Hi Whitney. That passage in Numbers 15 also got my attention, since the stoning was done after Moses asked God what to do in that specific case. The divine order was not a general commandment, but a special application of the command to rest on the sabbath day. Why so severe? The best explanation I have run across is that this was very early in the people's communal life under the revelation at Sinai, and the principles of that revelation desperately needed to be established as habits of living. The principle of sabbath rest was especially important, because salvation has to be by grace from outside ourselves. Get that wrong, and you are on a road that leads to spiritual death. Resting from our labors periodically means that we are ultimately willing to trust God's provisions for our lives, physical and spiritual. Of course, Jesus later had to correct the religious leaders who had made the sabbath into a spiritual work day, an opportunity to earn their salvation without grace. Complex thoughts, but God gave us brains so we could ponder complex things of the spirit.
Well said, as always. You have more patience and tolerance than I do for people “of faith.” Too often, faith is used as a cudgel to enforce behaviors and attitudes that benefit only a handful of people. And you’re right—American ideals as expressed in unrestrained capitalism manifest in similar ways.
You are always welcome to comment, Sam. xx
Hi Whitney. That passage in Numbers 15 also got my attention, since the stoning was done after Moses asked God what to do in that specific case. The divine order was not a general commandment, but a special application of the command to rest on the sabbath day. Why so severe? The best explanation I have run across is that this was very early in the people's communal life under the revelation at Sinai, and the principles of that revelation desperately needed to be established as habits of living. The principle of sabbath rest was especially important, because salvation has to be by grace from outside ourselves. Get that wrong, and you are on a road that leads to spiritual death. Resting from our labors periodically means that we are ultimately willing to trust God's provisions for our lives, physical and spiritual. Of course, Jesus later had to correct the religious leaders who had made the sabbath into a spiritual work day, an opportunity to earn their salvation without grace. Complex thoughts, but God gave us brains so we could ponder complex things of the spirit.
Well said, as always. You have more patience and tolerance than I do for people “of faith.” Too often, faith is used as a cudgel to enforce behaviors and attitudes that benefit only a handful of people. And you’re right—American ideals as expressed in unrestrained capitalism manifest in similar ways.