Rest in the Wilderness
Finding God in the Fear of the Desert
God’s presence is the foundation of our rest. In Exodus, Israel learns that rest is not the absence of struggle, but the gift of God’s nearness in the middle of the wilderness. The tabernacle was the sign that God was with them, leading them, sanctifying them, and teaching them to live with peace before they ever arrived in the Promised Land. This prepares us to see Jesus as the true and greater tabernacle, God dwelling with us in the flesh. Real rest is not found in getting life under control, but in learning to be with God, trust his presence, and let his Spirit lead us even in places that feel uncertain.
Announcements
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Resources
When in Romans by Beverly Roberts Gaventa
Pauline Dogmatics by Douglas A. Campbell
Sermon Video
Sermon Text
Exodus 31:12-13
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
Exodus 40:36-38
In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
Haggai 2:3
Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (“tabernacled”). We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 2:19
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
John 2:21
But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
Revelation 21:22
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Luke 4:19
“to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Exodus 15:13,17
In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
Leviticus 25:8-13
Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you…
Leviticus 25:54-55
Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 25:28
28 But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.
Sermon Quotes
Create some space in our lives where the Spirit of God can touch us, guide us, speak to us, and lead us to places that are unpredictable, where we are no longer in control.” - Henri Nouwen, Turn My Mourning Into Dancing
“What could be worse than not being at home in our own house? What hope do we have of finding rest outside of ourselves if we cannot be at ease within?” - St. Teresa of Ávila
Discussion Questions
Why do you think we usually define rest too narrowly? What false definitions of rest do people live by?
What does it mean that Israel was invited to live as if they belonged to the Promised Land before they were fully in it? How would it shape your life to live with the same invitation?
Think Jubilee: Be honest: which is more underdeveloped in you—your capacity to receive God’s radical grace, or your instinct to think in terms of judgment?
Think Jubilee: If there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, why do we still instinctively interpret ourselves (and others!) and the world through condemnation rather than grace?
Think Jubilee: Do you really believe your worst moments could become the place where God meets you with the Year of the Lord’s Favor? If not, why did Jesus choose to announce his ministry that way?
