Today’s Reading: Nehemiah 13; Malachi 1, 2; Acts 4
Scripture: Nehemiah 13:19-22
When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Observation: Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to find gross violations of God's law. Neglect and corruption are everywhere. The tithes are being embezzled, the Levites have left their posts, an enemy of the Jews has a rented room in the temple, and the Sabbath is ignored.
So Nehemiah takes action. Here he enforces the Sabbath by ordering that the gates of Jerusalem be shut tight and guarded for the entire Sabbath (from sundown to sundown). The merchants and traders who regularly did business on the Sabbath showed up and camped out, but they were not allowed in. Eventually, they gave up and stopped coming on the Sabbath.
Application: The Sabbath principle is this: There is a part of our time that belongs to God. It is his and not ours. (This is similar to the tithe principle, which has to do with our income.) This story clearly demonstrates that there are plenty of people and activities that will try to steal God's time. And if we aren't paying attention, they will be successful. It takes real determination and effort to reserve God's time for God. This is especially true today with 24 hour TV networks, ever-present Internet on WiFi, smart phones, iPods, and the multiplication of entertainment and amusement opportunities.
We have to shut some gates, post some guards, and monitor those points of entry so that those intruders cannot get in and steal from us what is not ours to give.
Bottom line: Give God his time. It takes force to set it apart and guard it. Get alone with God. Give him at least one day out of seven. (Sabbath means seventh.)
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for my neglect of time with you. And I confess that this will be a struggle for me, as I am an easily distracted man. Help me to find the will and the ways to guard your time in my life. I want to know you more and more. May I live these words that I claim to believe.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
Me too! Excellent post. I so enjoy your posts. You are my favorite writer. Always concise, punchy points. I am far too loquacious. I am trying to learn from you that fewer words often are more effective in making a point.
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