Sunday: The Land as a Place of Rest
Read Genesis 15:13-21. What did God promise Abraham?
When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, His purpose was to bring Israel to the land of Canaan, where they would be able to serve and obey Him freely (Exodus 8:1; Psalm 105:43-45), including enjoying the Sabbath rest that Pharaoh had prohibited (Exodus 5:5).
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The land of Canaan was the inheritance that God had promised to their father Abraham because he had obeyed God’s voice and left his country to go to the Promised Land (Genesis 11:31-12:4).
God’s purpose in giving the land to Israel was not simply for them to possess it. God was bringing them to Himself (Exodus 19:4). God wanted them to live in a land where they would be able to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him, without any hindrance, and would also be a witness to the world of who the true God was and what He offered His people. Like the Sabbath of creation, the land of Canaan was a framework that made possible an intimate relationship with their Redeemer and the enjoyment of His goodness.
In Deuteronomy 12:1-14, the Lord told the people that they would enter the rest, not simply when they entered the land, but when they had purged the land from idolatry. After that, God would show them, the Chosen, a place where He would dwell among them.
Read Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. What two things does the Sabbath rest commemorate, and how are they related?
God connected the Sabbath of creation with the deliverance from Egypt. He instructed Israel to observe the Sabbath as a memorial of creation and as a memorial of their redemption from Egypt. Creation and redemption are both enshrined in the Sabbath commandment. Just as we did not create ourselves, we cannot redeem ourselves. It’s a work that only God can do, and by resting we acknowledge our dependence upon Him, not only for existence but for salvation. Sabbath keeping is a powerful expression of salvation by faith alone.
| How should keeping the Sabbath help us understand our complete dependence upon God, not only for existence but for salvation? |
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Hi folk, I am back again after a busy week in Queensland. It is good to be home.
You will probably think of me as a heretic when I say that the "big picture" message of the Sabbath is about rest, not the arithmetic of which day it is. Now, don't get me wrong; the seventh-day Sabbath is important but for most of the 160 odd years of the Seventh-day Adventist church we have been experts in searching histories of calendars, finding texts that prove that the Sabbath existed before the Israelites and proving that Jesus kept the seventh day. We have argued the case for when Sabbath begins and ends, even near the dateline and above the arctic circle. We have become experts in defending the "seventhness" (I had to invent that word but you know what I mean) of the Sabbath. But we have had much less to say about its purpose - rest. In fact, if you ask most Seventh-day Adventists what Sabbath-keeping means, they say simply that you go to church on Saturday instead of Sunday. If Sabbath-keeping is mainly about time-shifting the day we go to church, then I think we have missed the boat. We really need to take time to look at the big picture idea of Sabbath-keeping - REST.
An Illustration: I recently drove from Maroochydore in Queensland to Cooranbong in NSW (this is in Australia for those who don't know me). It is a distance of 960km The first three hours of driving is through the metropolitan area of Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast. The traffic is busy and Queensland drivers have a habit of driving with scary reckless abandon. You have to be on the alert the whole time. The rest of the trip was on the Pacific Motorway, for the most part, dual carriageway with 2-3 lanes on each side. It is a major transport corridor and there are many huge double-B, 38 wheel trucks to fill the highway. The speed limit is 110kph. Furthermore, I am old, and after sitting and concentrating for 12 hours behind the steering wheel my bones ache. It is a tiring journey.
I arrived home tired and desperately in need of a rest. But at the same time, I had that peace of mind that comes from knowing that I was home safe, where I belong.
Somewhere in that illustration is the message about the sort of rest that Jesus wants us to have. Hopefully this week we will explore that topic and be enriched by it. And, in turn, we will be able to share the message of rest with others as well.
Thanks for the graphic anecdotes and analogies, Maurice.
I also strongly endorse your opening comments regarding majoring in minors when it comes to meticulous Sabbath observance. Unfortunately, many of us are "experts" at it and can't see the forest for the trees.
This is an interesting perspective Maurice. Not being able to sit down and have a discussion with you on this, I have to say, in my understanding of Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11, the seventhness (I like that word), seems pretty important. Even in Jesus life, it was his custom to keep that 7th day. If we understand the claims of Satan, that Gods law could not be kept, then maybe another look at the importance of the 7th day should be considered.
