God’s Mission in Numbers & Deuteronomy

Beloved People of God,

Today is Rosh Hashanah. Since the giving of the Law in the wilderness, around this time of year, we are invited once again to enter into His rest, to remember He is God and we are not. In Leviticus 23.23-25 we read: “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”

 In the last few weeks, we’ve had so many new sons and daughters born into our fellowship. In birth, they’ve begun a new year, their first year. Next year this time we will celebrate once again their emergence in our lives. We commemorate it with rejoicing, with special food and song, with games and laughter. Today is like a birthday for all of us, no matter how old or young we are. It’s a call to rest and remembrance. It’s an invitation to rejoicing and awe. It’s a celebration we share with one another.

 Today, is a cloak we pass from generation to generation. It is the words of Leviticus lived out by the children of the Exodus. It’s a new opportunity to hear, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one,” (Deuteronomy 6.4b). It’s a new day to live out our faith by loving the Lord our God “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” in such a way that His command is on our heart (6.5). It’s a new change to pass the thing most precious to us on to our children, sitting together at home, walking together through life, and embodying our belief all the days of our lives (6.6-9).

For His Name’s Sake,

Brett