Monday March 28, 2022

Created by Nicole Kiefer

Leviticus 23:26–41 (NIV)

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves,[a] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. 30 I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

37 (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord — the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and[b] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)

39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees — from palms, willows and other leafy trees — and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month.

Devotion

When I was reflecting on this passage several words kept sticking out to me and that was “sabbath” and “rest.” As a graduate student, I struggle a lot with allowing myself to rest, and I have not been good at observing the sabbath lately. Even though I am not good at observing the sabbath, I am reminded every time I read scripture just how important the sabbath is to God. To God, the sabbath was not optional for the people or for us. When I was in confirmation, I remember my pastor telling my confirmation class that for Lent we should add something to our lives rather than take something away. As a middle schooler, I do not remember caring about this that much, but as a graduate student, I find it more important than ever. For this Lenten season, I decided to do my best to observe the sabbath. Observing the sabbath is so important; I have found that when I observe the sabbath, I feel much better to take on the week. Especially when I use my sabbath to rest and reflect. Rest and reflection are great gifts and blessings from God. As human beings, we were made to rest and reflect. We need to do this. Wherever you are on your Lenten journey, I encourage you to remember the importance of the sabbath and rest. Even if you have not given it any thought during Lent or even in months, perhaps, now more than ever, it is time to observe the sabbath.

Prayer

God of Life, remind us that part of life is sleep. That there is holiness in naps. That in taking a break, we do not abandon our call. Inspire us to embrace rest as a form of resistance. Amen.