Welcome Back, Sisters!
If you are just joining us, you may begin Session 1: Rest to Ransom here. Today we begin Session 2 and as you will see on today’s introduction video clip, I am not quite ready to leave the Garden of Eden just yet.
God revealed the necessity of rest, ceasing from our labor, for a specific reason. At times its purpose is found in reflecting on our spiritual state of affairs, allowing ourselves to be open and vulnerable before the Lord. This is what God essentially asked Adam and Eve to do. Reflect on their own hearts. Other times it’s to reflect on the character and wonders of the Almighty God.
REFLECT ON HIM
For the Israelites who had just been freed from bondage as Egyptian slaves, God commanded rememberance the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
A day of rest.
A day of reflection.
A day of worship.
Read God’s specific commands in Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. What instructions did God have for the Israelites? Specifically, what did God want them to remember on the Sabbath day?
Each and every week, the Israelites were to rest and reflect on God’s provision and presence in their lives. It was a holy day unto the Lord. A perpetual covenant. Exodus 15:1-21 is a beautiful song of remembrance. A song Moses and the sons of Israel sang celebrating their exodus and exulting God for the wondrous deeds He performed bringing them out of bondage.
However, three days later that song of praise turned into a cry of despair. They grumbled at having no water to drink and later, about the manna they had to eat. They became so angry of God’s deliverance, they begged to return to the chains of slavery in exchange for indulging in meat and fine spices. How often do we become restless and worrisome over the daily needs God promises to provide? We can even look into distorted mirrors of our past, falsely asserting that the world filled us with contentment. The reality is we can glamorize the past as an excuse to escape the challenges of the present.
The Lord reminded Moses in Exodus 19:4, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.”
Turn to Deuteronomy 32:10-11 and Isaiah 40:31, which describe the significance of being on eagles’ wings:
- Protection
- Security
- Renewed Strength
- Not growing weary
- Not fainting
This image of rest is what God did in the lives of the Israelites…while they wandered in wilderness. However, many times, they failed to see this provision. They simply forgot who God was and forsook Him altogether.
Psalm 46:10 reads, “Be still and know that I am God.”
To reflect on who God is, God first commands us to be still. This stillness speaks of letting go of our concerns, being free from worry and leaning on the stability and certainty of who God is. To know implies knowing God through experiencing Him.
David in the Psalms wrote a “Song for the Sabbath Day” (Psalm 92) praising God with voices and instruments, acknowledging that He will guard His people against the enemy and that His ways are righteous.
Can we sing that song in the wilderness, when it seems we are barely getting by? Can we extol the Lord, rest in Him, reflect on His righteous and holy ways while wandering in a dry, weary desert of uncertainty?
During those times we are tempted to become restless and worrisome, be still, cease striving and simply know that God is on the throne.
Reflect on the God who brought deliverance from your proverbial Egypt.
Reflect on the God who freed you from the bondage of sin.
Reflect on the God who mounted you up on eagles wings.
Rest and reflect on Him.
THE ANCIENT PATH THAT LEADS TO REST
Last Monday, we closed the study with Jesus’ invitation. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.”
Jesus was quoting a portion of the prophet Jeremiah, who said, “This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls...’” (Jeremiah 6:16)
Imagine being a traveler at the crossroads. Left. Right. A right way. A wrong way. Which way leads to your destination?
Jeremiah pleaded with the Israelites to walk in the way that would ultimately lead to rest. The good way.
This way was an ancient path.
The word used for “ancient” in Hebrew is olam, which can be translated always and everlasting. It can even speak of time before the creation of the world.
Don’t miss this path! It is not just a path traversed by ancestors of old who bestow good advice. It is a path that always was. It is the everlasting path.
Turn to Psalm 90:1-2. A prayer of Moses the man of God. “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
The same Hebrew word used in Jeremiah 6:16 for the “ancient” path that would lead to rest is the same word described of God here. Everlasting. Olam.
While it wasn’t fully revealed to the prophet Jeremiah, Jesus would come to be the ancient path.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.” (John 14:6)
How do we find rest in reflection?
Look in the Mirror. Reflect on your own spiritual state, responding when God asks “Where are you?” and be still.
Look out the Window. Reflect on the character and work of God as revealed in His Word and through your experience in knowing Him.
Look at the Sign on the Road. Reflect at the crossroads and choose to walk in the ancient, everlasting path.
Read Psalms 116:7-9. “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”
As you rest in the Lord and walk in His ways, God promises that your reflection will behold the image of Him.
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)
REFLECTION OF ME + REFLECTION ON HIM = LAMENT
An experiential way to engage in reflection is through laments. A lament is a prayer of moaning and wailing before God. It starts as a mirror to our innermost being reflecting the plight of sin, doubt, anger, despair, or trial. Then, a bold petition of restoration is made before God. The lament ends in confidence and praise to God, as we lay those burdens at the feet of Jesus. (Examples of laments are Psalm 6, 13, 27, 69, 88.) Have you written a lament? If so, link it in the comments section or email me by Wednesday and I will post it on Thursday when I share my lament, “Rain on Me.”
REST is a 4-week Bible study series. View an overview of the entire series or subscribe now to receive posts via email or rss feeder.
