As Passover and Easter are fast approaching I have been reading the account of God’s deliverance of the people of Israel from the yoke of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  My purpose in doing this has been to go back to the root, the foundation of Easter, for it is rooted in the Passover, and the Passover, finds it root in the Exodus.  Reading the book of Exodus these past couple of weeks has just been awesome!  God has taught me much about himself through studying this book.

One I would like to share with you is the Sabbath.  On Friday I participated in my first Shabbat dinner.  Shabbat is the Hebrew word for Sabbath, meaning a day of rest.  It was such a wonderful occasion for me to participate, as I gained a new appreciation for this weekly Jewish custom.  For instance, one of the duties of the father at the Shabbat dinner is to say a blessing over his family, starting with the wife first, quoting Proverbs 31 as his blessing over her.

Genesis 32:28 records Jacob, the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham, having his name changed to Israel.  Why?  The text tells us it is, “because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”  What a prophetic word, with a promise. 

The context of the passage shows us that it was Jacob who wrestled the angel and won, but the message from the angel and name Israel takes on much more theological significance than we may typically think.  To understand this more it will be helpful to take a macro view of the Israelites heritage through the Old Testament.  

Moses and Elijah are two Old Testament heroes of the faith who were worn out by the lack of faith and depravity possessed by God’s chosen people.  In 1 Kings 19:10 Elijah communicates his plight to the Lord of how the Israelites have rejected God’s covenant (Mosaic) and put the prophets to death.  Elijah saw himself as next in line the line of fire and was wondering where hope for Israel was to be found.  God replied that he had reserved seven thousand in Israel. (1 Kings 19:18) 

I was there, but not present. I was oblivious. Like those vintage photos of Albert Einstein with his crazy hair, where he looks like the absent-minded professor, I was the absentee. I was solving my Pi. And when 3.141592 … is going around in your head, it’s hard to think about anything else. It drives you mad.

Here’s the story. I’m obsessive—spontaneous, and sometimes ready to combust. It’s part of what makes me good at what I do. But it’s a hazard. Because when I am not present, it seems that God isn’t either. I subtly ask God for help, but it’s superficial—I know it, and he certainly does. So, I have to be honest with myself, my friends, my family and with God. I have to be willing to say, “I’m burned out, and I need to refocus on the Infinite God, so that I can be present again.