A Gracious Interlude

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.

Judges 10 · chapter mention

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.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

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,

Psalms 138:2

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.

It's teaching us something about serving God.

2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 15 through 17.

2 Timothy 3:15–17

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,

John 5:39

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.

Judges 10 · chapter mention

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.

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.

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.

Romans 2:4

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.

2 Peter 3:9

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

Romans 2 · chapter mention

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

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

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

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.