August 8 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Sabbath rest is the goal of life. This rest is also the full and final promise to all who hear God's voice today.

The work of creation described in the first chapter of Genesis was fulfilled on the Sabbath day. On that day, God and all of creation fully enjoyed the wonder and goodness of it all. In the same manner, the work of redemption will finally be crowned and fulfilled in Sabbath rest. On that day, God and the redeemed world will fully enjoy the wonder of it all.

"Rest" is the enjoyment of God and what God gives. The final rest is the full and uninterrupted joy and harmony of the new world.

The Old Testament people of God were given a picture of Sabbath rest not only in their weekly cessation of work but also in the country granted them as a heritage. The name of the man who led Israel from the desert to the promised land was Joshua. In Greek his name is Jesus. This old covenant Jesus could bring Israel to a picture of the country to which the new covenant Jesus is leading his people. Jesus fulfills everything that Moses and Joshua did. Jesus brings God's people to the promised land.

Today God calls us to learn from the bad example of others. Thai's very difficult. It's a rare son who learns from his father's mistakes. Yet the new Israel (that's us) must learn from the old Israel.

We are told that thousands of God's old covenant people never entered into the rest of the promised land. They fell in the desert because they did not believe.

Now we are traveling through the desert. Our leader is Jesus. We must stay very close to him and do exactly what he says. We must also stay close to each other. And when the going gets rough, one of us should always point forward: "Look, there is the land of rest!"

REFLECTIONS

How do you get through the "deserts" in your life? What comfort does this Scripture and reading give you for those times?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.