“No Sweat”

 

BIBLE READING: Ezekiel 43-45


“When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.”                                                      -Ezekiel 44:17-18

           

            These 2 verses point to the fact that the believer who serves the Lord faithfully, does so without sweat, meaning that the work of the Lord isn’t a burden or a chore. Interestingly, there are several places in Scripture that tell us that worship is often sacrifice, but we are never told that worship is work, something that causes us to sweat.

When the children of Israel were traveling around the wilderness of the Sinai Desert, we can be sure there was a lot of sweating going on as they obediently moved the tabernacle from one location to another. However, when it came time to actually worship God, to express to Him the praise, thanksgiving, and song that was in their hearts, the Lord didn’t want anything that caused sweat. God wants our worship to flow out of an overflowing heart.

We read that in the prophet Jeremiah’s day, the saying “The burden of the Lord, the burden of the Lord.” was commonly used. But God commanded Jeremiah never to use it, because it was not true, God does not put burdens on His people. In fact, He does quite the opposite. Jesus said:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matt. 11:28)

It is a fatal mistake to try to bear life’s load in a single yoke collar. The Lord never intends for us to carry His burden alone; His yoke is a neck harness made for two. Jesus Himself commands us to allow Him to be one of the two bearing the weight. He wants us to take off the taxing harness of self and accept the master’s relaxing dual harness.                                                                                          -Ed Rea

 

 

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