Hungry in the wilderness, the Israelites were fed by God's provision of manna. They needed, and He supplied. And they kept a portion of it at God's command for a memorial. What was so important for them to remember?
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 (KJV)
It is appropriate that we study God's word daily. It becomes our bread. But did you notice that manna was gathered on six days only. They were commanded a sabbath on the seventh day. So what are we to make of this?
Perhaps that even in the study of God's word, we need to take a rest. Maybe we should take that seventh day just to revel in the presence of the lord.
What would happen if we took that seventh day off from study? Would we come back on the eighth day refreshed, restored and ready to study the more earnestly.
Father, God,
Help us to see that Your laws are for our benefit. Grant us the grace to recognize when we need a sabbath and the wisdom to take it.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.
Amen.
2 comments:
Actually, they did eat the manna on the seventh day. The only difference is that they did not have to go look for it. So maybe a lesson is that we should use the sixth day to help make the physical preparations for our Bible study such as getting our study materials ready, planning our study, and taking care of anything that could be a distraction on the Sabbath so we can study the Bible effectively on the Sabbath.
A key element in our Bible study is studying with the faith to believe what God says more than our opinions and traditions. As I point out in my blog, God will sometimes reveal something to us in the Bible that we didn't know before, to test our faith, to see if we will believe Him. If we believe and obey God on that point, God will help us understand something else, and the process will continue one point at a time. But if we cease to believe God at some point and give priority to our own opinions and traditions, then the understanding stops.
Also, there is a strong connection between faith and the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath. Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the law, and faith includes believing what God says. Men can often figure out that it is wrong to murder, to steal, to commit adultery, etc. but it takes faith to believe God to know that we need to keep the Sabbath by resting on the seventh day.
Thank you for your comment. Of course, they ate manna on the seventh day as well. The conversation was only about gathering. The work is for six days. The respite is the seventh.
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