An interlude is an intervening period that provides for us a welcome break from an otherwise demanding task.
An interlude is specifically the word that we're thinking of here.
And I want you to think for just a moment all the different ways that we experience various interludes.
Sporting events have interludes between periods of play that offer athletes and spectators alike some type of moment of rest from the game that they're watching or that they're playing.
Songs that we sing in church have interludes.
The song that we just sang, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, in between a chorus and a verse, typically there's just a very short interlude, a transition time.
But what it does is it gives you a moment to breathe, a moment to take just a quick break, a moment to reflect.
We see this in the Psalms, right?
As David very often writing in his Psalms will add in a musical notation that we read out as Selah.
It's actually a musical note is what that's meant to do.
And it means to take a pause, to pause and reflect.
It's an interlude.
It's a transition.
Theatrical plays, if you were to go to a Broadway show, they have interludes.
And they present the audience with a less than taxing moment of dialogue or moment of humor while the cast transitions from one major scene to the next.
And then there are also interludes and pieces of literature that bridge two elements of a story
and provide relief from either an intense part of the narrative that was just before it,
or perhaps preparing you for an intense part of the narrative that is just after.
And that's actually what we find in these five verses in Judges chapter 10.
This is just a helpful, gracious interlude.
And in terms of function, this little section, it acts as kind of a hinge that turns the page from the Gideon cycle,
which starts all the way back in chapter 6 and continues through the story of Abimelech.
The Gideon cycle doesn't really end until this point.
And this is acting as like a hinge.
It's turning the page from the Gideon cycle over to the Jephthah cycle,
which begins for us technically in verse 6.
And what it does is it provides, I think, a welcome break from two very intense scenes of narrative.
Two very tragic scenes of narrative as well.
And it gives us a moment for reflection.
So functionally, that's how we want to view these five verses.
Now, the author of Judges periodically inserts these interludes, and he does it in a unique way.
He does it by telling us briefly about what has come to be referred to as minor judges.
So when we get into the big picture of the book of Judges, there are 12 of them that are listed.
Now, there could have been far more than that that actually existed and were operative at that time.
The author chooses 12 to tell us about.
Six of them are major judges.
Six of them are minor judges.
But we don't need to let that term confuse us.
The individuals involved here were not minor in impact or in importance to the narrative.
The term just refers to the fact that very little is said about them or about what they did or about what they accomplished.
It's a similar concept when we're looking at the Old Testament prophets.
We have major prophets and minor prophets.
The major prophets are more important than the minor prophets.
And the minor prophets' messages aren't less significant than the others.
It's just simply a matter of length.
The major prophets are super long-winded.
The minor prophets are super short.
They're very much smaller in their length.
That's the idea that we have between major and minor judges here.
And the first judge, the first minor judge that we looked at, was Shamgar.
Do you remember him from the end of chapter 3?
Shamgar was an obscure man in an obscure place.
And all we're told about him was that he killed 600 men with an ox code, with a farming tool.
And we made appropriate applications then.
This interlude has two minor judges.
Tola and Jair.
And these two minor judges, as I said, constitute a transitional piece,
bridging the gap between two really dominant epics in the overall narrative.
Tola's section, verses 1 and 2, bring a conclusion to the Gideon cycle.
That's what it's meant to do.
Particularly the scene with Abimelech, right?
That's how the author is using it here.
Jair's mention prepares the reader for the shift to the Jephthah cycle.
Okay?
So hinge piece here.
Even geographically, our attention is being adjusted here from the areas immediately west
of the Jordan River in Israel to the areas immediately east of the Jordan River in Israel.
So everything about this is transitional in its function and in its scope.
But this text is doing so much more than simply turning the page from one story to another.
It's doing far more than that.
It may be simple, but there is meaning here.
And I don't want you to miss it.
It's an opportunity for us to consider the reality and the purpose of seasons of rest.
Seasons of rest.
Seasons of peace.
When we come to the scripture, there's at least three types of rest,
three types of peace that are given to us as gifts from God.
The first one we've talked about at great length already this morning.
That is the weekly Sabbath.
The weekly Sabbath being a God-given period of rest from the burdens
and the stresses that we carry the other six days of the week.
So God gives it to us as a gift that allows time for focused worship and physical rest.
It is a welcome interlude in the regular course of the Christian week.
And it takes us all the way back to Genesis chapter 2.
