REST FOR THE WEARY

Like food, rest is a gift that

comes from God alone.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man…

Genesis 2:21a

For the Christian,

sleep is an act of worship.

In peace, i will both lie down and sleep,

for You alone, o Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

When you lay down to sleep,

it is an act of surrender to God.

You are consciously choosing

unconsciousness. You are trusting in

something.

Sleep is a good opportunity to

entrust God with the care of your

entire self.

Sleep is death practice.

Sleep in moderation is

necessary and healthy.

Sweet is the sleep of a laborer.

Ecclesiastes 5:12

As Christ-following men & women,

we should work hard and sleep well,

thanking God in both.

But sleep can not only be an act of

worship, it can also be an act of

idolatry.

How long will you lie there, o sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

Proverbs 6:9

Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,

and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:15

Sleeping more than necessary is not

of Christ.

Desiring sleep in over-abundance is

sinful: it is making a good thing

a great thing…and that’s a bad thing.

How much sleep does your body

genuinely need?

Sleep can also distract us from

mission.

So then, let us not sleep as others do, but let

us keep awake and be sober.

1 Thessalonians 5:6

We should be ready

for Christ’s return.

We should sleep healthily, to be

prepared for the work commended to

us that day.

Let us not waste our lives sleeping.

But sleep is not the

only type of rest.

And on the seventh day God finished His work

that He had done and He rested on the

seventh day from all His work that He had

done.

Genesis 2:2-3

Was He commanding us to

rest on Sundays?

Or is there something else?

leviticus 23

page 87

Six days we shall work.

The seventh day is to be one of

“solemn rest”, a “holy convocation”.

Solemn rest is

repose done “gravely or soberly”

Once a week, we should have

planned time to rest and enjoy

the work of God on our behalf.

Holy convocation is

a group of people assembled to

reflect on who God is and

what He has done

The people, on the Sabbath, would

come together to rest, with full

awareness of why, and then would

disperse to their homes to enjoy the

day.

We shouldn’t make the Sabbath

more than it is, but we should also

enjoy and honor what it is.

Do we as a people actively and

seriously enjoy the rest that we have

in Christ with one another?

Another underlying reason for

Sabbath: it is an acknowledgement

that the world continues spinning

without our constant involvement.

The Sabbath, like sleep, is an act of

worship, particularly in response to

God’s sovereignty, acknowledging

that Christ alone is in control

…not us.

Sabbaths should not be only a once-

a-week occurrence. To remain

worshipful, and healthy, regular

sabbaths of extended lengths

are in order.

We call them vacations.

The key to a worshipful vacation is to

acknowledge that your joy comes

from the rest provided by God.

Again, our joy and His glory coexist.

They are not at odds with one

another.

Chapter 23 is not the only time

Sabbath is mentioned in Leviticus.

Leviticus 16:1-34

page 82

The ceremony of Atonement was one

of salvation…and rest.

We should “afflict” ourselves?

Defeat yourself.

Humble yourself.

You are not in control

of your fate.

Rather, you are subservient to a God

who is just, merciful, loving, and

gracious to His people.

That’s a reason to relax.

We should keep that statute forever.

The point of it all.

Jesus slept.

And behold, there arose a great storm on the

sea, so that the boat was being swamped by

the waves; but he was asleep.

Matthew 8:24

Jesus was weary.

Like you & i, Jesus’ body became

tired. God identifies with us, because

He became one of us.

Another man in Scripture slept.

Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried

out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that

was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for

them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner

part of the ship and had lain down and was

fast asleep.

Jonah 1:5

Jonah was not fatigued,

but complacent.

What happens?

An outsider’s voice awakens Jonah,

sparing him from certain doom.

Christian, this is what happened

in your heart!

The voice of the Outsider has called

to your heart, waking you from your

nap of complacence, that you may be

saved from death.

Sleep points to your salvation, and

ultimately to Christ.

Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.

Ephesians 5:14

But unlike the Jonah story, you are

not the sacrifice required.

But when Christ had offered for all time a

single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the

right hand of God.

Hebrews 10:12

The Death of Jesus is the reality that

the Day of Atonement points to.

The Cross is our reason for Eternal

Sabbath.

But it is precisely because we can

rest in His work that we can stop

sleeping awake.

Besides this you know the time, that the hour

has come for you to wake from sleep. For

salvation is nearer to us now than when we

first believed.

Romans 13:11

reflect

1. are you active in your sleep

patterns?

2. do you take vacations, or just time off

from work?

3. do you see the reality behind rest?