As We Do Here Today

Deuteronomy 12:5-9,12 – But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you…And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

Psalm 95:11 – So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

• ·         The Lord wants His people to enjoy the fruit of their labor, because it is the result of His blessing.
• ·         Joy, based on the Lord’s blessings, was to be a major feature of Hebrew life and worship in the promised land.
• ·         Rest was a rich concept indicating the Israelites’ possession of a place with God in the earth where they are secure from all external threats and internal calamities.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV