From the Pulpit · Shadows of the Savior · Week 1
The Gift of Rest
What is the pace of your life doing to you and to the people you love? Before God gave Israel its annual feasts, He set apart a day for His people to stop. That weekly rhythm helps us see the rest Jesus gives and teaches us what it means to trust Him with unfinished work.
The main takeaway
Jesus gives us peace with God now and promises the fullness of His rest to come. Because we can trust Him with our souls, we can learn to trust Him enough to put down our work and make room for worship, rest, and the people we love.
“You doin’ too much.”
My kids say this when somebody’s getting carried away. Sometimes it’s a sibling who won’t quit. Sometimes it’s their dad. One morning, while I was trying to settle down for my devotions, I felt like the Holy Spirit took that little phrase and aimed it right at my soul: Thomas, you doin’ too much.
My body knew it. My mind knew it. Deep down, my soul knew it. So naturally, I argued with it.
In The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer describes signs of what he calls “hurry sickness.” A few hit close to home. Little things hit me harder than they should. I reach for my phone when I get a moment of quiet. Whatever feels urgent gets my attention, and time with God is one of the first things I let slide. I can get a lot done in a day and still go to bed knowing I barely listened to somebody I love.
Some of us are tired because the people we love need more care than we know how to give. Their needs won’t disappear if we manage our calendars better. That’s part of why we need to hear what God says about rest. He cares about the person carrying the load, and He teaches the rest of us to help carry it.
01 · Creation, rescue, and covenant
Why did God give Israel the Sabbath?
Genesis 2:1–3 · Exodus 20:8–11; 31:12–17 · Deuteronomy 5:12–15
In Exodus, God takes Israel back to creation. He finished His work, rested on the seventh day, and set it apart. In Deuteronomy, He takes them back to their rescue from Egypt. Pharaoh demanded the same number of bricks even when he took away their straw. The God who rescued them told them to rest and to extend that rest to their children, servants, foreigners living among them, and even their animals.
The Sabbath was a sign of God’s covenant with Israel. It reminded them who they belonged to and who made them holy. In the wilderness, God taught them to trust His provision: on the sixth day there was enough manna for two days, so on the seventh they could leave their baskets at home (Exodus 16:22–30).
God told Israel to stop even during plowing and harvest (Exodus 34:21). And in Exodus 31 and 35, the Sabbath command comes right alongside the instructions for the tabernacle. They were building the place where they would worship God. Even that work had to stop.
That one gets me. When the work is for the church, I can always find another call to make or another hour to spend on a sermon. The people building the tabernacle had to trust that God could take care of His own work while they rested.
02 · A day set apart to the Lord
What was the Sabbath?
Leviticus 23:1–3 · Genesis 2:15
Before Leviticus 23 gets to Passover and the annual feasts, it gives Israel six days for ordinary work and a seventh for rest and holy assembly. Work has a good place in that rhythm. God gave Adam work to do before sin entered the world. We can honor God by doing our work well, and we can honor Him by putting it down and trusting Him with what’s unfinished.
I can take a day off from church work and fill it with errands, chores, and whatever’s on my phone. I learn something about what has a hold on me when I try to put it down. If I can’t let an email wait, what am I afraid will happen? If I feel guilty the moment I sit down, how much of my worth have I tied to what I get done?
03 · Worship and mercy
What did Jesus show us about the Sabbath?
Luke 4:16 · Matthew 12:9–14 · Mark 2:27–28
Going to the synagogue on the Sabbath was Jesus’ custom. On one Sabbath, He met a man with a withered hand. When people questioned whether it was lawful to heal him, Jesus asked what they would do if a sheep fell into a pit. They’d pull it out. How much more valuable was the man standing in front of them? Jesus healed him that day. Showing mercy belongs in a day set apart to God.
So feed the baby. Help your dad get dressed. Give your child the care they need. And if someone you know is giving that kind of care day after day, offer something specific: “I can come over Saturday afternoon. Would two hours help?” Who could get some rest this week because you helped carry something for them?
04 · From the shadow to the Savior
Jesus gives us rest now, and God’s full rest still awaits us.
Matthew 11:28–30 · Colossians 2:16–17 · Hebrews 4:1–11
Paul tells believers in Colossians not to let anyone judge them over festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths. These were shadows, and the reality belongs to Christ. The Lord of the Sabbath is the One who invites weary people to come to Him for rest.
Hebrews 4 takes us back to the wilderness generation that missed God’s rest because of unbelief. Long after Joshua led Israel into the land, God was still speaking through Psalm 95 and saying “Today.” There was still a rest to enter. Through faith in Jesus, we begin to share in that rest now, and we’ll enjoy it fully when God makes all things new.
