Hebrews 4:6-11
The author continues his inductive study on Psalm 95:7-11 but specifically looking at verses 7-8 and 11. He is specifically studying the Sabbath rest of God. His line of reasoning goes as follows: God's promise is that humans can enter his Sabbath rest if they believe and obey his word. Since the Israelites did not enter his rest because they were disobedient, God's promise is still open and has not been fulfilled yet. Psalm 95:11 makes it clear that the promise has been extended to a period of time called "Today". If the Promised Land was the Promised Rest, then God's promise would have been fulfilled when Joshua led the people into the land. However, Psalm 95:11 was spoken through David and David comes after Joshua. The warning is written to the people alive in David's day. The author extends that warning to the present day since, according to the author, we are all still living in the time period called "Today". The promise of God, according to the author, is therefore still not completely fulfilled and there remains a Sabbath rest available to all those who do not harden their hearts when they hear the voice of God.
The application is that the author's audience should work hard to make sure that they enter into the Sabbath rest of God and avoid following the example of the ancestors of Israel. The application for me is the same: what am I hearing from God's word that I need to start obeying. By not obeying I am questioning the word of God (did God really mean that?) and the character of God (can God be trusted?). It is not enough to hear the word of God or even to agree with the word of God, I must act on it! I must not just believe it, it must become a conviction!
The other application for me is that there is a rest available to me that is experienced at some level today and more fully in eternity. It doesn't mean that I stop working but that the goal of my work is to experience the rest of God. So much of what I do is busy work. I don't want to appear lazy so I make sure I am busy - often for the sake of just doing something. This has become a badge of honour in our society. Do a test. If you ask someone how they are doing or how their summer/fall/weekend/week was, I bet that the next most common response, after some variation of "good", will be a variation of "busy". I want there to be, at the core of my being and presence, a sense of rest and refreshment because I have tasted and, to at least a small degree, live in the Sabbath rest of God. I want to work hard to experience that rest.
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A Sabbath For Me
Hebrews 4:1-5
The author continues on his thoughts about the Sabbath rest that God has invited his people to enter. This continues his exploration of Psalm 95 but here the author focuses on the word "rest." The author contends that because the nation of Israel did not enter the Sabbath rest of God that the promise of entering that rest still stands. The author draws a parallel between the response of the OT Jews and the audience's potential; they both had a good news message proclaimed to them but the OT Jews did not share the faith of those who believed. I think "those who believed" is a reference to the people that the author lists in Hebrews 11.
Looking forward, I think that faith is going to be one of the themes that the author picks up on in the rest of the book. For sure it is a theme picked up on in Hebrews 11 and 12. It fits with the rest of the author's thesis: the supremacy of Christ and, therefore, the supremacy of everything that Christ offers to his disciples over what the Jewish religious system offers. Faith becomes the way to access the presence and glory of God and all the benefits that Christ offers - specifically in this passage, rest. Promise is another theme that will be picked up on in the rest of the book. Here, the focus is on the promise of rest.
It is interesting to me how well the author knows the OT but doesn't know where anything is (grin!). Twice the author has said something like, "there is a place where someone has testified..." and "somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words..." The words about the seventh day are fairly significant and quite easy to remember where they are - it's right at the beginning of the OT. I can't be too harsh on him though because I know that I've done something similar in a lot in my sermons: "as Scripture reminds us..." or "the Bible says..." Steve (my go to guy on this stuff) wonders if it is a common expression like "the good book says" or if he is just doing what we all tend to do in our talks and sermons.
The main point the author is making in this passage is that there is a Sabbath rest available for the followers of Jesus and that we enter that Sabbath rest by faith. This Sabbath rest is a promise that will be fulfilled both in the future and that is being fulfilled in the present. I can be experiencing the rest of God right now. If I am not, that speaks to my faith and my acceptance of the good news message.
The author continues on his thoughts about the Sabbath rest that God has invited his people to enter. This continues his exploration of Psalm 95 but here the author focuses on the word "rest." The author contends that because the nation of Israel did not enter the Sabbath rest of God that the promise of entering that rest still stands. The author draws a parallel between the response of the OT Jews and the audience's potential; they both had a good news message proclaimed to them but the OT Jews did not share the faith of those who believed. I think "those who believed" is a reference to the people that the author lists in Hebrews 11.
Looking forward, I think that faith is going to be one of the themes that the author picks up on in the rest of the book. For sure it is a theme picked up on in Hebrews 11 and 12. It fits with the rest of the author's thesis: the supremacy of Christ and, therefore, the supremacy of everything that Christ offers to his disciples over what the Jewish religious system offers. Faith becomes the way to access the presence and glory of God and all the benefits that Christ offers - specifically in this passage, rest. Promise is another theme that will be picked up on in the rest of the book. Here, the focus is on the promise of rest.
