Exodus 34:21-25: a reflection

21“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22“You shall observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of harvest at the year’s end. 23Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before the LORD, your God, three times in the year. 25“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left to the morning.

Among God's commands about rest and the feasts is a striking one: even in plowing time and in harvest, the busiest, most pressing seasons of work, his people were to keep the day of rest. Six days you shall work, God says, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. God commanded a regular day of rest; and he made a point of applying it to the very seasons when it would be hardest to keep: plowing time and harvest, when the work was most pressing and every day seemed to count. Even then, when it would seem there was no time to stop, his people were to rest, trusting God rather than laboring without pause. This shows keeping rest even in the busiest, most pressing seasons, trusting God. Keep rest even in your busiest, most pressing seasons. Do not let the pressure of work crowd out the rest God commands. God calls you to rest and trust him, even when work seems too pressing to stop. Rest, even in plowing time and harvest, is an act of trust in God.

Notice where God applies the command to rest: even in plowing time and harvest. These were the busiest, most demanding seasons of the agricultural year, when the work was most pressing, the days most precious, and the temptation greatest to labor without pause. In such seasons, it would seem there was simply no time to stop, that every day of work counted, that rest was a luxury one could not afford. And precisely there, God commands rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. Even in the busiest seasons, his people were to keep the day of rest, trusting God to provide rather than laboring endlessly. This holds a searching challenge for us. We can keep rest when work is slow, when we can spare the time; but when work is most pressing, when we are busiest, when it feels there is no time to stop, we let the pressure of work crowd out rest, laboring without pause, telling ourselves we cannot afford to rest. But God's command reaches precisely into those seasons: even then, rest. To rest even when work is most pressing is an act of trust, trusting that God will provide, that the work will be enough without our endless laboring, that we may stop and rest in him even when it seems we cannot afford to. We do well to keep rest even in our busiest, most pressing seasons, not letting the pressure of work crowd out the rest God commands, but resting in trust. Keep rest even in your busiest, most pressing seasons, not only when work is slow. Do not let the pressure of work crowd out the rest God commands. To rest when work is most pressing is an act of trust in God. Trust God enough to stop and rest, even when you feel you cannot afford to.

That is worth taking to heart, for God commands rest even in the busiest seasons, and to keep it then is an act of trust, as he applied the command to plowing time and harvest. We can let the pressure of busy seasons crowd out rest; but God commanded rest even in plowing time and harvest, when it would seem there was no time to stop. Rest and trust. When work is most pressing and you feel you cannot afford to rest, remember that God commands rest even then; keep it as an act of trust in him. Keep rest even in your busiest, most pressing seasons, not letting the pressure of work crowd out the rest God commands, but resting in trust that he will provide, as among God's commands about rest and the feasts is a striking one, that even in plowing time and harvest, the busiest and most pressing seasons, his people were to keep the day of rest, saying that six days they should work but on the seventh rest, even in plowing time and harvest; for God commanded a regular day of rest and made a point of applying it to the very seasons when it would be hardest to keep, when the work was most pressing and every day seemed to count, so that even then his people were to rest, trusting God rather than laboring without pause, which holds a searching challenge for us, since we can keep rest when work is slow and we can spare the time, but when work is most pressing and it feels there is no time to stop we let the pressure of work crowd out rest and labor without pause, telling ourselves we cannot afford to rest, but God's command reaches precisely into those seasons, so that to rest even when work is most pressing is an act of trust, trusting that God will provide and that the work will be enough without our endless laboring and that we may stop and rest in him even when it seems we cannot afford to, so that we do well to keep rest even in our busiest, most pressing seasons.

Lord, among your commands about rest and the feasts is a striking one: even in plowing time and in harvest, the busiest, most pressing seasons of work, your people were to keep the day of rest. Six days you shall work, you say, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. You commanded a regular day of rest; and you made a point of applying it to the very seasons when it would be hardest to keep: plowing time and harvest, when the work was most pressing and every day seemed to count. Even then, when it would seem there was no time to stop, your people were to rest, trusting you rather than laboring without pause. Show me where you apply the command to rest: even in plowing time and harvest. These were the busiest, most demanding seasons, when the work was most pressing and the temptation greatest to labor without pause. In such seasons, it would seem there was simply no time to stop, that every day of work counted, that rest was a luxury one could not afford. And precisely there, you command rest. Even in the busiest seasons, your people were to keep the day of rest, trusting you to provide rather than laboring endlessly. This holds a searching challenge for me. I can keep rest when work is slow, when I can spare the time; but when work is most pressing, when I am busiest, when it feels there is no time to stop, I let the pressure of work crowd out rest, laboring without pause, telling myself I cannot afford to rest. But your command reaches precisely into those seasons: even then, rest. To rest even when work is most pressing is an act of trust, trusting that you will provide, that I may stop and rest in you even when it seems I cannot afford to. Take that to my heart. When work is most pressing and I feel I cannot afford to rest, keep me from letting the pressure crowd out the rest you command; help me keep it, Lord, as an act of trust in you, resting even in my busiest seasons, trusting that you will provide and that I may stop and rest in you.