that the true and total perfection does not happen on earth; however, we should be striving to obtain as much of it on earth as we can. And I know we are capable, by the power of God, to obtain far more of it than we generally do.  There is a physical side of Sabbath. We are spirit, but we live in a dirt body. Dirt needs rest. In Leviticus 25, God instructs Moses to tell the people that the land is supposed to have rest one year out of every seven. We know that today’s fruits and vegetables have far less nutrients in them than they did in the past. This is in large part because we no longer let the land rest. We plant different crops all year round, and we never give the land time to heal and build up nutrients.

 The funny thing about Sabbath rest is that, whether you give the dirt rest or not, it will take it. Land eventually has nothing to give to the food. Your body eventually stops doing what it is supposed to do. Physical rest is very important.  Spiritual rest is even more important. Until we get to a place of Spiritual rest, it is very difficult to produce the way God intends for us to produce. Throughout the Word there are pictures and imagery that illustrate the process of getting to rest. Certainly the Israelite’s journey is a primary example.

Another example of this is the progression of Israel’s kings. Before King Saul, God was their king. This is a picture of grace. There was no unneeded and unnecessary rule and law between God and His people. 1 Samuel 8:11-18 is God’s warning to His people as they asked for a man to be their king. It was a warning of what has come to pass every time man rules over man.

Next, King David ruled. He is a type of Christ and actually finally, generations later, conquers the entire Promised Land. He is the picture of Jesus conquering sin for us.  David didn’t get to actually build the house of God, but instead Solomon did. Solomon is a picture of living by grace (yes, I understand the Law of Moses was in effect – this is just a picture or shadow). He lived in what his father, David, had accomplished. His rulership was a time of peace and prosperity for Israel. There were no wars.

It was in this environment of grace and, of course, the wisdom that he asked God for, that he amassed all the resources to build God’s house. Now, I know Solomon blew it later in life when he decided to build his own house bigger than God’s, but the picture is that the rest allowed growth of the kingdom. Solomon gave, of his own personal treasury, the equivalent of over $40 billion by today’s standards to the building of the Temple.  I believe one of the biggest hindrances to the expansion of God’s kingdom on earth is His people not entering into rest. As long as we continue to fight and battle against an already defeated foe – not to mention battling against each other – we will be unable to amass the resources needed to rapidly grow and expand the kingdom. The resources end up going to the “war efforts” instead of to the building of His kingdom. The war is over! Jesus won! Let’s enter into the rest and start building!

 Finally, that word in Genesis 2 (shabath) has even deeper meaning when we look at it in the ancient Hebrew. Shabath is made up of shin, beyt and tav. Shin means consume and destroy. Beyt represents the house of God. Tav is the mark or sign of covenant and the symbol was a cross (3500 years before Jesus!). Put together, we see how we get to Sabbath rest – it is John 2:19 where Jesus said, “DESTROY this HOUSE and I will rebuild it IN THREE DAYS (cross).” We have to enter into the completed work of Christ. That is the only way to get to rest!

 To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media.  To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.