It is interesting to me how well the author knows the OT but doesn't know where anything is (grin!). Twice the author has said something like, "there is a place where someone has testified..." and "somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words..." The words about the seventh day are fairly significant and quite easy to remember where they are - it's right at the beginning of the OT. I can't be too harsh on him though because I know that I've done something similar in a lot in my sermons: "as Scripture reminds us..." or "the Bible says..." Steve (my go to guy on this stuff) wonders if it is a common expression like "the good book says" or if he is just doing what we all tend to do in our talks and sermons.
The main point the author is making in this passage is that there is a Sabbath rest available for the followers of Jesus and that we enter that Sabbath rest by faith. This Sabbath rest is a promise that will be fulfilled both in the future and that is being fulfilled in the present. I can be experiencing the rest of God right now. If I am not, that speaks to my faith and my acceptance of the good news message.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Danger of Unbelief
Hebrews 3:16-19
The author asks a series of questions about the historical incident that prevented the Jewish adults from entering the promised rest. Basically he is making the point that it is the very people that Moses led out of captivity that have been denied entrance into God's rest. They had seen the redemptive work of God in the Exodus but still their hearts tended towards unbelief. The author is stressing that unbelief leads to disobedience. The logical flow, according to the author is: unbelief leads to disobedience leads to discipline. In this case, the discipline is death and an inability to enter God's promised rest.
All of this relates back to the quote the author uses: "if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." The warning is that a hardened heart leads to disobedience and disobedience leads to punishment. It is an exhortation to continue in obedience to the voice of God and to make sure that my heart is soft toward him and his direction. The author is hinting that there is a promised rest for all of those who continue to obey God. The Sabbath and the Promised Land are mere shadows that point to the final Sabbath rest available to those who obey.
The author asks a series of questions about the historical incident that prevented the Jewish adults from entering the promised rest. Basically he is making the point that it is the very people that Moses led out of captivity that have been denied entrance into God's rest. They had seen the redemptive work of God in the Exodus but still their hearts tended towards unbelief. The author is stressing that unbelief leads to disobedience. The logical flow, according to the author is: unbelief leads to disobedience leads to discipline. In this case, the discipline is death and an inability to enter God's promised rest.
All of this relates back to the quote the author uses: "if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart." The warning is that a hardened heart leads to disobedience and disobedience leads to punishment. It is an exhortation to continue in obedience to the voice of God and to make sure that my heart is soft toward him and his direction. The author is hinting that there is a promised rest for all of those who continue to obey God. The Sabbath and the Promised Land are mere shadows that point to the final Sabbath rest available to those who obey.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Call the Sabbath Police!
Matthew 12:9-14
According to Matthew, this happens on the same Sabbath as his disciples picking grain. Jesus challenges the consciences of the synagogue rulers by asking questions and setting up scenarios. He points out the absurdities of their traditions: it is ok to rescue a sheep that fell into a pit but not ok to provide help and healing to a person. This healing seems to be the last straw for the Pharisees - as a result of Jesus breaking the Sabbath in this way, they go out and plot to kill him.
Talk about missing the point! Jesus is saying that humans are more important than laws and traditions. In another place he says that the sabbath was created to serve humans; humans weren't created to serve the sabbath. Jesus had just said that someone (meaning him) more important than the temple was present - if it's ok to break the Sabbath in service of the temple, it is ok to break the Sabbath in service of Christ. Now he is saying that someone (meaning humans in need) more important than sheep was present - if it is ok to break the Sabbath to rescue a sheep, it is ok to break the Sabbath to rescue a person.
I wonder how many times I have killed or supressed the work of God because it did not conform to my traditions and expectations. I wonder how many times I've missed helping people because I was caught up in my observance of holiness. We are a lot like the Pharisees in the way we teach our students to avoid evil - it's wrong to get drunk so you shouldn't drink and you shouldn't go anywhere drinking is happening and you shouldn't even hang out with people who maybe have ever had something to drink or might have gotten drunk at sometime in their past because that might tempt you to drink and you might get drunk. The layers of tradition that we've added to avoid breaking the rules have become rules themselves and we judge each other based on our ability to keep those rules. In the mean time there are blind, crippled, needy people at those parties living in darkness that are dying for the light but we're too afraid to take our light there because we might sin. We have become the Pharisees. Shouldn't we be teaching our students to take their light into the darkest places of this world, teaching them and showing them that they can trust the Spirit in them to keep them strong and from temptation and that they can trust the community of faith to which they belong to hold them accountable, to pray for them, to go with them to prevent them from falling as they go to shine their light? Isn't this what Jesus taught? Isn't this what Jesus did?
According to Matthew, this happens on the same Sabbath as his disciples picking grain. Jesus challenges the consciences of the synagogue rulers by asking questions and setting up scenarios. He points out the absurdities of their traditions: it is ok to rescue a sheep that fell into a pit but not ok to provide help and healing to a person. This healing seems to be the last straw for the Pharisees - as a result of Jesus breaking the Sabbath in this way, they go out and plot to kill him.
