During World War II, England was expecting an imminent invasion by the German army. Preparations were made to defend the island home as much as possible. Extra fortifications were installed along the beaches. Roads, of course, would offer the enemy the fastest routes to their objectives, and consequently, blockades were installed at strategic points. English authorities then did something strange. In order to slow down and confuse the enemy, railway signs were removed and road signs were taken down. Engraved markers on stone or on buildings couldn’t be taken down, but they were covered with cement.
Signs are significant. They serve as markers and guides. In the pre-GPS era, we all had maps and watched for signs.
What is the Sabbath a sign of? Read Exodus 31:13, Exodus 31.16-17. In what ways can we apply what is said here to ourselves, today, people who believe in the perpetuity of God’s law?
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Though these words were spoken specifically for ancient Israel, we who are Christ’s are “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29), and the Sabbath today remains a sign between God and His people. Exodus 31 points out that the Sabbath is a sign of God’s perpetual (or eternal) covenant ( Exodus 31.16-17). This sign helps us to “know” our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier. It’s like a flag that gets raised every seven days and functions as something to help us remember, since we tend to forget.
God’s Sabbath is a constant reminder of our origins, our liberation, our destiny, and our responsibility to the outcasts and the marginalized. In fact, the Sabbath is so important that instead of our coming to it, it comes to us, every week and without exception, a perpetual reminder of who we are, who made us, what He is doing for us, and what He will ultimately do for us when He makes new heavens and a new earth.
A holy God invites His human covenant partners to consider the rhythm that governs what really counts — the saving relationship between the Creator and Redeemer and His wayward creation. Every week, and with the force and authority that comes from God, we are commanded to enter into the rest that we have been freely given in Christ Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).
How can you learn to have a deeper experience with God during the Sabbath?
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