Priorities

"You can study for a lifetime and never mine all the precious gems of truth hidden in God's Word."  (Kay Arthur in Lord, I Want to Know You)

Here's something for you to think about today.  How important is God's Word to you?  Where does it fit in the priorities of your life?  How devoted are you to really learning what it says?  Are you committeed to "living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Deuteronomy 8:3)?  Before you rush to give an answer, consider carefully the priorities of your life.  (And please know that before I raise this question with you, I have already spent time considering how to answer it in my own life!)

The next name of God that we are going to spend time with is Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, the LORD Who sanctifies you.  Look at Exodus 19:2-6 and then at Exodus 31:12-18 (where the name actually appears). 
What do you learn from these passages?  What is the purpose of the Sabbath?

Exodus 31:13 says "I am the LORD who sanctifies you."  What does that mean?  The words sanctify, holy, set apart, and saint come from a common Hebrew root qadash.  God made the Israelites holy, set apart, unto Himself.  What does that have to do with us?  We have been redeemed, made righteous, set apart unto God.  The observance of the Sabbath was to remind the Israelites that they were a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession."  How seriously did God take the command to observe the Sabbath?  Read Exodus 31:14-15 again.  Observance of the Sabbath was a perpetual covenant between God and His people, a sign between God and His people (Exodus 31:16).

Think through all we have learned today.  What does this command to the Israelites to observe the Sabbath have to do with us in the twenty-first century, with those of us who live under the New Covenant?  Think about that today.  For us, is it a matter of strict observance of Old Testament Law?  Is it a matter of principle?  Of priorities?  What does this teach us about what God wants our lives to be?

Oswald Chambers wrote (in My Utmost for His Highest) "We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God."

So, as we begin to examine the name Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, let's think about that.......that God's ultimate purpose for us is not our happiness but our holiness.  And let's spend some time examining whether or not our choices, our schedule, our priorities reflect our cooperation in that purpose.

Think about it......