Real Hope: The God ConnectionSample

Day Of Rest

Chapter 31 of Exodus provides the instructions from God to Moses for the gifted artisans to create the tent of meeting. The tent, the items inside, and the activities of the priests would demonstrate God’s presence to His people as they moved through the desert. When God had given the instructions, He insisted the builders and all the people continue to take a day off once a week even while the building was in progress – to take a Sabbath rest and remember God.

What stands out to me in this part of Exodus is the reminder that God wants to be present with us. It also tells me that God gifts artisans both then and now. That means our creative work today can show something of God’s heart for people. This thought inspires me, especially because each of the items in the tent symbolised God’s heart for relationship and hinted at who Jesus would be for us. And the Ark of the Covenant symbolised God dwelling with His people.

Jesus’ words in Mark 2:27–28 – ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’ – remind me that it’s good for us to take time out to rest, even when our work seems too important to stop. Join me today and consider how our work might show God’s love for others, and decide when you’ll take time to stop your work and really rest and remember that God is God and we are not.

Written by KATH HENRY