We have seen how the Lord considered his people, the priests, and the ordinances of temple worship as set apart to him and holy. Now we read that certain days and times of year were also to be set apart as holy to the Lord.

The first of these was the Sabbath. This was not new – God had commanded observance of the Sabbath before – but it is included here because, like the feast days, it is a day set apart for God when the people were called to rest from their work and remember the work that God had done for them. The Sabbath represents ‘rest’, and this is not just a rest from working, but a deeper peace or refreshing that can only be found in God.

Unlike the Sabbath, the other festivals were annual events, and normally involved meeting together around the Tabernacle. However, they are all, like the Sabbath, times of ‘rest’ for the people as they remember the peace that God has brought them through his provision for them, whether that provision was freedom from slavery, spiritual and physical food and drink, or the cleansing of sin.

Our Sundays are not the same as the Sabbath days described in Scripture. We no longer observe the annual feasts described here. But the Lord still calls us to set aside specific times to rest in the peace he has bought for us, and to reflect on his goodness and his provision. We can do this as a community of believers and alone in our own homes. We can do it any day of the week.

When we set aside time as holy to the Lord, we clear out the distractions of all the worldly things, and draw closer to the Lord and, if we are meeting with other believers, to each other. Take time in your week to enter into the rest that only the Lord can give, and be refreshed!

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH