Tuesday, June 29
Defining Rest in the Old Testament
Certainly, we all need rest, which is why it’s a theme found all through the Bible. Though God created us for activity, that activity is to be punctuated by rest.
The Hebrew Old Testament, for instance, includes a number of terms denoting rest. The description of God’s resting on the newly created seventh day in Genesis 2:2, 3 uses the verb shabbat, “to cease work, to rest, to take a holiday,” which is the verbal form of the noun “Sabbath.” The same verb is used in Exodus 5:5 in a causative form and translated as “making someone rest” from their work. Angry pharaoh accuses Moses of “making them rest” from their labor.
The reference to God’s resting activity on the seventh-day Sabbath in the fourth commandment is expressed by the Hebrew verbal form nuakh (Exodus 20:11, Deuteronomy 5:14). The verb is translated as “rest” in Job 3:13 or, more figuratively, “settled,” referencing the ark of the covenant in Numbers 10:36. Second Kings 2:15 notes that Elijah’s spirit “rested” on Elisha.
Another important verbal form is shaqat, “be at rest, grant relief, be quiet.” It is used in Joshua 11:23, where it describes the rest of the land from war after Joshua’s initial conquest. The term often appears to indicate “peace” in the books of Joshua and Judges.
The verb raga‘ is also used to indicate rest. In the warnings against disobedience in Deuteronomy, God tells Israel that they won’t find rest in exile (Deuteronomy 28:65). The same verb appears also in a causative form in Jeremiah 50:34, describing the Lord’s ability to provide rest.
Read Deuteronomy 31:16 and 2 Samuel 7:12. What kind of rest is being talked about here?
Both verses use an idiomatic expression from the verb shakab, which literally means “to lie down, sleep.” In God’s covenant with David, God promises the future king of Israel that “when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee” (2 Samuel 7:12).
The long (and here incomplete) list of different Hebrew verbs denoting rest helps us to understand that the theological concept of rest is not connected to one or two particular words. We rest individually and collectively. Rest affects us physically, socially, and emotionally and is not limited to the Sabbath alone.
Death is certainly an enemy and will one day be abolished. And however much we mourn and miss our dead, why is it comforting to know that, at least for now, they are at rest?
Wednesday, June 30
Rest in the New Testament
A verbal form for rest often found in the New Testament is anapauo, “rest, relax, refresh.” It is used in one of Jesus’ most famous statements on rest, Matthew 11:28: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”. It can refer to physical rest (Matthew 26:45). In the final greetings to the Corinthians, Paul expresses his joy over the arrival of friends who refreshed his spirit (1 Corinthians 16:18).
Another verb used to indicate rest is hesychazo. It describes the Sabbath rest of the disciples as Jesus rested in the grave (Luke 23:56). But it’s also used to describe living a quiet life (1 Thessalonians 4:11) and can indicate that someone has no objections and, thus, keeps quiet (Acts 11:18).
When the Epistle to the Hebrews, in Hebrews 4:4, describes God’s creation rest on the seventh day, it uses the Greek verb katapauo, “cause to cease, bring to rest, rest,” echoing the use of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Intriguingly, most of the uses of this verb in the New Testament occur in Hebrews 4.
Read Mark 6:30-32. Why did Jesus tell His disciples to come aside and rest, considering the many mission opportunities they currently had? Look at the larger context of Mark 6 as you think about this question.
“Come ye yourselves apart ... and rest a while” (Mark 6:31) is not framed as an invitation. It’s expressed in the form of an imperative, which is an order or a command. Jesus is concerned about His disciples and their physical and emotional well-being. They had just returned from an extensive mission trip on which Jesus had sent them two by two (Mark 6:7). Mark 6:30 describes their excited return. Their hearts must have been full. They wanted to share their victories and their failures with Jesus; yet, Jesus stops it all by first calling them to rest. Mark includes an explanatory note: “for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:31). Being overwhelmed and too busy in God’s business is a genuine challenge for the disciples, as well. Jesus reminds us that we need to guard our health and emotional well-being by planning in seasons of rest.
What are ways of helping and relieving your local church pastor or elder or anyone you know who could be burned out from doing the Lord’s work? What could you do to express your appreciation and help this person find rest?
Thursday, July 1
A Restless Wanderer
Read Genesis 4:1-12. What made Cain “a fugitive and a vagabond” (Genesis 4:12) on the earth?
The biblical text does not explicitly state why God respected Abel and his offering but did not “respect” Cain and his offering (Genesis 4:4, 5). But we know why. “Cain came before God with murmuring and infidelity in his heart in regard to the promised sacrifice and the necessity of the sacrificial offerings. His gift expressed no penitence for sin. He felt, as many now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting his salvation wholly to the atonement of the promised Saviour. He chose the course of self-dependence. He would come in his own merits.” Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 72.
When God said that Cain would be “a restless wanderer” on the earth, it wasn’t that God made him that way; rather, that is what happened as the result of his sinful actions and disobedience. Not finding rest in God, Cain discovered that he couldn’t find it any other way, at least not true rest.
The Hebrew word translated as “respect” (Genesis 4:4) could also be rendered “looked closely, considered carefully.” The focus of God’s careful and close-up look is not so much the offering but more the attitude of the offeror. God’s rejection of Cain’s fruit offering is not an arbitrary reaction of a capricious God. Rather, it describes the process of carefully considering and weighing the character, attitudes, and motivations of the one bringing the offering. It is a good example of an investigative judgment.
Read Genesis 4:13-17 and describe Cain’s reaction to God’s judgment.
When we try to run away from God’s presence, we become restless. We try to fill the yearning for divine grace with things, human relationships, or overly busy lives. Cain started to build a dynasty and a city. Both are great achievements and speak of determination and energy, but if it’s a godless dynasty and a rebellious city, it will ultimately amount to nothing.
Even if we end up suffering the consequences of our sins as we usually do, how can we learn to accept the forgiveness for them offered us through the cross?
Friday, July 2
Further Thought: “In the estimation of the rabbis it was the sum of religion to be always in a bustle of activity. They depended upon some outward performance to show their superior piety. Thus they separated their souls from God, and built themselves up in self-sufficiency. The same dangers still exist. As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a savior of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good.” Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 362.
Discussion Questions:
1. The constant pressure of being on top of things, being available (physically or virtually) all the time, and trying to live up to ideals that are neither realistic nor God-given can make people sick — emotionally, physically, and spiritually. How can your church become a welcoming place for worn-out, tired people yearning for rest?
2. Is it possible that we are too busy, even doing good things for God? Think about the story of Jesus and His disciples in Mark 6:30-32 and discuss its applications in your Sabbath School group.
3. In 1899, a speed record had been broken. Someone had actually gone 39.24 miles per hour in a car — and lived to tell about it! Today, of course, cars go much faster than that. And the speed of the processors in our cell phones are much faster than the fastest large computers of a generation ago. And air travel is faster than it used to be, and is getting even faster. The point is that almost everything we do today is done faster than it was in the past, and yet, what? We still feel hurried and without enough rest. What should that tell us about basic human nature and why God would have made rest so important that it is one of His commandments?
4. Dwell more on the idea that even in Eden, before sin, the Sabbath rest had been instituted. Besides the interesting theological implication of this truth, what should this tell us about how rest was needed even in a sinless, perfect world?
