Lesson 1, June 26 - July 2
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 2:1-3, Jeremiah 45:1-5, Exodus 20:11, 2 Samuel 7:12, Mark 6:30-32, Genesis 4:1-17.
Memory Text: “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” Psalm 84:2
Tick, tock; tick, tock; tick, tock. The clock ticked steadily and mercilessly. Only two hours before Sabbath would begin. Mary sighed as she surveyed the small apartment. The kids’ toys were still lying all around the living room; the kitchen was a mess; Sarah, their youngest, lay in bed with a fever; and tomorrow she had agreed to serve as a greeter in their church, which meant that they had to leave home 30 minutes before the normal time. I wish I could find some quietness tomorrow, Mary thought wistfully.
At the same time, on the other side of town, Josh, Mary’s husband, was standing in line to pay for their weekly groceries. Traffic had again been a nightmare. The checkout lines were long. Everyone seemed to do their shopping right at this moment. I need some rest, I can’t go on like this, Josh groaned inwardly. There must be more to this life.
Our lives are governed by rush hours, work hours, medical appointments, virtual conversations, shopping, and school functions. Whether we use public transport, ride a small scooter, or steer a minivan to ferry around our families, the drumbeat of constant engagement with the world around us threatens to drown out what’s really important.
How do we find rest amid so much hustle and bustle?
Sunday, June 27
Worn and Weary
Read Genesis 2:1-3. Why would God create a rest day before anyone was even tired?
Even before humanity would dash off on our self-imposed stressful lives, God established a marker, a living way to jog our memory. This day would be a time to stop and deliberately enjoy life; a day to be and not to do, a day to especially celebrate the gift of grass, air, wildlife, water, people, and, most of all, the Creator of every good gift.
This was no one-time invitation that expired with the exile from Eden. God wanted to make sure that the invitation could stand the test of time, and so right from the beginning He knit the Sabbath rest into the very fabric of time. There would always be the invitation, again and again, to a restful celebration of Creation every seventh day.
One would think that with all our labor-saving devices that we should be less physically tired than people were two hundred years ago. But, actually, rest seems to be in short supply even today. Even the moments when we aren’t working are spent in frantic activity. It always seems that we are somehow behind; no matter how much we manage to get done, there is always more to do.
Research shows, too, that we are getting less sleep, and many people are highly dependent on caffeine to keep going. Though we have faster cell phones, faster computers, faster internet connections, we still never seem to have enough time.
What do the following texts teach about why our having rest is important? Mark 6:31, Psalm 4:8, Exodus 23:12, Deuteronomy 5:14, and Matthew 11:28.
The God who created us knew that we would need physical rest. He built cycles into time — night, and Sabbath — to offer us a chance of physical rest. Acknowledging Jesus as the Lord of our lives also involves taking seriously our responsibility to make time to rest. After all, the Sabbath commandment isn’t merely a suggestion. It is a commandment!
What about your own harried existence? What can you do to better experience, both physically and spiritually, the rest that God wants us to have?
Monday, June 28
Running on Empty
Lack of sleep and exhaustion due to physical overexertion are real problems. More troubling, however, is when we feel that we are running on “emotional empty.” And, of course, when lack of sleep is added to emotional trials, we can become painfully discouraged.
Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, must have felt like that often during the last turbulent years of Jerusalem, prior to the chaos, suffering, and havoc that would follow the city’s destruction by the Babylonians.
Read Jeremiah 45:1-5. Write a quick diagnosis of Baruch’s emotional health.
Can you imagine what it would feel like if God would send a custom-made message to you personally? Baruch received a message straight from God’s throne room (Jeremiah 45:2). We are told that this happened “in the fourth year of Jehoiakim of Judah,” about 605 or 604 B.C. Jeremiah 45:3 represents a good summary of how people feel when they are running on empty.
From all that we know from Scripture about this period, it’s clear that Baruch’s complaints were not superficial wails. He had good reasons to feel discouraged and emotionally worn out. A lot of bad things were happening, and more were to come.
How does God respond to Baruch’s aches and pains? Read Jeremiah 45:4, 5.
God’s response to Baruch’s real pain reminds us of the fact that God’s despair and pain must have been exponentially so much bigger than Baruch’s. He had built Jerusalem; He was about to tear it down; He had planted Israel as a vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7); He was about to uproot it and carry it into exile. This was not what the Lord had wanted for His people, but it had to come because of their rebellion against Him.
But there was light at the end of the tunnel for Baruch. God would preserve Baruch’s life — even in the midst of destruction, exile, and loss.
Read again the words of God directed to Baruch. What general message can we take from them for ourselves? That is, what does it say about God ultimately being there for us, regardless of our situation?