Hi Karen; I am not denying the importance of the "seventhness" but want to re-emphasise the importance of the restfulness. Many of us can argue the case for the seventh-day Sabbath in detail, but our concept of restfulness is limited. My thesis is that if we get the restfulness right then the "seventhness" makes sense. If we miss the true meaning of restfulness then the "seventhness" is of little value. A gold coin is of little value if you only think of it as a metal disk.
Good morning Maurice, thank you for the clarification. I totally agree with that. The leaders of Jesus day kept Sabbath perfectly, in their minds, and they ended up killing the King of the universe.
I am right with you Maurice in emphasising the "rest" aspect and impact of the Sabbath rather than its numerical status.
I would suggest that the presence of the fourth statement of the decalogue is not so much a command for us to "observe" a day in a particular way, but it is there to identify to the giver of the life principles announced therein. Without that fourth statement the rest of the "commandments" could have been declared by any god or dictator. However, in identifying Himself, as their Deliverer, the Creator and therefore Sustainer, God gives us the foundation of a solid, trusting, rest.
While it is only speculation that I cannot prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt (though there is some evidence to support it as not totally ridiculous speculation*), I suspect that God's calling a people back to the 'Promised Land' was reflective of the plan of salvation as actual, step-by-step restoration back to what had been lost on all levels. Consequently, I believe that the physical journey from Egypt (the house of bondage/slavery (Exodus 20:2) which metaphorically aligns with the bondage/slavery humanity had entered in Genesis 3:6) back to Canaan was the calling/ransoming by God of his dislocated children back home to 'Eden' (metaphorically a land flowing with mild and honey in so far as Eden would have been hyper-productive when it was in its pristine condition prior to the entry of sin).
This suggestion is in keeping with God utilising types and metaphors in His efforts to progressively reveal, via multiple modalities, the realities of the Kingdom of God to us as humans. This is so that those, whose heart's desire to align with what that Kingdom is about, can ever-progressively grow in their 'seeing' and understanding of the multiple layers and facets of such.
If there is some merit to the above suggestion, it would add another layer of significance to the idea of rest as a journey culminating in the ultimate rest associated with 'returning back to land' - a redeemed and restored humanity being literally once again 'back home'.
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* I did find some others who have similarly proposed that Eden and Canaan may have geographically been the same region. Here is one example.
Hi Phil – I concur wholeheartedly with your suggestion/interpretation/conclusion to consider the journey as well as the destiny as ‘Rest’.
We find 'rest' and are at 'rest' in the Will of God as we live/follow His path of Life. It is the journey of the believer as well as the road on which he travels, ultimately bringing him/her to its end, its destination – life everlasting in the 'Land of Rest'.
I see 'Rest' to be our spiritual state; it is the state we experience when living by faith God’s Will and Way. 'Pilgrims Progess' is a wonderful book to read about this journey and the Way!
I love Pilgrim's Progress. I like reading it over and over because I learn something new every time.
Mr. Phil, I was thinking along the same lines as you as we studied Deuteronomy last quarter. Thank you for putting it in a way that makes perfect sense!
The Land as a Place of Rest
I always thought of sabbath as a day of rest, so when I saw the title the land as a place of rest, I did not know what to expect from this lesson study.
I believe I found the answer in Deuteronomy 12:10-13
1) He will give you rest from your enemies - God always wants his people experience heaven on earth.
2) You dwell in safety - Do not fear the pestilences of the world. God is in control.
3) God Chooses to make His name abide - This is where I go wrong. This is not about Israel as a nation. This is about His name becoming the beacon of light in the world. I get it wrong because it is not about a denomination (Adventism). It’s all about Him
4) Your Choice Offering - A fruit of his provision and his safety from the land He has provided.
Deuteronomy 12:3
You shall destroy - Specifically mentions physical places but we know the spiritual application we cannot serve two masters. We must destroy those things that are holding us captives.
You shall rejoice - When we turn unto him, He has promised his blessing upon us.
