Gods Sabbath

178

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

The result of following the right procedure this time was that the heavenly Problem Solver wrought wonderfully for Jacob, and as a result his brother experienced a sudden change of mind. “But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.” Genesis 33:4. (See Genesis 33:1–16 for a description of the whole story.)

Erroneous Thinking

Because Rebekah and Jacob took God’s work into their own hands, we do not know exactly how Jehovah would have fulfilled His promise. But we do see how once again, well-meaning, ded icated people, through lack of adequate education and trust in Sabbath rest principles, were led to take steps in which God could have no part, and for which they had to experience a very deep and painful work of repentance. They also suffered consid erably as a consequence of their sin, one of the sad results being that they never saw each other again. At this point the following question might arise: Both Rebek ah and Jacob were born again Christians, yet they set them selves in the place of God, thereby violating the first and with it all the other commandments as well (see James 2:10). How could it be possible that such a sin could appear in their lives? How can a good tree produce such bad fruit? It is true that a good tree can produce only good fruit, which symbolizes all the excellent qualities of dedication to God’s serv ice, love for His cause, spirit of self-sacrifice, and so forth. It is from the indwelling life of Christ that such admirable qualities spring. These attributes are mighty powers that exert powerful influences on our behavior, but they cannot operate safely unless we control them by an educated mind enlightened by the Holy Spirit. In the cases of Abraham, Sarah, Rebekah, and Jacob, such an education was lacking, with the result that these won derful Christians, so dedicated and well-meaning, entered into courses of action which were sinful in every sense, and with which our heavenly Father could have no part. The good trees had produced good fruit, but right use had not been made of it.