The Ten Commandments:
Commandment IV

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The Sabbath is a day set aside for rest and worship. God commanded a Sabbath because human beings need to spend unhurried time in worship and rest each week. A God who is concerned enough to provide a day each week for us to rest is indeed wonderful. To observe a regular time of rest and worship in our fast-paced world demonstrates how important God is to us, and it gives us the extra benefit of refreshing our spirits.

So does this mean Saturday has to be that day? It is the last day of our traditional week and it is what the Jewish people use. How about Sunday? That is the common Christian day of rest and worship. What about the clergy? They do their major work when work isn't supposed to be done. I don't believe any certain day is the "official" day of rest, as long as you remember to set one day a week aside for relaxation and spiritual recharging. It's a gift to you from God and if it weren't important, He wouldn't have put it in writing on the most famous piece of literature in history!

Yours in Christ,

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The best description I have regarding God's reactions to the Israelites thus far is anger. He had tried and tried to get their attention and they knew from looking at recent history that times were good when they followed Him, yet they continued to veer off the trail he had blazed for them. I don't know if God gets frustrated, but that would be my reaction at first. Let's remember, though, that this is not an "at first" situation. This had happened for generation after generation and the disgust in the words of God is apparent.

Despite all of this, God still offered a way out. All he wanted was for them to acknowledge their guilt and return to them wholeheartedly. Our God is the God of second chances! Humanity, in general, is not a people of accepting instruction and guidance and that is our downfall.

Day 2

Israel was filled with wickedness, so that was all she had to offer. Part of this wickedness is something we have in our society today. God asked in this reading who could accept His warnings as the work of the Lord was offensive to the people. Does that sound like your workplace? Would you be able to discuss God with a co-worker without fear of losing your job?

God said, once again, to ask for His guidance and walk the trail of life according to His instruction and they would have true peace. Isn't peace of the spirit what we all crave? Human nature is against us taking the steps needed to attain true peace. We're too wrapped up in doing it our own way. At best, this can result in broken lives and various addictions. At worst, the person will never know a problem existed until it is too late.

I did find it odd that the Book of the Covenant was found as the temple was worked on. In order for something to be found, it must first be lost. For a priest of the temple to not even know where to find the law... It's mind boggling! Josiah truly loved his people. His remorse at their impending doom was genuine and the reward God had in mind for this is another proof of his love for the people. Josiah wouldn't have to see their destruction.

Day 3

Further proof that Josiah was a just man: He knew the destruction wouldn't happen in his time, but he still worked to take care of the issue. It would be nice if politicians in this day and age were more like this. Case in point: A president's first term vs. their second term. They don't have to worry about re-election in the second term, so they do as they please and many seek to create a "legacy" for themselves. Or issuing pardons days before their time in office expires.

Josiah didn't look to the present with the thought that it would become someone else's problem. He tried to correct it before his son would be saddled with the same issues. He renewed the Covenant and spent years purging Israel of the idols, mediums and spiritists. His efforts have earned him a lasting title: The most Godlike king in the history of Israel.

But even a Godly king like this could not keep the wrath of God away forever.

Day 4

I happen to enjoy the times when we hear a dialogue with God. Here's one with Habakkuk, when he asks some pretty common questions. "When will you finally help me out?" "Why do good things happen to bad people?" I translate the response he got as God saying that these issues would be resolved in His time, not man's.

God does acknowledge the sins of the nations here also, perhaps to show that He is fully aware of them lest we forget. Leaders becoming wealthy by extortion and unjust gain. Leaders using violence and crime to their benefit. Their sins would one day be their disgrace.

He also mentions the sins of the idolaters as well as the complacent who think they are not going to be affected by the coming maladies. Only a fast, sincere, lasting, 180 degree change in course would belay the course the nation had chosen for itself.

Day 5

The eagerness the Israelites displayed to succumb to their sinful natures had certainly been vast and God's plan to punish them was every bit as vast. But while the Israelites had completely forgotten God's law (remember, they had to FIND the book in the temple and weren't seeking it when it was found), God wasn't about to completely forget them. The Israelites who were meek and humble, who trusted Him, would be spared. Out with the chaff. In with the wheat. And the wheat would be brought home. I wonder if that means the humbled people after World War II?

In other news, Josiah's reign was stopped short during a battle with the Egyptians. It was a battle that I question. I'm not sure it was truly necessary, but that's the way it was. Josiah was buried with respect and he never saw any of the land that he loved fall.

Day 6

A sign that God loved what Josiah was doing: Josiah had been dead about three months and Egypt came to overthrow his son, Jehoahaz, and put in Jehoiakim (Eliakim) as the new king. Three months! Jehoiakim was apparently in need of some immediate guidance, for Jeremiah was quickly sent to the palace to set him straight. The king was reminded to follow the covenant of the Lord and all would be provided, just as it had been for his father. Due to the sins of Jehoiakim, his burial would be like that of a donkey.

This didn't go over very well, and I can see why a king would take exception to some guy telling him how to live his life and rule his people. They seem to forget that they are just as human as the people they are leading. Just look at the Hussein boys... but not for too long. That's kind of nasty.

Anyway, Jeremiah went to the temple to cry out that all was not lost and the disasters could be avoided if only the people would turn from their evil ways. As soon as he finished, though, he was seized and threatened with death. He didn't waver in his words, but rather he paraphrased them and told the people to do with him what they felt was right.

It's a good thing the leaders of the people were there and remembered the teachings of Micah during the times of Hezekiah! Micah had told the people that their city would be plowed like a field. The Lord had relented then when Hezekiah turned away from the idolatry and He would certainly do so again. Jeremiah was saved for this reason, but I'm not sure what the point was in killing Uriah.

Another prophesy that still holds true: After the 70 years Israel would be in bondage with Babylon, Babylon would be destroyed and turned into an everlasting ruin. If you watched the war coverage in Iraq, you know that decree is still in force.

Day 7

As a result of the earlier problem, (this takes us back to the pre-Babylonian invasion), Jeremiah was banned from the temple. Apparently, the leaders didn't like anyone teaching the truth in their place of worship. Either that, or the teachings of Jeremiah were to "negative." Is it like that where you attend church? When's the last time your minister mentioned Hell in a sermon? That's one of the questions I think of in my little litmus test of whether or not a church prefers sugar coating over the truth. Oh, your minister isn't convinced in the reality of a Hell? That's another.

So Jeremiah made a scroll of his teachings and it eventually found its way to the palace, where Jehoiakim burned it as it was read. The only purpose of this scroll was to get all of the people to turn from evil and back to God before the impending doom was unleashed. This leader of men didn't believe in his people's freedom of thought, did he? At least the leaders had the sense to tell Jeremiah and his scroll-writer Baruch to hide before the ire of the king found them! Jeremiah made another scroll after that and the last straw hit the camel's back. Israel's destruction was set into motion.

Weekly Link Fact Monster OK, maybe I'm overreacting here, but my son Benjamin is going to kindergarten this fall at Ankeny Christian Academy and I want access to all of the homework help I can get. I realize that homework will not be an issue just yet, but he's my only son and preparation is the key to... something I'm sure! This site has all kinds of useful and useless facts about just about anything, and does have links to an atlas, dictionary, almanac and encyclopedia. There's homework help available and all kind of other neat stuff. Maybe when I'm done messing around on this site, I'll let Ben try it out... http://www.factmonster.com

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Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!