October 8, 2025 Morning Devotional
Morning Devotion: Read Exodus - Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals
Exodus 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. 12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. 14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. 18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. 19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
Rest? Yes, rest in the Lord. God gives the land rest, and He gives the animals rest, and He gives the people rest, and He gives you rest, if you will be obedient to the Lord.
God set the precedence for rest after He created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
God made the day of rest for man, He did not make man for the day of rest. When you get the cart before the horse you will have problems.
Not only did God give the day of rest and command the day of rest He demanded the day of rest. I remember and a very young child and going to kindergarten we were made to rest on little mats. The teacher would have all of the children in the class take a time of rest. I personally did not like it because I wanted to get up and move around. However, we were made to rest. It was good for us. God knows what’s good for you as well.
There is a rest that God desires and even commands for every man upon the face of this earth. It is called salvation.
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Now, before you go and get upset, about the word commandeth, look at what it leads to.
Just as we were commanded to rest in kindergarten, God commands us to rest in Jesus. It’s good for you, eternally good for you.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
When a person places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, they no longer have to fret about eternity. Then, by virtue of salvation, they have the assurance that heaven is their home and their sin is forgiven and their friend is Jesus. Their worries are gone. That is rest, eternal rest, rest of the heart and soul. That is a good thing. Why struggle, why fret when you can have rest.
When Israel failed to take their rest, they had problems. When they failed to give the land rest, they had problems.
My friend, you need your rest. Rest in Jesus and find eternal rest.
The choice is still yours,
Pastor Cook
