Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Monday, April 6, 2026

QT 4/6/2026 Exo 23:10-13, Resting

Exodus 23:10–13 (ESV) —

10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.

12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.

13 “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

 

NOTE: As for the sabbatical years, the language does not suggest that you cannot rotate the seven years among your fields (which is not true for the year of Jubilee). Later, in the New Testament, Jesus corrects a misunderstanding about the Sabbath, that it was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. In other words, it is not a law unto itself, but rather it was for man's good since rest is good. It is not a law, as clearly laid out in passages such as Rom 14:5-6 and Col 2:16. Some, out of conviction, choose to observe and some don't -- it's no big deal. But it is good. Jesus said so to the Pharisees when he asked them rhetorically, is okay to do good on the Sabbath, or to rescue your animal from a ditch? Of course it is okay to do good. I have read a lot over the years on the Sabbath. It seems to be the thing for people to take "Sabbaticals" and study the Sabbath too. They usually return fully convinced on the need for a Sabbath. I partially agree, but what most people need is time alone with God, a day or half-day or weekend, taken quarterly. A time to rest and pray and hear God speak.

 

PONDER:

  1. When is the last time you got away from the hustle and bustle of life to a quiet place and spent a day with God?

 

PRAYER: Father, this used to be my regular habit, to meet with you in quiet once a quarter. I pray for an opportunity to do so this year, once or twice in the last 8 months.

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