Talk about missing the point! Jesus is saying that humans are more important than laws and traditions. In another place he says that the sabbath was created to serve humans; humans weren't created to serve the sabbath. Jesus had just said that someone (meaning him) more important than the temple was present - if it's ok to break the Sabbath in service of the temple, it is ok to break the Sabbath in service of Christ. Now he is saying that someone (meaning humans in need) more important than sheep was present - if it is ok to break the Sabbath to rescue a sheep, it is ok to break the Sabbath to rescue a person.
I wonder how many times I have killed or supressed the work of God because it did not conform to my traditions and expectations. I wonder how many times I've missed helping people because I was caught up in my observance of holiness. We are a lot like the Pharisees in the way we teach our students to avoid evil - it's wrong to get drunk so you shouldn't drink and you shouldn't go anywhere drinking is happening and you shouldn't even hang out with people who maybe have ever had something to drink or might have gotten drunk at sometime in their past because that might tempt you to drink and you might get drunk. The layers of tradition that we've added to avoid breaking the rules have become rules themselves and we judge each other based on our ability to keep those rules. In the mean time there are blind, crippled, needy people at those parties living in darkness that are dying for the light but we're too afraid to take our light there because we might sin. We have become the Pharisees. Shouldn't we be teaching our students to take their light into the darkest places of this world, teaching them and showing them that they can trust the Spirit in them to keep them strong and from temptation and that they can trust the community of faith to which they belong to hold them accountable, to pray for them, to go with them to prevent them from falling as they go to shine their light? Isn't this what Jesus taught? Isn't this what Jesus did?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
greater than the temple
Matthew 12:1-8
The key words and concepts in this section are: Sabbath, lawful and unlawful, and Lord. Jesus gives two examples of people that do not keep the strict requirement of the law: David and his men who ate bread from the temple that was not lawful to eat but was overlooked because it preserved their life and the priests who work on the Sabbath but are excused because they are looking after the temple.
I'm not sure if "at that time" indicates that this happened immediately after chapter 11 or if it is more along the lines of "at another time" or "another thing that happened while Jesus was here". Whatever the case, Matthew includes this story because it speaks to Jesus' authourity to interpret the Law and his authourity over the Law; he is Lord of the Sabbath. This means that Christ defines the Sabbath, the Sabbath does not define or restrict Christ.
The other key is that Jesus is setting himself up as greater than the temple which was THE symbol and center of the Jewish religion. His argument is this: the priests can profane the Sabbath because they serve the temple which is great. Therefore the disciples can profane the Sabbath because they serve Jesus who is greater. The main point is that Jesus is setting himself up in opposition to or as superior to religion. There is no longer a system needed to approach God - everyone can have access to his holy presence through Christ. The temple was a symbol of the holy presence of God on earth but Jesus was the essential physical manifestation of God's holy presence. Jesus is obviously greater than the temple.
Jesus' main point is that mercy is greater than sacrifice. In other words that there is something more important than a strict observance of the law: honouring God, serving people and preserving life has to take precedence. I wonder what I have set up in my own life as more important than Christ. I wonder if there are rules that I keep to the detriment of honouring God. I wonder if there are legalistic tendencies in my life that rob God of his glory.
The key words and concepts in this section are: Sabbath, lawful and unlawful, and Lord. Jesus gives two examples of people that do not keep the strict requirement of the law: David and his men who ate bread from the temple that was not lawful to eat but was overlooked because it preserved their life and the priests who work on the Sabbath but are excused because they are looking after the temple.
I'm not sure if "at that time" indicates that this happened immediately after chapter 11 or if it is more along the lines of "at another time" or "another thing that happened while Jesus was here". Whatever the case, Matthew includes this story because it speaks to Jesus' authourity to interpret the Law and his authourity over the Law; he is Lord of the Sabbath. This means that Christ defines the Sabbath, the Sabbath does not define or restrict Christ.
The other key is that Jesus is setting himself up as greater than the temple which was THE symbol and center of the Jewish religion. His argument is this: the priests can profane the Sabbath because they serve the temple which is great. Therefore the disciples can profane the Sabbath because they serve Jesus who is greater. The main point is that Jesus is setting himself up in opposition to or as superior to religion. There is no longer a system needed to approach God - everyone can have access to his holy presence through Christ. The temple was a symbol of the holy presence of God on earth but Jesus was the essential physical manifestation of God's holy presence. Jesus is obviously greater than the temple.
Jesus' main point is that mercy is greater than sacrifice. In other words that there is something more important than a strict observance of the law: honouring God, serving people and preserving life has to take precedence. I wonder what I have set up in my own life as more important than Christ. I wonder if there are rules that I keep to the detriment of honouring God. I wonder if there are legalistic tendencies in my life that rob God of his glory.
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