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Tag: rest

  • He Leadeth me beside still waters – Psalm 23

    He Leadeth me beside still waters – Psalm 23

    He leadeth me beside the still waters.

    He restoreth my soul:

    Psalm 23 – a song of calm confidence

    Many of us know it well. Perhaps we even recite the six verses of Psalm 23 even as I learned in the melodic flow of the King James Version of the Bible.

    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    David’s focus introduces his encounters with death. Believers and unbelievers alike frequently hear his psalm in the context of a life already lain down in the stillness of death.

    No more want then…

    So why would today’s want worry me today?

    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

    I will fear no evil: 

    Questions from fear

    These are the words of Psalm 23 we know so well, yet in our DOUBT we do fear the death casting a deep shadow upon our days ahead.

    We walk quickly along in our quickened last days of a mortal life spent yet not finished, an ending of struggle along a ledge between Light and complete darkness.

    • Have I missed the table which the LORD hath prepared for me?
    • Hath the LORD anointed me with prosperity?
    • Doth the LORD overfill my cup with abundance?

    Goodness and Mercy?

    Surely goodness and mercy seem NOT to have followed me in these last days of my mortal life!

    Certainly the LORD did bless King David all the days of his life, BUT what is missing in mine?

    I walk in the shadow looking to my end in the valley, yet David seemed rested even before those somber last words:

    May he rest in peace.

    • WHAT have I missed that David seems to sing in this 23rd Psalm?
      • REST and PEACE along this treacherous path toward the VALLEY of the SHADOW of DEATH.

    He Leadeth Me

    The reaffirming metaphor of the still waters assumes the still waters assumes the same role as that of the green pastures. Just as the grass of the green pastures is deep enoughto lie in, so also we must understand that still waters rund deem. Any deep experience with the Shephers can only be accomplished by time spent with the Shepherd, as the words lie down indicate.

    King James Bible Commentary Psalm 23, p534

    In addition to my memory of Psalm 23 in the King James, a 19th century hymn sung frequently by our local church encourages believers both corporately and individually.

    Many may sing He Leadeth Me from the shadowed hillsides of our own valleys.

    “He leadeth me, he leadeth me, for by his hand he leadeth me..

    He Leadeth Me from Psalm 23

    YET in our DOUBT and FEAR, let us remember the place of peace by which we may have quickly passed in Psalm 23.

    for Thou art with me

    I cannot cross into the Light with you.

    The lonely lament of this shepherd so accustomed to the place of darkness in many fields of so many sheep among wolves does not lift me.

    David was a king 3000 years distant from my own walk in the fields of death’s fear. He does not comfort me and my most beloved ones cannot go to the place where I must go in a time unknown to any of us.

    Yet David’s Psalm was not addressed to ME, but to the LORD as well as his own beating mortal heart.

    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָֽר׃

    Yᵊhōvâ LORD rāʿâ my shepherd

    תְהִלִּים (Psalm) 23:1

    It is THE LORD who David asks to lead him.

    And how?

    By the LORD’s own actions this mortal shepherd will follow and obey the Shepherd of shepherds and the LORD of Lords.

    We all like sheep have gone astray.

    So ask Him: Where will He lead you?

    Like me, you may have missed this:

    He maketh, he leadeth, He restoreth, he leadeth

    Do you see a tread of connection here in David’s Psalm?

    He, THE LORD, leads — that is, IF we will humbly allow Him. BUT like sheep WE don’t particularly like to follow any lead other than our own.

    AND we may have missed yet another comfort to David due to our own rebellion again the leadership of God (or anyone else, for that matter).

    thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

    OUCH!

    Authority? Bowing down humbly to the LORD because HE IS more powerful than YOU?

    Yet in death as in life, we remain powerless.

    THY ROD speaks more to our relationship as people of the Shepherd than to the power and authority capable of beating us into obedience (which is not like the Lord who called us).

    His staff which pulled you into mortality will lead you into eternity.

    Therefore David concludes his Psalm from the valley of the shadow of death with a first person assurance with the LORD.

    Where is the house of the Lord?

    Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

    Thank you Lord.

    thou anointest my head with oil;

    Thank you Lord.

    my cup runneth over.

    Thank you Lord.

    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

    David concludes with confidence of good in God’s mercy — why he trusts in the LORD and does not fear the evil of death — death before the Lord’s own appointed time. His confidence speaks forward to where he shall dwell once the LORD does raise him up from the valley of the shadow of death into the Light of the LORD’s own presence.

    Where are YOUR still waters when you consider the valley of DEATH?

    How do you envision this place beyond the deep waters and above the highest heavens of this temporal mortal place?

    Who do you trust to lead you into the house of the LORD, forever?

