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Keeping the Sabbath is also an eternal agreement, or covenant, that assures God that we will be one with Him by first enjoying Him and being filled with Him and then by working for Him, with Him, and in oneness with Him—Exo. 31:16:
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It is a serious matter to work for the Lord by ourselves without taking Him in and enjoying Him by drinking and eating Him—cf. 1 Cor. 12:13; John 6:57.
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As Peter was speaking on the day of Pentecost, he was inwardly partaking of Jesus, drinking and eating Him.
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The Sabbath is also a matter of sanctification (Exo. 31:13); when we enjoy the Lord and then work with Him, for Him, and by being one with Him, spontaneously we are sanctified, separated unto God from everything that is common, and saturated with God to replace everything that is fleshly and natural.
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In the church life we may do many things without first enjoying the Lord and without serving the Lord by being one with the Lord; that kind of service results in spiritual death and the loss of the fellowship in the Body (vv. 14-15).
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Everything related to God's dwelling place leads us to one matter—to the Sabbath with its rest and refreshment of the Lord; in the church life we are in the tabernacle, and the tabernacle leads us to rest, to the enjoyment of God's purpose and of what He has done!
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The building work of the tabernacle and all its furniture (typifying the work of the Lord to build up the church) should begin with the enjoyment of God and continue in intervals with the refreshment by enjoying God; this will indicate that we do not work for God by our own strength, but by the enjoyment of Him and by being one with Him; this is to keep the principle of the Sabbath with Christ as the inner rest in our spirit.
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 31:13-14 …You shall surely keep My Sabbaths;…that you may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies you…Keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you… Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
When we begin to keep the Sabbath, this indicates that we have signed an agreement, a contract, that assures God that we will be one with Him in this way. We would be one with Him by first enjoying Him and then by working for Him, with Him, and in oneness with Him. This is an eternal covenant. It is not merely for one age, dispensation, or generation. It is an eternal agreement between us and God.
It is a serious matter to work for the Lord by ourselves without praying to Him and without trusting in Him. Actually,…we need…to take Him in and enjoy Him by eating Him. On the day of Pentecost Peter was not only trusting in the Lord; he was filled with the Lord, even drinking Him…While Peter was preaching Jesus, inwardly, he was partaking of Jesus…He preached what he had been eating. He testified what he had been enjoying. (Life-study of Exodus, 2nd ed., pp. 1766-1767)
Today’s Reading
The Sabbath day sanctifies us, designates us, marks us out. When we enjoy the Lord and then work with Him, for Him, and by being one with Him, spontaneously, we are sanctified. We become holy, separated from what is common.[Exodus 31:14-15 says] clearly that if anyone did not keep the Sabbath, bear the sign, and honor the covenant in order to be sanctified, that one would be put to death. This signifies the suffering of spiritual death. The principle applies in our experience today. If I do not speak in oneness with the Lord, I will suffer death in my speaking, and I will be cut off from God’s people. To be cut off from God’s people is to be cut off from fellowship.
In the church life we may do many things without first enjoying the Lord and without serving with the Lord and by being one with the Lord. That kind of service results in the suffering of spiritual death…Whenever we serve in that way, we cut ourselves off from the fellowship in the Body.
All the tabernacle and its furniture lead to the Sabbath of God,…to the enjoyment of what God has purposed and done. This means that the tabernacle and all its furniture lead us into rest. The offerings are for us to rest. If we do not come to the altar of burnt offering to experience Christ as the offerings, we will not have rest. Instead, we will have condemnation and accusation. Likewise, if we do not come to the table of the bread of the Presence, we will be hungry and not have satisfaction. This is another indication that we do not have rest. If we do not come to the lampstand, we will not have any light. We will be in darkness, and darkness will not give us rest…If we do not come to the Ark within the veil and to the incense altar, we will not have rest. Everything related to God’s dwelling place leads us to one matter—to the Sabbath with its rest and refreshment of the Lord. Therefore, the tabernacle with its furniture leads us to the enjoyment of what God has purposed and done. Hallelujah, in the church life we are in the tabernacle, and the tabernacle leads us to rest, to the enjoyment of God’s purpose and of what He has done!
The building work of the tabernacle and all its furniture should begin with the enjoyment of God and continue in intervals with the refreshment by enjoying God. This will indicate that we do not work for God by our own strength but by the enjoyment of Him and by being one with Him. This is the meaning of the Sabbath, and this is the reason that a word about the Sabbath immediately follows the word concerning the building up of God’s dwelling place on earth. May we all see this matter and be impressed with it. (Life-study of Exodus, 2nd ed., pp. 1767-1769)
Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 172