That's one type of rest mentioned in the scriptures.
Another type of rest mentioned in the scriptures is just these simple periods of what we would say is relative peace.
Relative peace.
That's what we have in this passage.
In fact, if you go back and you trace all the way back to the end of or to where Gideon's death was.
Remember, there was rest for the land for 40 years after Gideon's death.
Abimelech has his thing, but that's not an outside oppression.
It's certainly difficult.
It's tragic.
But we might could say, well, that just kind of wedges itself into the middle of this
generally relatively peaceful, restful season for Israel.
Then we get to Tola and Jair, and together it's another 45 years.
So what we have here in the life of Israel is basically 85 years of relative rest,
relative peace from their enemies.
And this interlude here in the passage, it's not just a reprieve for the readers.
It's actually detailing for us a reprieve that God gave to his people.
A time frame of relative peace.
And here's the thing with this.
Life is hard.
It is hard.
As soon as you finish getting over one obstacle, it doesn't take very long,
and there's another obstacle.
And they're very, usually they're not very much the same.
They try us in different ways.
But God is good to us.
He brings us through seasons of intense suffering for his glory.
But then he gifts us often with periods of peace.
It brings a reprieve from the chaos, a time for healing,
a time for getting through and processing the hardships of living in a fallen world.
And that's really what we have in this passage.
But there's a third kind of rest that is mentioned to us as a gift from God in the scriptures.
It's an eternal rest.
An eternal rest in Christ.
All of the talk about peace and rest in the Bible ultimately points us to an everlasting rest
for those who believe and follow Christ.
And I want you to just glory in this for just a moment.
There is coming a day.
It is surely coming.
It is promised by our Savior.
It is a gift from God.
There is coming a day,
and it will include a rest that will never end.
We will be in the presence of our God and our Savior.
We will be made ultimately and eternally free from sin,
from pain,
from trouble,
from the consequences of other sins,
from death,
from hardship.
It will all be done.
And it will be done forever.
It's a guarantee for those who are in Christ
that an eternal rest is ahead for us.
And we do not have that now.
It's coming.
But it is promised to us in the scriptures.
Three different kinds of rest.
The first two preparing us for the final one.
The weekly Sabbath.
The seasons of peace pointing us forward to that great day of the Lord when He returns.
And He brings His kingdom,
the new heavens and the new earth.
Now it's easy to move quickly through a text like this,
wondering what real purpose it serves.
Why are these five verses here?
What possible value can we take from them?
Well, since they're scripture,
there are at least three components that they must contain.
Okay?
Because all scripture contains these three components.
Number one,
they teach us something about God.
They teach us something about God.
Psalm 138 verse 2,
You have exalted above all things your name and your word.
The psalmist says.
What does that mean?
That means that God has given us His word as His revelation in order that we might exalt Him.
It is His revelation to us.
Therefore, every time you open the scriptures,
it doesn't matter where they are.
It doesn't matter how simple the story is
or how little impact it has on you immediately.
It is teaching you something about God.
It is His revelation to us in order that we may exalt Him,
in order that we may know Him,
and that we may worship Him.
But it's not only teaching us something about God.
It's teaching us something about serving God.
2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 15 through 17.
You know the passage well.
Paul tells Timothy,
From a child you have known the scriptures, the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ.
And then he says, this is just so wonderful.
All scripture is breathed out by God.
It is given to us by God for this reason.
It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be whole, complete, mature,
equipped for every good work.
The scriptures, by nature of what they are,
they teach us something about God.
But then they teach us something about serving God.
Now, we can say, and some people would suggest,
that the ultimate end, the ultimate goal for studying the Bible
is to develop dogma or conviction.
But that's only partially true.
The ultimate goal of studying the scriptures is application.
Because God has given us the scriptures so that we might have teaching.
That is so that we might believe something.
That's the conviction.
But it's not just conviction.
It's also for reproof.
So that it might show us what is wrong.
Then it gives us correction so that we can know how to make those things right.
We're applying those truths to our lives in a very specific way.
And then it's given us training in righteousness.
It's telling us how to push forward in service to God.
Why?
That the man of God may be thoroughly furnished, equipped for every good work.
What do the scriptures do for us?
They teach us something about God.
They teach us how to serve God.
They're practical, relevant for us.
Third, they teach us something about salvation through Jesus.
