| Author | Message | ||
| Colleentinker |
I want to share the interesting thing I discovered while I was working on the Bible study for Hebrews 11:30-31 about Israel taking Jericho. Israel, led by the ark of God, marched around the city seven days in a row. On the seventh day they marched seven times, yelled, and the walls fell down. Israel took possession of the city. First, the fact that the ark preceeded the troops meant God led the march, and God took the city. (Note that they didn't have to fight; they merely marched, blew trumpets, and yelled.) Second, no mention is made of the Sabbath. (The story of Jericho is found in Joshua 5-7.) Yet Israel marched for seven successive days, which included the Sabbath. We don't know if the seventh day of the march was Sabbath or not, but it doesn't really matter; they did march on Sabbath. The symbolism of Jericho falling on the seventh day is significant. On the seventh day, by the power of God, Israel officially claimed their place in their promised land of rest--Canaan. Israel entered its promised rest on the seventh day. The study notes of my NIV Study Bible say that some think the story of Jericho parallels the story of creation; on the seventh day, by virtue of his sovereignty, God ends the time of work and enstates a new order on earth. He institutes Rest. When you compare the way Adventists teach the significance of the Sabbath in creation (a literal day of weekly rest was established at creation) with this comparison with the conquest of Jericho, there is a vast difference. Comparing Jericho with creation is in line with our understanding of Sabbath being living in the rest of Jesus. Isn't it amazing how even the early Old Testament foreshadows our New Covenant Sabbath--Jesus is our continuous Sabbath Rest?! I just wanted to share this insight--I found it quite exciting. Thankful for Sabbath rest, Colleen | ||
| Doug222 |
Colleen, That is an interesting observation. I had somewhat made that connection with my study of Hebrews 3 and 4. Remember, God said that because of the sin of unbelief, the Children of Israel would never enter into his rest. Their unbelief was manifested in the sending of spies into the land. Forty years later, when the new generation actualy entered into the promised land, they "possessed" the land as God had promised, not through their own efforts but through the power of God as you described. Then the writer of Hebrews reminds us that there remains a "rest" (Sabbath) for the people of God and that we should labor to enter into it lest we fall into the same sin of unbelief. He further explains that we enter into it by ceasing from our works in the same way that God ceased from his at creation. WHen I couple this with what you just discovered from Hebrews 11:30,31, it becomes more and more clear to me that God intended for the Sabbath to be an object lesson, no different than the Sanctuary system, baptism, and the Lord's Supper to point us toward Him. It was not designed to be a rigid rule by which God tests our loyalty to him. The more I look at things through the lens of the New Covenant, the more I see a loving God who has made every provision for my salvation. I say, Praise the Lord!!! In His Grace Doug | ||
| Colleentinker |
Isn't it exciting to see that the reality of Sabbath rest really is all through the Old Testament? I am so thankful God helps us to read the Bible with his eyes of truth! I also say Praise the Lord! Colleen | ||
| Dennis |
Colleen, Thank you for sharing your excellent insight to an Old Testament account. Truly, I never cease to be amazed how reading the Bible, without a predetermined interpretation, can enlighten our minds on many salvific topics. When my wife, Sylvia, was on a Holy Land tour with the late archaeologist, Siegfried Horn, she was surprised to find the Jericho site very small. In True Sabbath rest, Dennis J. Fischer |
