Closer To Heaven
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This video is produced by the South Pacific Division Discipleship team.
Week 9_ The Rhythms of Rest_ study this lesson for Aug 28 from SPD Discipleship on Vimeo.
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Israel is camped on the eastern side of the Jordan. They had taken possession of the lands of the king of Bashan and two kings of the Amorites. Once again, at this crucial moment, Moses calls Israel together and reminds them that the covenant made at Sinai was not just for their parents but for them, too. He then goes on to repeat the Ten Commandments, again for their benefit.
Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com
In Exodus 20:8, the commandment begins with the word “Remember.” Deuteronomy 5:12 begins with the word “observe” (NKJV). The word “remember” comes a bit later in the commandment itself (Deuteronomy 5:15). In this verse, they are told to remember that they were slaves. Although this generation has grown up free, they would all have been born into slavery were it not for the miraculous rescue. The Sabbath commandment was to remind them that the same God that was active in the Creation story was also active in their deliverance: “the LORD, your God, brought you out from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 5:15, NABRE).
This truth fits the then-current circumstances of the Israelites, standing for a second time at the border of the Promised Land, some forty years after the first generation failed so miserably. They were as helpless in conquering this land as their forefathers were in escaping from Egypt. They needed this God who acts with a “strong hand” and an “outstretched arm.”
The Sabbath is about to take on an added dimension. Because God is the God of liberation, Israel is to keep the Sabbath day (Deuteronomy 5:15).
Of course, creation is not far away from the Sabbath commandment, even in Deuteronomy 5, despite the added reason to keep it: the liberation of Israel. In a sense, the liberation of Israel out of the land of Egypt is the starting point of a new creation, similar to the Creation story in Genesis. Israel, as a liberated people, is God’s new creation (see also, for example, Isaiah 43:15).
And because the Exodus is seen as a symbol of freedom from sin, that is, Redemption, we can find in the Sabbath a symbol of both Creation and Redemption. Hence, in a very real way, the Sabbath points us to Jesus, our Creator and our Redeemer.
| Read John 1:1-13. What do these verses teach us about Jesus as our Creator and Redeemer? |
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After 40 years of wandering in the desert, a new generation with vague, if any, memories of Egypt had grown up. They had a very different life experience from that of their parents. This new generation had witnessed their parents’ repeated lack of faith, and as a consequence, they, too, had to wander in the wilderness as their parents’ generation died off.
They were privileged to have the sanctuary in the center of their camp and could see the cloud indicating God’s presence hovering over the tabernacle. When it moved, they knew that it was time to pack and follow. This cloud that provided shade during the day and light and heat at night was a constant reminder of God’s love and care for them.
Image © Darrel Tank at Goodsalt.com
Contrary to popular theology, these verses prove that the seventh-day Sabbath predated the giving of the law at Sinai.
What happened here?
The special food that God supplied was a daily reminder of the fact that the Creator sustained His Creation. In a very tangible way, God was supplying their needs. Every day was a miracle with the food appearing and disappearing with the sun. Any time that anyone tried to hoard for the next day, it would rot and stink; and yet, every Friday there was enough for a double portion, and the leftover to be eaten on Sabbath remained miraculously fresh.
Israel now had the sanctuary service and all the laws and regulations recorded in Leviticus and Numbers. Still, the aged Moses summons everyone and repeats their history and revisits the laws that God has given (see Deuteronomy 5:6-22).
This new generation finally was poised to enter the Promised Land. Israel was about to undergo a change of leadership, and an aged Moses wanted to ensure that this generation would remember who they were and what their mission was. He did not want them repeating the mistakes of their parents. And so he repeats God’s laws. The Ten Commandments are repeated so that this generation, poised on the brink of conquering Canaan, would not forget.
| In our personal experience, the second coming of Jesus is never more than a few moments after we die. Hence, His return is always near, perhaps even nearer than we might imagine. How does keeping the Sabbath remind us not only of what God has done for us but what He will do for us when He returns? |
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Creation may be “very good,” but it is not yet complete. Creation ends with God’s rest and a special blessing of the seventh day, the Sabbath. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:3).
The Sabbath is part and parcel of God’s creation. In fact, it is the culmination of Creation. God makes rest and creates a space for community where humanity (in those days the core family of Adam and Eve) could stop their day-to-day activities and rest side by side with their Creator.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
Unfortunately, sin entered this world and changed everything. No more direct communion with God. Instead, painful births, hard work, fragile and dysfunctional relationships, and on and on — the litany of woe that we all know so well as life on this fallen world. And still, even amid all this, God’s Sabbath remains, an enduring symbol of our creation and also the hope and promise of our re-creation. If they needed the Sabbath rest before sin, how much more so after?
Many years later, when God frees His children from slavery in Egypt, He reminds them again of this special day.
With this command, God calls us to remember our origins. Contrary to what so many believe, we are not the chance products of cold, uncaring, and blind forces. On the contrary, we are beings who are created in the image of God. We were created to share fellowship with God. No matter that the Israelites had been treated like slaves with little worth. With each Sabbath, in a special way they were called to remember who they really were, beings made in the image of God Himself.
“And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 281.
| Think about how important the doctrine of a six-day creation is. After all, what other teaching is so important that God commands that we devote one-seventh of our lives, every week, and without exception, to remembering it? What should this fact alone teach us about how crucial it is that we remember our true origins, as depicted in the book of Genesis? |
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Rest. The word used most frequently in our Sabbath School Lesson pamphlet this quarter. “Thou shalt rest, Thou shalt rest!” These are words repeated each verse of
Hymn 387 – Come, O Sabbath Day, our theme hymn for this quarter.
We could add to the theme
Hymn 529 – Under His Wings. Each week of study this quarter, gives more and more of showing God’s deepest care for us, His children. As God’s children we find out about the Biblical family growing pains, and this still happens today. Yet, we are still “under His wings”.
The Memory Text tells us of the beautiful Sabbath God blessed for us:
Hymn 40 – The Dawn of God’s Dear Sabbath,
Hymn 381 – Holy Sabbath Day of Rest,
Hymn 385 – Crowning Jewel of Creation,
Hymn 387 – Come O Sabbath Day,
Hymn 388 – Don’t Forget the Sabbath,
Hymn 390 – We Love Thy Sabbath, Lord and
Hymn 393 – Lord of the Sabbath. And, then the theme of creation in
Hymn 320 – Lord of Creation and again
Hymn 385 – Crowning Jewel of Creation.
Sunday’s study leads us to
Hymn 2 – All Creatures of Our God and King.
The Sabbath hymns for the Memory Text are again in force for the Monday’s study time and on into rest of the week.
Tuesday shows that
God Will Take Care of You – Hymn 99. We find manna is the substance that God provides for all. This is in
Hymn 405 – O God, Unseen, Yet Ever Near.
“We find in the Sabbath a symbol of both Creation and Redemption” (Wednesday) and this is sung in
Hymn 394 – Far From All Care, especially in the last verse.
Blessings for a wonderful week ahead.
To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/
Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing, but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
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