They always, always teach us something about salvation through Jesus.
Jesus says in John chapter 5 verse 39,
You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.
And it is they that bear witness about me.
This book that you hold in your hand, I hope that you hold in your hand today,
from beginning to end, Genesis 1 all the way to the end of Revelation,
it has one meta-narrative.
And it is this, salvation through Jesus.
Everywhere you turn in the Bible, it is ultimately about Jesus.
It has something to teach us about God's glory and salvation
through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Those are three components every piece of scripture has,
which means that those three components must be present
in these five verses in Judges chapter 10.
So I want to use that as our structure for understanding the verses today, okay?
Number one, these verses teach us something about God.
They teach us something about God.
Look at verses 1 and 2 again.
After Abimelech, there arose to save Israel Tola, the son of Pua, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar.
And he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
And he judged Israel 23 years.
Then he died and was buried at Shamir.
So our introduction to Tola is about as basic as it gets.
We're given just a few details about his lineage, where he lived and died,
how long he governed in that region of Israel.
But I want you to notice what the emphasis of this information is on.
The emphasis of this information is on Tola's connection to Abimelech.
Remember Abimelech, the son of Gideon,
who wreaks havoc on Israel in the proximity around Shechem.
Now we're told that Tola saved, quote, saved Israel.
But we're not told how he saved Israel, not explicitly at least.
It could very well be that there were enemies coming against Israel.
And Tola, as a mighty warrior, as no doubt he was,
fought against them and they're just otherwise unnamed in the text.
But I think while that may be true,
that's not what the author of Judges intends for us to see here.
He intends for us to see this connection,
that to stress for us,
the leadership of Tola relative to the leadership of Abimelech.
He saves Israel by leading them in a recovery
from the fallout from Abimelech's wickedness.
This is a real life interlude,
a gift from God for the healing of these people in this region
who just went through something tragic for three years.
And God uses Tola to secure this period of relief.
Now this all speaks to one thing.
God's goodness.
His kindness toward his people following a time of serious chaos.
Do you see it there?
If we just hurry our way through the book of Judges,
what it seems like is wave after wave after wave of judgment,
judgment, judgment, judgment, judgment.
And really that's essentially what it is.
Until we look in at the details and we see,
okay, there's judgment, but then there's mercy.
Undeserved mercy.
There's mercy.
And then there's these periods of rest and peace,
even when they're not asked for.
What is it pointing us towards?
It's the goodness and the kindness of God.
It's a reminder that Yahweh is a gracious and merciful God,
as we have learned many times this morning,
who is full of steadfast love that endures forever.
Dale Ralph Davis says it this way,
God does not allow blasting to go on forever.
He does not allow his people to be trampled ad infinitum.
But it is his way after the valley of the shadow
to anoint our heads with oil.
After sorrow and sighing to grant joy and gladness.
Yahweh is a gracious God who never allows Abimelech
to be the last word for his people.
Never.
This is about the goodness of God.
Well, how can we really trust that God
will be gracious and merciful to us?
Can we trust that God will be gracious and merciful to us?
And the answer is yes.
How can we be sure, though?
Well, we have in his grace and provision
a myriad of examples through the scripture,
sometimes as simple as two verses
about a guy that we know nothing else about.
And it shows these patterns of God's mercy,
patterns of God's grace.
We ought not be surprised to read that
Tola's reign was relatively peaceful
because God's very character is one that continually
shows steadfast love to his sinful creatures.
It's what we can expect from God.
It's what we can expect from God
because it's who he is.
And these are simple reminders of God's character
that should cause us to trust
that he will bring us to that eternal rest
following this season of suffering
and sin in this life.
It teaches us about God so that we might trust him
and be assured of his goodness.
Micah picks up on this in Micah chapter seven.
Who is a God like you?
Pardoning iniquity, passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance.
He does not retain his anger forever
because he delights in mercy.
He delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
This text teaches us about God.
It teaches about his gracious provision of rest.
And it's gracious because it's a gift
that is given to undeserving sinners.
It's a gracious rest.
This section, it's flanked by two detailed stories
stories of judgment.
And the judgment is centered on Israel's idolatry.
In these five verses, nothing about Israel's heart
or false worship changes.
Nothing about this in verses one through five says,
and Israel turned back to God,
therefore he gave them 45 years of peace and rest.
That's not what happens.
