19 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the [i]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21 Thus says the Lord, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your [j]forefathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.
24 “But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”’”
In the last section of this chapter, God seemingly lowers the bar. It’s as if He says, “Look, maybe I’m asking too much… so just do this one thing. Keep the sabbath day holy, don’t work on it, and we’ll call that good enough.” Was God really asking too much? Could the Israelites do this one thing for God?
Now that raises an interesting point, which is connected to what Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” So God wasn’t even asking anything for Himself, just that they would take care of themselves, to let their body have the rest they needed. That in itself is a lesson for us, that God doesn’t make rules or tell us what to do just because He likes to boss us around.
Nor is it for His own benefit, as if God needed anything. Instead, all the law was for our benefit and our good, to protect us and show us how to best live our lives. To be clear, I mean the law of God, rather than the myriad laws that were added on top by religious leaders, of which some might be for good, and some only made following God more difficult. Ultimately, we need rest, God knows this and tells us we should rest every week.
But back to our two questions, and the answer to the first is yes and no. God wasn’t asking for more than them to do right and live justly. But I think God also knew they couldn’t follow Him on their own willpower and strength. Oh, He gave the Israelites every advantage, and gave them tips. God told them to write reminders on their doorposts, and make wearable reminders.
And when they forgot, He sent them judges and prophets to get them back on track, and they still couldn’t keep up. So naturally, the Israelites couldn’t even be faithful in this one thing. The idea of losing a day of business was too much for them, even though it would have been better in the end.
Likewise, we are not capable of following God with our own willpower and strength. First, we need(ed) a Savior, and God provided that in His Son. Paul wrote, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Jesus alone, the very Son of God and Son of Man, was able to live that life, and He did it with the same gift that God gives to us.
Which is the second thing, we need His willpower and strength, we need God’s Spirit dwelling in us, which He gives freely. I don’t know why the Israelites had to go through centuries of trying and failing, it doesn’t seem fair. But I do know that we need God, I need God, to help me live life to the full. I couldn’t do it on my own, and neither can you.
I read something recently about the idea of God not giving us more than we can handle, and how it was flat out wrong. At least, in the sense that we’d be able to handle it on our own. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (2:13), there is this key idea, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
On our own, there’s no chance for us to faithfully follow God’s instructions. However, God is faithful, and does not leave us on our own. God desires so much that we would be able to follow His plan, that He gives us every advantage, including the biggest one ever, the Spirit dwelling and alive within us. Listen for His voice, and heed His instruction. Yield your agenda and follow the best one ever from the best One ever.