Gods Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

fered torture of spirit when the majority, in their blindness and slowness to learn, or in their stubborn rejection of His grace and love, refused to enter into fellowship with Him.

Satan’s Strategy

Although Christ knew better than to expect understanding and fellowship from the unbelieving world, He had a right to look for it in the Jews and their leaders, and above all, in His disciples. But the chosen people had become so committed to themselves as plan makers, that they had nothing in common with the Saviour. Nor did the disciples understand and appreci ate the principles He had come to establish, even though they had forsaken everything to follow Him. They imagined He would build a kingdom similar to the nations around them, so they went about planning a kingdom like that, expecting Him to add His power to their planning. When He would not, they were ag grieved and sought to remedy this supposed problem by exerting on Him all the pressure they could. How different from this was the spirit Jesus found at the home in Bethany. He never left that home without being refresh ed, strengthened, and encouraged. The trio was making a contri bution to God’s cause which they little appreciated, for they saw Christ as a blessing to them rather than vice versa. Satan noticed the blessing this family was to Jesus, and he determined to eliminate this factor which was working to his disadvantage. Having failed to induce Christ to turn from God’s directives to His own devisings, Satan determined to isolate Him by holding as many as he could in the bondage of their own works, by destroying the faith of those who escaped him, and by killing those who would not yield. Thus Lazarus and his sisters became marked people. They were to suffer, not because of any sin in themselves, but because of their righteousness. Satan’s success in putting John the Baptist to death gave him confidence to believe that he could likewise remove Lazarus. He never dreamed that Christ would raise him again and thereby deal a fearful blow to his cause. Therefore Satan inflicted the fa tal illness upon Lazarus, and God permitted it.