Gods Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

God has never done anything to promote His own interests at the expense of anyone else. The contrary is true. He ever promotes the interest of others, no matter what the cost to Himself. On the ba sis of this principle, we can forever rest assured that God planned neither the entrance of sin, nor the death of Lazarus. But although the Creator never planned sin or death, He did provide for them. That is because in His infinite foreknowledge, He saw these things coming long before they eventuated. He worked out perfect solutions to these problems, so that Satan’s plots for the destruction of His kingdom and His people served to strengthen rather than weaken God’s work. In the death of Lazarus, Satan was permitted by God to reveal his character as the life taker, while the Creator was revealed as the Life Giver. This is the story of the great controversy—Satan working his evil while God counteracts it. Why did Satan single out Lazarus as his victim? To answer this question, we need to consider the spiritual experience enjoyed by Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. They lived togeth er in the tiny village of Bethany. No mention is made of their par ents, so it is possible that they had both died. Seemingly too, none of the trio had married, but lived together instead as a devoted and happy family unit. They accepted Jesus as the Messiah and entered into the spirit of His life and teachings. Jesus valued His visits to this home, for He found there a love and fellowship una vailable to Him anywhere else (see Luke 10:38–42). The peace and understanding Christ found in this household testified to the extent its members had grasped His principles. All three siblings had obviously entered into God’s Sabbath rest and He did not want to rob them of the blessing the trying or deal before them would give them. It served only to add luster and grace to the beautiful, trusting relationship between them and the eternal Plan Maker. When the seeming tragedy struck, they did not doubt the Father’s wisdom and love, nor enter into a complaining spirit against Him, as did John’s disciples at the imprisonment of the prophet. Why did Satan Choose Lazarus?