Gods Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

Such worries tend to lead people to reject the message before they have investigated it thoroughly. They imagine that there is something dangerous residing in those Sabbath rest principles, so in their blindness they brace themselves to resist it. Such fears are entirely groundless. The opposite result will in fact be experienced, for, far from narrowing and limiting human capac ity and achievement, God’s ways offer opportunities for unlimit ed development and fullness of joy. Others assume they are cooperating with God’s plans when in fact they are carrying out their own plans and building their own kingdoms. It is only by open, honest counsel with others and trust in God and others more than self, that such miscon ceptions can be recognized and overcome. (See Philippians 2:3.) There is indeed a place for human organization in the work of God, but it is not in making our own general or specific plans for carrying out God’s will. Our Creator has a purpose in endowing us with the ability to order, organize and manage, but before con sidering the role of the human agent in detail, it is necessary to study further examples of how God operates as Plan Maker. We will therefore consider the eventual successful conquest of the enemies who were occupying Israel’s promised inheritance. Israel failed at Kadesh Barnea for one reason—they did not practice God’s ways. It was left to the next generation to enjoy the success their parents had hoped to achieve. Those who even tually entered Canaan, did so because they knew, trusted and followed God’s procedures. Jehovah and His law had not changed in the interim, and neither had the conditions of entry. The experiences of the almost forty years of travel, occupy on ly a small portion in holy writ. Therefore we find the account of the second attempt to invade Canaan, by the next generation, only a few chapters further on, where its coming again to Kadesh is recorded. “In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.” Numbers 20:1. The Next Generation