You can clear your calendar and still carry the weight of your guilt. You can sleep through the night and wake up wondering whether you’ve done enough for God to accept you. Jesus lived the life we failed to live, died for our sins, and rose again. You can bring your sin to Him, trust what He’s done for you, and be at peace with God.
What we practice when we rest can change the other six days.
In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis imagines an older demon teaching a younger one to keep a man’s attention tied up in the future so he’ll miss what God has put in front of him today. I know how easily that happens. I can be sitting at the table with one of my kids and be thinking about tomorrow’s meeting. I can sit down to pray and spend the whole time mentally answering an email I haven’t opened.
In Psalm 46, the world is shaking, and God calls His people to be still and remember who rules over it all. I need that reminder when the work is unfinished and I feel like I have to keep everything going. I need time for my soul to catch up with my body: time to pray without one eye on the clock, and time to hear what one of my kids is trying to tell me.
And what I practice in a time of rest can help me on a Tuesday night, too. When my mind runs ahead to Wednesday, I can put down my phone, look my child in the eye, and listen.
What could carry me off?
When 2 Chronicles 36:20–21 looks back on Judah being carried off to Babylon, it says the land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rests. The people were gone, and the fields they’d worked lay still. That picture makes me ask what I’m allowing to take over my time and attention. Where I do have a choice, what am I giving away that I want to give to God and the people I love?
How do we respond?
1. Rest in Jesus spiritually.
If you’ve been telling yourself, I’ll come to God once I get my life straightened out, hear Jesus’ invitation today. Turn from your sin and trust the Savior who died and rose for you. He knows the guilt you’ve been carrying and the things you can’t undo. He still says to come (Hebrews 4:7; 2 Corinthians 6:2).
2. Practice physical rest as an act of trust.
Israel was given the seventh day. In light of Colossians 2:16–17, I believe Christians have freedom to choose a day for this practice. Sunday may give you room for both gathered worship and rest. If Sunday is a workday or a full day of ministry, choose another time for rest and make gathering with the church a priority.
My great-grandma cooked on Saturday so she wouldn’t have to cook on Sunday. What she wanted to make room for on Sunday changed what she did on Saturday. Before the week gets away from you, ask four questions:
- When will I stop? If a full day is out of reach, begin with a realistic block of time.
- What can I do ahead of time, and what can wait? Prepare a meal, finish an errand, or turn off work notifications. Decide what you’ll leave for another day.
- What would help me rest and turn my attention to God? Gather for worship, take a nap, share an unhurried meal, or go for a walk and pray.
- How can we make room for everyone to rest? Talk through the care that still needs to happen and how you can share it. Offer a specific time and a specific kind of help.
3. Rejoice that you will rest in Christ eternally.
Some of us will go right back to heavy responsibilities. Whatever rest we get this week may be interrupted. That’s one reason we closed the service with Beulah Land. There’s coming a day when God will dwell with His people, wipe away their tears, and make all things new (Revelation 21:3–5). Name the burden you’re carrying before Him today. Thank Jesus that you will one day be home with Him.
Questions for reflection or discussion
- Which sign of hurry did you recognize in yourself? Which would the people closest to you notice?
- Why do you think God called Israel to stop even during harvest and while building the tabernacle? Where do you feel a similar pressure to keep going?
- How does the rest Jesus gives differ from the relief of getting a day off?
- What could you prepare ahead of time or share with someone else so both of you have room to rest?
This week
Put a time to stop on your calendar before you leave this page.
When that time comes, there’ll probably still be something left to do. Think about the people building the tabernacle. The work would be there when they came back. God would be there too.
Pray: Father, show me what hurry is doing to my heart. Help me trust You with the work I leave unfinished, listen to the people You’ve given me, and look forward to the day I’ll be at rest with You. Amen.
Keep studying
Read Leviticus 23:1–3, Colossians 2:16–17, and Hebrews 4:1–11 together. Use the resources below to follow the question you want to explore next.
Understanding the Bible
Do Christians Have to Keep the Sabbath Today?
Look more closely at what Scripture says about Sabbath observance for Christians.
Series companion
Jesus, the Feasts of the Bible, and the Church Today
See how Israel’s appointed times help us understand who Jesus is and what He has done.
Foundations Commentary
The Feasts of the LORD: Leviticus 23:1–44
Walk through Leviticus 23 and see how the weekly Sabbath sets the stage for the annual feasts.
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