I have been reading Leviticus (I think I just heard a chorus
of groans). It is usually one of my least favorite books in the Bible because
it is tedious and full of things that don’t pertain to us now (how to do the
sacrifices, what animals are acceptable, etc.). I have also been reading Judges
– a long series of leaders that rose up when Israel would forget God and go
through the cycle of worshipping idols and then be invaded by another kingdom
and be in captivity or made slaves to the invading country and come back to God, be restored to their land,
and then soon wonder off again. In light of COVID-19 gaining momentum in our
country, these readings have been causing me to ponder.
One of the things God asked the people of Israel to do was
let the land rest every 7 years and every 50 years was to be a year of Jubilee
when any land that had been sold was to be returned to the original family and
people were to return home to their land and their clan. And that was one of
the things God addressed with the Israelites when they went into captivity. He
told them that because they refused to observe the Sabbath rests for the land,
He would give the land its rest while they were in captivity in another
country. You see, when God asks us to do something, it is important to Him that
we obey.
Now, over 2,000 years after the Messiah came and told us
that He was the fulfillment of the Law, we are no longer required to let the
land rest every 7 years or return land to the original family every 50 years.
But, we are invited to Sabbath rest. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get
some rest.” Mark 6:31
As we are ordered to stay home and unable to do business as
usual (at least for most of us), I wonder if God is giving us time to ponder
who He is and if He is saying, “You have been too busy to take a Sabbath rest,
so I will give you a couple months of rest while you wait for the virus to
subside.” I feel like He is showing us what is important – time for our
children, time to notice His amazing creation all around us, time to build
relationship with Him, and He is teaching us the importance of praying. There
is a lot more praying going on these days as we find ourselves coming face to
face with our mortality!
Just maybe, God is using this time to reset our compasses to
due Eternity. Many of us have forgotten why we are here – the purpose God has
given us. We fail to worship Him and begin to worship ourselves among other “idols”
we have set up for ourselves including our achievements, our financial status,
our travels, our entertainments, our friends and acquaintances, or whatever we
have put between ourselves and our God. Our churches compete with each other
for bigger, better, and more instead of joining together with the purpose of
telling others about our Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to take away the sins
of the world including taking their sins and giving them His righteousness! We
have good news to share and instead many of us gather for entertainment and
ritual. Just maybe God is showing us who the Church is – the unified body of
Christ - not a building or a program, but the body of Christ! All joined
together as one!
And just maybe, if He has gotten our attention and we
respond well, He will be able to shorten the time of COVID-19 because it has
accomplished its purposes. Yes, Satan meant it for evil, the destruction of
many lives, but God can and will use it for good, the building of His church
and the saving of many lives for eternity.
Father, we confess we have lost sight of our purposes here
and we have a lot of speed-learning to do about what it means to be Your Church.
As we have this time of Sabbath Rest, restore our souls and lead us to the
green pastures and streams of living water that You have for us. Teach us to
keep our hearts, minds and souls focused on eternity that we would serve Your
eternal purposes and not get caught up in the world’s near-sighted ways. Heal
our land and our people that together we might shout Your praises and bring You
glory! In the mighty and powerful name of Jesus, Amen.
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