Sleep and Celebration

Recent studies have revealed that the consequences of sleep deprivation are severe, including increased risk of infections, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain kinds of cancer, as well as irritability, mental distress, and depression. Children and youth are especially affected, since too little sleep can negatively affect their development and emotional stability.

In our body’s physical design, the Creator included a need for rest and Sabbath. In today’s reading, the principle behind the fourth commandment was extended even to the land (vv. 10–12). Every seventh year was to be a year off from farmland use. Anything that grew there on its own was to be left for the poor to glean. The Sabbath applied to slaves and animals as well.

Three annual festivals were also announced (vv. 14–17). First, the Festival of Unleavened Bread would commemorate the Exodus and Passover. Second, the Festival of Harvest (or Weeks) would be for rejoicing in the firstfruits of the harvest. And third, the Festival of Ingathering (or Tabernacles) would be to give thanks for the final harvest. Israelite males (and their families) were required to assemble three times per year to worship the Lord on these occasions.

Once again, God vowed that His presence would lead the people of Israel on the journey to Canaan. He sent an “angel,” which might be God Himself via an oblique reference, a specially commissioned angel, or even the preincarnate second Person of the Trinity (vv. 20–21). In any case, He promised to fight on their behalf, just as He had at the Red Sea crossing (vv. 27–30). The people’s primary responsibility was not to be ensnared by idolatry but to worship Him alone (vv. 13, 32–33).

Pray with Us

As we learn about worship in our Scripture reading these several days, let’s pray that the Lord will open our hearts and minds to worship Him with our whole lives. Ask Him to show you the way to bring glory to Him with your work, leisure, and even meals.

BY Brad Baurain

Dr. Bradley Baurain is Associate Professor and Program Head of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Moody Bible Institute. Bradley has the unique privilege of holding a degree from four different universities (including Moody). He has just published his first book, On Waiting Well. Bradley taught in China, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. Bradley and his wife, Julia, have four children and reside in Northwest Indiana.