God gives it to them purely
out of his gracious and merciful character.
And he gives it to people who are totally undeserving
of such peace in their lives.
And whether we're referring to the weekly Sabbath
or a period of peace or an eternal rest,
the experience of God's rest is always a gracious provision
for undeserving sinners.
Always.
We live in this, with this idea sometimes
that we are entitled to things.
Everybody's deserving of whatever it is that they want.
And that creeps into the church
and into Christian hearts sometimes
so that we look at God and we say,
yes, God should save me.
I deserve to be saved.
Yes, God should bless me.
I deserve to be blessed.
But the truth is you don't.
You don't deserve to be saved.
You don't deserve to be blessed.
Your blessing comes directly from his character,
not yours.
Every time he gives it,
it is a gracious gift to undeserving sinners.
What does this text teach us about God?
It teaches us about his grace.
Number two, it instructs our service to God.
It instructs our service to God.
Look at verse three.
After him arose Jair, the Gileadite,
who judged Israel 22 years.
He had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys
and they had 30 cities called Havath-Jair to this day,
which are in the land of Gilead.
And Jair died and was buried in Cainmon.
Well, the description of Jair here
is about as basic as the one given to Tola.
But if you pay attention,
there is a distinct difference in emphasis.
Tola was marked by his ancestry
and his connection to Abimelech.
What we're told about Tola is who his dad was
and who his grandfather was
and which tribe he belonged to
and the emphasis was on his link to Abimelech.
That's not the same for Jair.
There's something a little different happening here.
We're not told about his lineage.
We're told about his descendants.
We're told about these 30 sons.
We are told that he's in Gilead,
but all of that is to connect him to Jephthah,
who is also a Gileadite.
This whole next scene that we get to
in chapters 10 and 11,
it is all centered on this man, Jephthah, a Gileadite,
and it is centered in Gilead.
So the author's transitioning us, okay?
So that's clear, it's pretty simple,
it's basic for us.
But there's some things that we can discern here.
Though he still enjoyed a season of peace,
Jair's leadership helped produce
the conditions of idolatry and judgment
that are coming in the Jephthah narrative.
By mentioning some of these things about Jair,
the author is preparing us
for what's about to unfold in Gilead
in the next chapter.
So Tola teaches us about
God's gracious provision of rest.
Jair teaches us about misusing
God's gracious provision of rest.
And here's how we need to get to this, okay?
Let's think for just a moment
about why God gives us rest.
What is his purpose in that?
Why does he do that?
What's his intentions?
Okay, number one,
our rest is meant to produce grateful worship.
Grateful worship.
When we see and understand God's grace,
it should produce in us worship, right?
That's a goal of it.
That is an intention that God has in it.
Consider God's deliverance of Israel
from slavery in Egypt.
In Exodus chapter six,
God tells Moses to tell the people
that he would deliver them
so that they would know his love
and serve him accordingly.
God's provision of rest from slavery
was meant to produce in them
true worship of their God.
Exodus chapter six, verse seven.
God says,
I will take you to be my people.
I will be your God.
You shall know that I am Yahweh, your God,
who has brought you out
from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
God gives his people rest from slavery.
Why?
In order that they may know
that he is their God
and worship him accordingly.
Okay?
So why does God give us these periods of rest?
Whether it's a weekly Sabbath
or a season of peace
or the eternal rest
so that it may produce in us grateful worship.
Number two,
God gives us rest
as a time of healing, recovery.
Isn't that what's happening here
with Israel and the big picture of it?
Isn't that why God brings them rest?
He gives them time
to actually enjoy their lives
even though they do not serve him
with their lives.
We call this common grace
that even the wicked in this life
enjoy certain graces
from the Lord's love
even though they do not serve him.
There are seasons
that God takes us through.
He gives them to us graciously
as a period of healing.
Perhaps some of you
have been in church settings before
where there was
a massive failure in leadership
and in the process
of recovering from that
God brings in
some interim pastor
or a group of elders to serve
and it's not that they're
particularly talented
but that they serve the church
in such a way
as to help bring healing
and recovery.
Perhaps you've been
in a situation in your life
where you've left
a hurtful situation
and God takes you
to a place of healing
and recovering
in terms of a church setting
and another congregation.
Is that not a gracious gift from God?
Does he not give that to us
in order that he may soothe us
and help us
and encourage us?
