Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Rest, Reflection, and Repentance

Leviticus 23:23-32
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’ ”
    26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

After the celebration feasts of worship, we find God telling Moses to teach the people about rest, reflection, and repentance in further times of remembrance.  The rest in the festival of trumpets heralds forth a holy time to stop their works to remember God’s work in their deliverance from bondage and faithful keeping on their journey to the place promised them to come.  The reflection continues with repentance of sin on a Day of Atonement.  They were to to sacrifice for atonement to appease God’s wrath on their sin, but also to afflict themselves by considering the offense toward Him and afflicting themselves in godly repentance to turn from it and towards their Lord.  They were to not do any work to make it right, but rest in God and His atoning work, just as we rest in the forever atoning sacrifice of Christ as our eternal atonement.  We rest in His work, not attempting to justify ourselves or find redemption in our own efforts; Jesus Christ is our sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-10).  We do not work to gain merit and earn atonement for our sins, but lean securely in His everlasting arms of grace and mercy by His sacrifice and work. 

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