Deut. 5:14-15 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
When the children of Israel were enslaved under Pharaoh, they were forced to labor seven days a week, working relentlessly without a break. Can you imagine doing hard labor for years on end without a break? This was Israel’s reality in Egypt.
In His great mercy, God sent Moses to free them from bondage. He gave them ten commandments, one of them being to take a Sabbath REST. In the above passage, God calls the children of Israel to remember that they were slaves and to remember His great redemption in connection to their Shabbat.
In a similar way, we too were once slaves. We were enslaved to sin and unrighteousness, and all the entanglements and snares that come with it. But in His great mercy, God sent Yeshua to set us free from all these things and commanded us to rest in His finished work.
This Sabbath, let us remember from where we came. For He has promised to all who labor and are heavy laden … REST. [ Matthew 11:28-30 ] So then, there remains a rest for the people of God! [ Hebrews 4:9 ]. Enjoy your Shabbat resting in Him! Shabbat Shalom!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Often in the Bible you will see the word wind or breath. The root meaning of these words, both in Hebrew and Greek, is almost always Spirit. It is important to keep in mind that we can never dictate which direction the wind will blow. It would be absurd to think we could! The wind blows as it will. And in the same way, the Spirit of God blows where it wishes. Well if this is so, how can we be filled with the Spirit? Must we jump up and catch it and just hope for the best? No.
In Biblical times, the economy of the world was largely agricultural, so the meaning of “yoke” was easy to comprehend. To plow a field, you would place a yoke on a cow, ox, or horse with a plow attached and drive the animal forward to break up the ground preparing a field for sowing.
A prayer frequently heard at the conclusion of Orthodox Jewish services is “Ani Ma’amin” translated, “I believe.” The full prayer is. “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Mashiach; and even though he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait each day for his coming.”
After Yeshua’s (Jesus) resurrection, He showed himself to the apostles several times. Once, they were fishing, and Yeshua met them on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter was there, back at his craft, but swirling with inward emotions. The anguish of his recent denial, three times, exactly as Yeshua had predicted, mixed with the amazement and perplexity at the empty tomb, and finally the astounding relief and joy witnessing the risen Lord. Peter was on an emotional roller coaster for days, but the issue of his denial remained unresolved.
Just about every Hebrew prayer begins by saying, “Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha Olam” which, translated, means, Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the Universe. Now think about it, King of the Universe! Wikipedia defines “universe” as, “the composition of all the planets, stars, galaxies, the contents of intergalactic space, and all matter and energy”. Hmm…that’s a lot to be king over!
The great pyramids of Egypt have become objects of fascination for many involved in the New Age teching. Some think they were built by aliens from outer space. Others say they are containers of cosmic power. All of them are trying to find the great "secret" of the pyramids. What they are, really, are structures of death, exaggerated tombstones, coffins. The pyramids were made for death. They were built to house a dead body, along with the useless riches of it's rotting corpse.
William Wilberforce led a campaign against the British Parliament to abolish slavery in the late 1700's and early 1800's. During the course of his intense efforts, Wilberforce came to a desperate place of discouragement, feeling he had absolutely no more strength to continue. In this condition he was about to give up, when his elderly friend, John Wesley, lying on his deathbed, was informed of his friend William's distress.