    Please SHARE your COMMENT or Questions about Psalm 23

AND

Look for my Part 2 New Testament take on Christians humbly helping each other to navigate this shadowy path where sheep of the Lord should fear no evil.

    Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel

  • Sunday Rest – a Commandment ignored by 21st c. christians

    Sunday Rest – a Commandment ignored by 21st c. christians

    Just another Senseless Sunday

    A Sunday REST? Some will remember the alliterative song, “It’s Just Another Manic Monday.” Now we rush through our senseless Sundays no differently than a ‘manic Monday.’

    In that sense, recalling when everything once CLOSED ON SUNDAY, now we long for those Sundays when the supermarket wasn’t overcrowded and our mail carrier didn’t deliver our latest online purchase to our door.

    “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

    Matthew 11:27 NASB

    Today’s sermon was so good I took two naps! (That was after I returned home, Pastor.) I needed that Sunday rest.

    Don’t you?

    Jesus invites us to rest, actually inviting the weary (and who isn’t?) to come beside Him in life. Unfortunately, Christians and Jews seem to do no better at rest or taking a day off for the Lord God.

    In today’s Summer Scriptural Rerun the Messiah points us to the LORD’s Commandment given to Israel through Moses that we so easily disobey.

    Scriptures

    Excerpts from:

    Exodus 15, 20 & 31

    Mark 2

    John 6

    Original talkofJESUS.com post

    Another Sabbath: No Rest
    from November 3, 2018 – Topic: Sabbath rest
    Summer Reruns! with picture of sun wearing sunglasses
    Summer 2021 AD {Scriptural} Reruns
    • CLICK “…Continue reading ” above,
    • THEN Ask a question or comment at the end of this post
    • OR email Roger@talkofJesus.com with your reaction, questions & comments.

    Stay tuned from more Summer of 2021 Reruns from talkofJESUS.com

    (ditto: Summer 2022 – more to come)

  • Hebrews -4- Rest Promised or Pursued?

    But the message they heard did not benefit them…

    Hebrews 4:2a CSB

    Previously I asked, “Will you enter into God’s perfect rest?” The author of Hebrews traces our Hebrew heritage and history back to Moses and then states, “So we see that they were unable to enter [rest] because of unbelief.” It is significant warning to those who only pursue righteousness, rather than obtaining its rest.

    What is rest?

    Perhaps ‘rest from your work,’ as in Sabbath rest, a vacation or retirement?

    Do we think ‘rest in peace,’ when in fact it is rest in life we seek? Vanity. (Or futility, as Solomon suggests in Ecclesiastes.)

    Life convinces me of the elusiveness of rest more each day.

    closed on sunday
    Closed on Sunday – Rest in the Lord (it’s a Commandment).

    We begin with the application of these scriptures about the promised rest in our own lives, but first a look at definitions.

    Hebrews 4:

    Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands – NIV

    Note some subtle differences of approach from verse 1.

    A promise to enter, a promise remains, a promise still open, a promise stands – all promises made, but not yet fulfilled. Surely the Lord will keep His promise.

    The warning of Hebrews 4:1 is that we ‘have fallen short, therefore take heed to our own obligation to the promise of the Lord. In fact, the previous warning to God’s chosen was, “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.” KJV

    So what role do we have in completing the promises between the Lord and His faithful?

    The followers of Moses and many generations since did not receive the promise. Some continue to pursue the promise, others have abandoned God’s word. What is left to us is an inheritance; a promise not yet received, but a rest to be received – a rest only in the promised Messiah of God.

    “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

    Words of the Messiah Jesus, Matthew 11:28 CSB

    Rest defined

    • ἀναπαύω anapauō – One rest of which Jesus speaks is quiet, calm, an earthly collecting of strength. God can give us rest.
    • נָחַם nacham – in Hebrew is rest. In the sense of being comforted it means that God has compassion on us. In a most curious application from Moses’ story of creation he says,

    Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

    Genesis 5:29 NASB

    The LORD cursed creation, regretted man for our evil on the earth; yet in the LORD’s compassion He called נֹחַ Noah, which means ‘rest’ as a savior of creation.

    Instructions for the priesthood speak of a complete Sabbath, an increased rest in addition to our weekly worship of the LORD.

    שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּתֹ֥ון הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּתִשְׁעָ֤ה לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ֙ בָּעֶ֔רֶב מֵעֶ֣רֶב עַד־עֶ֔רֶב תִּשְׁבְּת֖וּ שַׁבַּתְּכֶֽם׃ פ

    “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls…

    Leviticus 23:32 NASB

    Again, I remind us that first century Jews who practiced regular worship of the LORD with sacrifice knew scripture better than most modern Jews and Christians. The application of a promised rest, a rest pursued by the faithful, had more meaning in completion of the promise.