Today, if you hear his voice turn back to him, comeback to Him just as you are. He is a promise keeper these promises applicable to us.
I came across new and, to me, important information when studying for the lesson. When reading Gen.11:31-32 KJV, I realized that it was Terah, Abram’s father, who originally planned to leave Ur with all of his family and go to Canaan – v.31: ”… and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there.”
He died in Haran at the age of 205 years. Scripture does not reveal how long he dwelled their before his death. Only after his death did the LORD speake to Abram directly. He addressed him authoritatively; like they already knew each other. Abram was to continue the journey his father had started but which was interrupted by Terah ‘dwelling in Haran’. Scripture does not point out how long his family was at Haran after his death, but God wanted Abram to continue the journey to Canaan.
Abram was now the head of the families of his father. Could it be that Abram had a previous relationship with God, one which God recognized to be worthy to be developed and confirmed as He directed him to continuing the journey to Canaan? God obviously chose him for some special, undisclosed reason!
Now we learn of God's purpose for him to continue on to Canaan. It is for the purpose of ‘making him a great nation; to bless him, and to make his name great and to be a blessing.’ Gen.12:2-3. His faith-based response was either motivated by the promises, or by a prior, personal relationship with the LORD.
Abram continued the long journey of faith through time, originally started by his father in Ur of the Chaldees, which was ultimately fulfilled in the spiritual rest of wll who believe in Christ Jesus. The Shepard who promised Abram to lead him and all who believe into the Promised Land kept His promise to give his sheep the Rest they were looking for.
The Lord of the Sabbath is our God, Him do we remember through love and worship on Sabbath and throughout the week; to Him do we come for teaching us His Will and Way, refreshing our living souls to go on another week of living by faith in His Will and Way.
There is a background theme that Sunday’s study misses: the land and the Sabbath as symbols of rest and their link to the Eternal Covenant. Eden is the starting point of this theme.
At their creation, Adam and Eve were given the earth (land) and promised descendants with the instruction to fill the earth. As soon as this was accomplished, they were immediately ushered into an exclusive period of time in God’s presence, his Sabbath rest. (Genesis 1.) Since Adam and Eve were made in the image of God, it was his intent that from Eden, mankind would move out to fill the earth and subdue it with the Love of God.
After believing the lies of the Great Deceiver, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and life on the earth degenerated into a hell that caused God great anguish of heart, so that he determined to obliterate creation. But Noah found favour in his eyes. (Genesis 6:5-8.)
After the Flood, God made a new covenant with Noah, giving him the earth (land) and promising descendants to fill it. (Genesis 9:1-17.) But again, God’s plan for mankind was derailed by the establishment of Babylon. But God called Terah (descendant of Shem) out of Babylon to a promised land (Canaan). But Terah only made it as far as Haran. (Genesis 11:31.)
Then God called Abram to leave Haran to journey to Canaan, promising him the land and descendants. (Genesis 12:1-3.) But Abram was promised more than Canaan because in his Seed all the families of earth would be blessed. This promise was renewed in Genesis 15:1-7 and Genesis 17:1-14. Abraham’s seed was to become captive to Egypt, but God promised to deliver them from bondage to bring them to his promised land of rest.
In Jacob’s ladder dream, God renewed his promise of descendants and land, and that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed. (Genesis 28:10-16.) And as God revealed to Abraham, when the children of Israel sojourned in Egypt, they became enslaved by the Pharaoh. But as promised, they were delivered and brought into the promised land of rest.
So what was the expectation in the context of the Covenant Promise? It was that children of Israel would find a time and place of rest in God’s presence. With God dwelling among them, they would from Canaan fill the earth and subdue it with the Love of God. Yet again, this covenant failed because God found fault with his people. (Hebrews 8:8.)
But when the Seed came (that is, the Messiah), the Lord established the Covenant on better promises, those made by the Son of God. (Hebrews 8:6.) Believing in the faithfulness of the Son of God, the Messiah, we can ultimately enter into his rest, the presence of our loving God in place and time: the earth made new and for eternity. This was God’s original plan for mankind, and in his Messiah, it will be finally realized. (Revelation 22:1-5.)