Do you remember
what happened with Elijah
after that showdown
with the prophets of Baal?
You probably know that story.
It's amazing.
He has this triumphant moment
and then Jezebel
threatens to kill him
and he gets so scared
that he runs.
He's defeated.
It's chaos for him.
He runs as far as he can run
and then he goes another day
into the wilderness from there
and he lays down
and he says,
God, just kill me.
Just kill me already
because she's going to do it anyways.
And you know what God does
for Elijah?
Elijah, he gives him
a couple of days
of just peace and rest.
He has him sleep.
Then he sends an angel
to wake him up,
give him a little food,
a little water,
makes him sleep again.
He gives him just a brief moment
to recover.
Healing.
God is good to us
in that way, isn't he?
You might be in a season
of peace right now.
Maybe you're coming out
of a situation of chaos
or whatever it may be
in your life.
God's given you
a useful moment
to recover
and you need to worship him
and acknowledge
that he is good in that.
He's good.
There's a third thing
that God gives us peace for.
He gives us rest
so that we might have time
to repent.
Might have time to repent.
He is patient.
He allows us
a period of peace
so that we might respond
in faithfulness.
Romans chapter 2 verse 4.
Do you presume
on the riches
of his kindness
and forbearance
and patience?
Not realizing
that God's kindness
is meant to lead you
to repentance?
He could just give you wrath.
But he doesn't.
He gives you time.
2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9.
The Lord is not slack
or slow
to fulfill his promise
as some count slowness.
This is in reference
to the Lord's return.
He is not slow
to fulfill that promise
but he waits
because he's patient
toward us
not wishing that any
should perish
but that they should
reach repentance.
Why does the Lord
tarry?
To provide time
for repentance
repentance
so that we may turn
to him in faith?
This little section
about Jair
implies
that he
and all of Israel
wasted
a period of rest
for 85 years.
They did not
gratefully worship
God for the peace.
For 85 years
they did not recognize
a season of healing
and recovery
and give to the Lord
praise in response.
For 85 years
they did not turn
from their sin
and idolatry.
They wasted
their peace.
So this instructs us
on our service to God.
Like Gideon,
Jair,
we're told here
he tries to set himself
up as a king
in Gilead.
His 30 sons
reflect the harem
of wives
that he had obtained.
The fact that he
rode 30 donkeys
and which was
a royal animal
at the time
ruled 30 cities
it indicates
Jair wanted
his authority
to pass on
to his children.
But the most
disappointing element
of his rule
is that he did
not lead the people
back to faithfully
worship God.
He does nothing
to change that
because when we
open up the Jephthah
cycle we find
everything's exactly
as it was
with Abimelech.
The people are
worshiping false gods.
Though enjoying
a period of peace
and prosperity
Jair's leadership
at least made
possible
the apostasy
that we see
in chapter 10.
Periods of peace
they sometimes
have a way
of making us
comfortable
with our sins
don't they?
We rationalize
in our minds
well
times are good
God must not
be displeased
with me
otherwise
I'd be getting
the lightning bolts
here and there
because he would
just be so angry
with me
in the moment.
But the scriptures
confess to us
that God's seasons
of peace
are not
because he's
careless with us.
There are seasons
of peace
that are meant
to bring us
to repentance
but sometimes
we mistake that
and we allow it
to make us
comfortable
in our sin
apathetic
to the Lord.
We also tend
to misuse
those seasons
don't we?
I'm not trying
to beat a dead
horse here
but we have
application to this
in the weekly
Sabbath don't we?
The Lord's Day?
We generally
treat it
like a second
Saturday
or a chance
to get ahead
in our work.
We misuse
the day
that God
has given us
for rest
and worship.
How about
the seasons
of peace
that he takes
us through?
We misuse
those too.
When we should
express gratitude
we often
ignore the Lord.
A sense
of entitlement
leads us
to act
as if
we deserve
his blessings.
rather than
take time
to repent
sometimes
we dig
our heels
in
to the sin
that God
hates.
If you go
back to
Romans chapter 2
Paul says
immediately
after that
verse
in verse 5
he says
what you're
doing
is you're
storing up
wrath.
You're storing
up wrath
because you're
not repenting.
You're just
building it up
building up
God's wrath
and eventually
it's going
to be poured
out
on God's
enemies.
