Showing posts with label 4th command. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th command. Show all posts
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
What principles can you draw from this?
I have never really thought deeply about this passage...
Isaiah 58:13-14
"Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day. Honor the LORD in everything you do, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly. If you do this, the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and give you your full share of the inheritance I promised to Jacob, your ancestor. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
Isaiah 58:13-14
"Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day. Honor the LORD in everything you do, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly. If you do this, the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and give you your full share of the inheritance I promised to Jacob, your ancestor. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
Tell me what you think...is this for Christians today? How do we practically apply it?
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Agriculture and the Sabbath-a test of faith
Did a little research on various internet sites and thought I would share it with any study heads out there that like this stuff...
Leviticus 25:1-5 (NIV) 1 The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.
Sabbaths are a Test Commandment
The Sabbaths are a test commandment to "prove the people whether they would walk in God's law or not" (Ex. 16:4-30).
As part of the fourth commandment, the Sabbath and Jubilee years are a test of faith for God's people to obey and trust Him to bless them and provide their needs even during long periods of commanded rest (Lev 25:20-22; 26:2-12; Neh 5)."And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?'" Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce enough for three years" (Lev 25:20-21).
The Sabbath and Jubilee years were given to provide a "sabbatical rest" for the land and for man, requiring farmers to take a break from their regular pursuit for profit and wealth, learning to trust God to provide.
Throughout history, man has exploited the land, which caused erosion and depletion of soil fertility and productivity and resulted in the downfall of many civilizations of the past (see "Conquest of the Land Through 7,000 Years," Agricultural Information Bulletin No. 99, U.S.D.A and "Ill Fared the Land").
The principles of the land rest are principles of soil conservation for maintaining and improving soil fertility, rediscovered by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, which was established because of the "dust bowl" of the 1930's in the U.S. For more understanding of soils and sustainable soil management principles see "Keys to Understanding Soil's & Soil Testing for Sustainable Soil Management" and "Soil Biotechnology for Profitable & Sustainable Agricultural Systems".
God knows the the land needs to rest and He commands us to let it rest. May we obey for our own prosperity's sake. By the way, what am I made out of? Psalms 103:14 (NIV) 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. I need my rest every seven days too or I become less productive.
Leviticus 25:1-5 (NIV) 1 The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.
Sabbaths are a Test Commandment
The Sabbaths are a test commandment to "prove the people whether they would walk in God's law or not" (Ex. 16:4-30).
As part of the fourth commandment, the Sabbath and Jubilee years are a test of faith for God's people to obey and trust Him to bless them and provide their needs even during long periods of commanded rest (Lev 25:20-22; 26:2-12; Neh 5)."And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?'" Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce enough for three years" (Lev 25:20-21).
The Sabbath and Jubilee years were given to provide a "sabbatical rest" for the land and for man, requiring farmers to take a break from their regular pursuit for profit and wealth, learning to trust God to provide.
Throughout history, man has exploited the land, which caused erosion and depletion of soil fertility and productivity and resulted in the downfall of many civilizations of the past (see "Conquest of the Land Through 7,000 Years," Agricultural Information Bulletin No. 99, U.S.D.A and "Ill Fared the Land").
The principles of the land rest are principles of soil conservation for maintaining and improving soil fertility, rediscovered by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, which was established because of the "dust bowl" of the 1930's in the U.S. For more understanding of soils and sustainable soil management principles see "Keys to Understanding Soil's & Soil Testing for Sustainable Soil Management" and "Soil Biotechnology for Profitable & Sustainable Agricultural Systems".
God knows the the land needs to rest and He commands us to let it rest. May we obey for our own prosperity's sake. By the way, what am I made out of? Psalms 103:14 (NIV) 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. I need my rest every seven days too or I become less productive.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Sabbath thoughts
Have not blogged in a week...As I get back to my studies in the 10 commandments I turn to the 4th command:
Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV)
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
It takes maturity to apply this command to our lives and benefit from it. My son throws a fit when I say it is time to rest. He NEVER wants to rest. He gets tired alright, but that is when he fights harder. He gets cranky. He gets upset. He should gladly just "give in" because rest is the only thing that will right the ship but no-he cannot-he will not give in. Finally, I make him lay down and he drops off into his much needed time of recovery.
Rest. Do you do it? Do you fight it? Or do you just press on like so many cranky, fussy Americans chasing productivity and seeking to get ahead.
God says that He made this day called Sabbath for you. It is your day to rest. Do you have a day that you totally stop? Unplug? Enjoy God? Enjoy family? Friends? If you don't take your weekly break you are disobeying God. He gives us this day for our own good. Maybe we should take another look at it and trust God to bless us as we obey. Recovery. Renewal. Recreation. God's Idea!
Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV)
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
It takes maturity to apply this command to our lives and benefit from it. My son throws a fit when I say it is time to rest. He NEVER wants to rest. He gets tired alright, but that is when he fights harder. He gets cranky. He gets upset. He should gladly just "give in" because rest is the only thing that will right the ship but no-he cannot-he will not give in. Finally, I make him lay down and he drops off into his much needed time of recovery.
Rest. Do you do it? Do you fight it? Or do you just press on like so many cranky, fussy Americans chasing productivity and seeking to get ahead.
God says that He made this day called Sabbath for you. It is your day to rest. Do you have a day that you totally stop? Unplug? Enjoy God? Enjoy family? Friends? If you don't take your weekly break you are disobeying God. He gives us this day for our own good. Maybe we should take another look at it and trust God to bless us as we obey. Recovery. Renewal. Recreation. God's Idea!
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