    • κατάπαυσις  katapausis in the common Greek of the day –
      • a putting to rest or a calming of the winds.
      • resting place; נוּחַ; metaphor for the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells, and of which he has promised to make persevering believers in Christ partakers after the toils and trials of life on earth are ended

    When the author of Hebrews, Paul and other Jews speak of perfection, it is this complete rest in the Lord of which they speak metaphorically.

    εὐαγγελίζω – Good News / Bad News

    We’ve all heard it told: I have good news and bad news. (Which do you want to hear first?) Once again the writer of Hebrews supports his gospel with scripture.

    2 For we also have received the good news just as they did…

    Hebrews 4:2a CSB

    Again he quotes scripture from Psalm 95 and Genesis, applying a warning to us.

    Psalm 95:

    Worship and Warning

    1 Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord,
    shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
    2 Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us shout triumphantly to him in song.

    8 אַל־תַּקְשׁ֣וּ לְ֭בַבְכֶם כִּמְרִיבָ֑ה כְּי֥וֹם מַ֝סָּ֗ה בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃

    9 אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִ֭סּוּנִי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּ֝חָנ֗וּנִי גַּם־רָא֥וּ פָעֳלִֽי׃

    10 אַרְבָּ֘עִ֤ים שָׁנָ֨ה׀ אָ֘ק֤וּט בְּד֗וֹר וָאֹמַ֗ר עַ֤ם תֹּעֵ֣י לֵבָ֣ב הֵ֑ם וְ֝הֵ֗ם לֹא־יָדְע֥וּ דְרָכָֽי׃

    11 אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּי בְאַפִּ֑י אִם־יְ֝בֹא֗וּן אֶל־מְנוּחָתִֽי׃

    So I swore in my anger,
    “They will not enter my rest.”

    Psalm 95:11 CSB

    A bad news warning

    … and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, 7 he again specifies a certain day—today.

    The writer of Hebrews warns that Joshua did not give them rest.

    9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 

    11 Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.

    Make every effort.

    He pleads with the readers and listeners of scripture to σπουδάζω – be diligent or eager to hear the gospel of our promised rest in Christ Jesus, the Messiah.

    Again, the common first century Greek logic to think toward what the LORD God meant in giving rest to us through the Messiah. (And this time don’t ignore His warnings spoken in scripture.)

    Then, as if speaking to those who feared the very Voice of G_d spoken from Sinai,

    11 Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.

    And the author of Hebrews then follows with perhaps scripture’s best reason for all to read, hear and obey scripture.

    The Word of God

    12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

    Hebrews 4:12 NASB

    The word of God, λόγος logos θεός theos is living and active.

    In the Greek does this have a familiar ring to it, beloved Christian or Messianic Jewish brother or sister?

    ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

    Gospel of John 1:1

    Could the writer of Hebrews possibly be referring to Yeshua the Messiah, witnessed by many as risen from the dead?

    He is living and active! ‘and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’

    Who can divide the soul and the spirit? Who holds power over our heart and every breath of life?

    Only the LORD God! This sounds like the True Judge, who is ‘able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’

    Nothing hidden from God’s sight

    The writer of Hebrews then continues appropriate warning to those who hear this word of scripture, all those who seek our promised rest.

    13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight…

    Not you, not his first century Hebrew audience, and certainly not me.

    … but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

    So imagine the Perfect Judge who can separate joints and marrow, discerning our thoughts and looking upon the nakedness of the intents of our hearts.

    How will we ever rest, when we have not laid down our sin before the Perfect Sacrifice of the Lord, slain for us – the Son of God Who IS and will judge our sin?

    Our Compassionate High Priest

    מֹשֶׁה Mosheh פָּלַל palal עַם `am

    And Moses interceded for the people.

    Numbers 21:7 NASB

    Moses interceded, then Aaron interceded as High Priest. Later anointed descendants of Levi stood in the Holy of Holies between the people and the Lord. But these godly men were all imperfect.

    Yet all priests, pastors and rabbis sin. Their sacrifices have been imperfect.

    The Messiah, however, is our perfect intercessor, a Son of man like us. He became our sinless Lamb whose Body and Blood were broken and shed for us.

    14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

    A promise fulfilled – rest in the Messiah Jesus. Confidence that the Lord has chosen us through Him. Yet have we pursued our rest in Christ, or presumed the promise as those who perished in the wilderness?

    Draw near to the Throne of grace, for we have confidence in Christ.

    Receive His compassionate mercy and grace, which is favor with God. For we are chosen if we believe in our compassionate High Priest, Christ Jesus.

    Is this your time of need?

    Do you desire God’s help?

    Pray – pray through our loving intercessor who has descended to His own and ascended to the Throne of heaven.

     To be continued...