WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on Ezekiel‬ ‭20‬:‭20‬-‭21‬

“Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to follow My ordinances which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the wilderness.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭20‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NASB2020

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When the Sabbath is not kept, it is tainted with the sin of disobedience. It needs to be sanctified. We might wonder: why has it been so hard to keep the Sabbath? Why is it so hard to obey, to be rested and blessed in the Lord? Why do people not want to rest, which is a blessed sign and covenant between the Creator and the created human beings? One word: rebellion. It is the sinful nature of the fallen humanity.

In the OT, people needed to keep the commandments of the Lord. This was the only way to be sanctified. For this, faith and trust were required. Salvation and sanctification are grounded in faith in God. The same principle is applied in the NT, even in a better way—that is, through Jesus Christ, who not only fulfilled the Law, but also granted the ultimate rest for people of faith to enter. His crucifixion made forgiveness available to repentant rebels, allowing them to start a new life on the sanctified path toward Christlikeness.

This means they will walk according to God’s word. They will carefully follow His instructions. They will not profane the Sunday gathering. Instead of disobeying the command to rest in Him, they will commit to Christ’s Body and begin to enjoy the blessedness of having God’s presence together on Sunday.

In a way, God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus at the cross. So Christ’s followers should not be wandering in the “wilderness” of daily toiling without the “Sabbath” rest in Christ Jesus with His Body—the local church. So let us enter His rest while we are still able to do so. It is both an invitation and a command from the Lord. Just do it with a joyful heart. Amen.