I did an unexpected word study this afternoon. I was cleaning up some papers on my desk, and found an unfinished chapter from the Bible study our church did last summer. So I decided to finish it.
The section I was working on was on the concept of rest, and probably would have been very welcome during the school year, when my busyness with school, sports and Bible Study reach their peak. But hopefully I can be reminded of the lesson when my schedule heats up again.
The instructions in the study were to look up a few verses on "rest" and "write down what you discover." I love those guidelines. It really allows me to let the Holy Spirit guide what I see, not what the author of the study is looking for, you know? Most studies have a purpose, but sometimes it's fun to just let your mind wander where it will.
As I started looking at these verses, I began to be more and more interested in all the spiritual angles of resting. So I thought I'd share them with you. It's a topic I've looked at before on here, but there's just something about a whole phalanx of verses comin' at ya, to really make you open your mind to a new understanding.
So, with that introduction, here are some of the ways, truths and meanings I discovered about rest ~
Where...
"rest yourselves under the tree"
Genesis 18:4
Why...
"He saw that rest was good"
Genesis 49:15
How...
“Rest and be still!"
Jeremiah 47:6
When...
“This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest"
Exodus 16:23
“in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest"
Exodus 34:21
What kinds...
"... make them rest from their labor!”
Exodus 5:5
"but the seventh year you shall let the land rest and lie fallow"
Exodus 23:11
"on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest"
Exodus 23:12
"the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve"
Isaiah 14:3
"They shall rest in their beds"
Isaiah 57:2
Where it comes from...
“I will give you rest.”
Exodus 33:14
It is for Him...
"a Sabbath of rest to the Lord"
Exodus 35:2
It is for us...
"a sabbath of solemn rest for you"
Leviticus 16:31
He'll force it if He must...
"as long as... you are in your enemies’ land; the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths... for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it"
Leviticus 26:34-35
"I... have caused you to rest from all your enemies"
2 Samuel 7:11
It has many facets...
"He gives you rest from all your enemies round about"
Deuteronomy 12:10
"But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side"
1 Kings 5:4
It must be found...
"The Lord grant that you may find rest"
Ruth 1:9
It must be sought...
"we have sought Him,
and He has given us rest on every side”
2 Chronicles 14:7
But it is sometimes not to be found...
"among those nations you shall find no rest"
Deuteronomy 28:65
It comes with inheritance...
"for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you"
Deuteronomy 12:9
... and land...
“The Lord your God is giving you rest
and giving you this land"
Joshua 1:13
It was given to Israel...
"the Lord had given rest to Israel"
Joshua 23:1
It is a choice...
"the man will not rest
until he has
concluded the matter this day"
Ruth 3:18
It is to be without war...
"he had no war in those years,
because the Lord had given
him rest"
2 Chronicles 14:6
He gives generously...
"So the land had rest for forty years"
Judges 3:11
We rest on Him...
"O Lord our God, we rest on You"
2 Chronicles 14:11
We rest in hope...
"my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope"
Psalm 16:9
It is for the weary...
"there the weary are at rest"
Job 3:17
Sometimes it is found away from where we are...
“Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest"
Psalm 55:6
It is His...
"I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.'”
Psalm 95:11
It saves...
“In returning and rest you shall be saved"
Isaiah 30:15
It is for our souls...
"Then you will find rest for your souls"
Jeremiah 6:16
It must be entered into...
"So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
Hebrews 3:11
It requires diligence...
"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest"
Hebrews 4:11
It is a choice. A privilege. A need. A gift. It is to be earned. And not taken lightly.
~
This is a wonderful study (or perhaps I should say result of study). Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad. I enjoyed it too! :-)
ReplyDelete