Such seems
to be the
case
with Jair
and this
little description
of his
time leading
Israel
is helpfully
instructive
in this
way.
Don't
waste
God's
gracious
interludes
in your
life.
Don't
waste
them.
Thirdly
and finally
this text
points us
to salvation
through Jesus.
The text
points us
to salvation
through Jesus.
It's not
what Tola
and Jair
did that
points us
to Christ
it's what
they didn't
do.
Look at
verse 2
again.
Then Tola
died
and was
buried
at Shamir.
Look at
verse 5
again.
And Jair
died
and was
buried
at
Camon.
The gospel
connection
of this
interlude
is consistent
with the
key theme
of the
book.
Israel
needs a
king
but not
just any
king.
They need
God's
king.
One who
will deliver
them from
all their
enemies
who will
reign in
perfect
righteousness
who will
bring them
not only
a physical
rest but
an eternal
spiritual
rest that
will never
end.
And it's
the temporary
nature of
Tola and
Jair's
reigns that
point us
forward to
Christ.
None of the
judges in this
book could do
for us or
for themselves
what only
Jesus can do.
No matter
how great
their leadership
might have
been,
Tola and
Jair died
like everybody
else.
And as soon
as they
died things
went back
to chaos.
They could
not do
for Israel
what only
Jesus can
do.
And their
deaths make
us long
for a
savior who
will finally
conquer death
for us.
Who will
finally deliver
us from sin.
Who will
eternally
deliver us
from the
chaos and
the hardships
of life in
a fallen
world.
That's the
connection to
Jesus here.
It's not in
what they
did.
It's what
they couldn't
do.
Jesus is the
true and
better savior
who perfectly
fulfilled God's
law.
Who died in
the place of
sinners.
Who rose to
display his
power over
death and
offers eternal
rest to all
who will come
and trust in
him.
Matthew chapter
11.
Come to me
Jesus says
all of you
who are
labor and
heavy laden
all of you
are doing
your best
and you're
trying your
hardest and
you don't
seem to be
getting anywhere.
Jesus says
come to me
I will
give you
rest.
I will
give you
rest.
Take my
yoke upon
you.
Learn from
me for I
am gentle
and lowly
and hard
and you
will find
rest not
for your
body.
You will
find rest
for your
souls.
for my
yoke is
easy and
my burden
is light.
John 14
Jesus tells
his disciples
do not let
your hearts
be troubled.
What would
they be
troubled about?
The fact
that Jesus
is leaving
and he's
going to
leave them
in a
world that
is terribly
fallen and
sinful and
hard.
And he
tells them
he says
don't let
your heart
be troubled.
Believe in
God.
Believe in
me.
In my
father's
house in
heaven are
many rooms.
There's room
for you.
If this
wasn't so
what have
I told
you that
I go to
prepare a
place for
you?
And listen
to this
assertion.
And if
I go and
prepare a
place for
you I
will come
again.
I will
take you
to myself
that where
I am
you may
be there
also.
He offers
us a rest
that will
never end
and he
promises
that he
will return
to take
us to
that rest.
Tola
and Jair
couldn't
ultimately
save Israel
and neither
yours or
anybody else's
efforts on
your behalf
can ultimately
save you.
Only Jesus
can do that
and by his
grace he
has done
that.
He has
done that
for all
who will
come to
him in
repentance of
sin and
faith in
who he is
and what
he's done
and what
he said.
the debt
is paid
the rest
secured
and he
invites you
to come
and receive
it by
faith.
Not all
passages of
scripture
are equally
impactful.
You may
not ever
think of
Tola and
Jair again
in your
Christian
life
because it
doesn't carry
the same
impact as
say
the end
of John's
gospel when
we're told
about the
crucifixion and
resurrection of
Jesus.
There's a
difference in
impact there
but all
scripture
is profitable.
You may
not think
there's much
to gain from
a little
excerpt like
this one
but because
it's part of
God's word
it has
tremendous
value to
us.
In this
case it
teaches us
of God's
sovereign
grace
demonstrating
his
patterns
of
mercy
for
those
he
desires
to
save.
It
instructs
us on
how to
use each
season of
relative peace
and rest
for God's
glory and
for our
good.
Finally
and especially
it points
us to God's
plan of
salvation
through
Jesus
the one
and only
savior of
our sins
and provider
of eternal
rest.
he is
our
rest.