Chapter 28

NOTE: Voting is fierce - neck a neck! There is a three way tie, with three days left. Break it please!!!!!!

Well, before we start, I thought it was important to work out what was happening next. I cheated and read ahead!

It turns out that this is the beginning of Moses’ passing, but not the end; he has maybe a few weeks or a few months to live. Certainly he was aware that he was going, but there were a couple of tasks for him to do before he shuffled off this mortal coil, and God has given him a little list of things to accomplish.

So he knows that his time is almost up, but he also knows that he has enough time to sort things out and get them into order. Firstly Moses hands over the leadership to Joshua. Now what?

With the issue of leadership settled, now Moses turns his attention to laws. The new generation of Israelites were not present when the law was read out before, so it’s time for them to be told what sacrifices are needed when one comes before God.

I have written much about these in previous pages, so I won’t do so again. Suffice it to say that a powerful and holy God is approached carefully – unless one has become a child of His!

But what can we learn from these sacrifices that we haven’t heard before? I can see something straight out, and it’s something that a lot of 21st century Christians will struggle with – in several places where the sacrifice or festival is described, the instructions say “On that day do no regular work.”

One of the things Christians (and most especially protestant evangelical Christians) are known for is their work ethic. We tend to work ourselves into a frenzy, and as a result we control a disproportionately high percentage of the wealth in our society. That’s nice, of course, but on the other hand we often risk the problem of burnout. If that's how we behave in our secular jobs, it's no great surprise that we behave that way in our Church lives also.

I’ve had one of those weeks from this point of view – I have volunteered for a lot of the stuff my church does. It’s hard work. Worth it, to be sure, but really hard work.

Contrast this with the worship of the God spoken of in Numbers – the hallmark of worshiping Him is RESTING! God says “Do no work.” And this is something that is honouring to Him!

Note here that we’re not suggesting you should skive. There is plenty to be done for the Kingdom, and relatively few people to do it all. But it is IMPORTANT that we recognize the value of rest and relaxation. We miss out on these things to our own peril. Not only that, but we risk damaging our witness if we overwork ourselves! We need to remember that our lives are supposed to be worthy of imitation. When we work ourselves too hard, we don't look like something people want to copy.

There are times when we’re required to do something for God. It may even be something that takes a lot of effort. But sometimes, all God asks of us is simply to “Be still and know that I am God.” In fact, God commands His people to do this for one day in every seven.

You and I are not Jews, of course, so this commandment doesn't apply to us. We're not sinning if we don't keep the Sabbath day. But we ARE being foolish, and it's worthwhile us remembering that the person who commanded the Sabbath rest was in fact the creator of all humankind - the one who wrote the manual!