Apr
19
2014
Selah
Posted in Holy Week 4 Comments
Rest.
Just the word brings about thoughts of peace and tranquility.
Rest is a sense of freedom from labor or activity, so says the dictionary.
Rest is necessary for our souls.
Some people are good at rest; knowing when to stop, when to continue.
Some people are horrible at rest; they think if I don’t do it, it won’t get done.
Rest is something God did on the seventh day when the work of creation was completed.
Rest is something God wants us to do on the Lord’s Day as we rejuvenate our souls in Him.
When the Psalms were written, they were meant to be sung.
David, the shepherd who became king, wrote many of the psalms.
David also played the harp.
I can picture David sitting in the fields all alone tending the sheep, and playing music.
Throughout the psalms, there are musical directives.
One such directive is the word selah.
Selah, a Hebrew word meaning stop and listen, or pause and think of that.
What a lovely word.
If you think of all the moments of rest throughout the day, you would be amazed.
The period at the end of a sentence causes you to pause before reading on.
The pause when your windshield wipers are turned to intermittent.
Most importantly, the rest in music.
A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music.
It is marked by a symbol indicating the length of the pause.
Rests in music are so important to the composition.
They force you to pause, anticipate the next note that will be played.
It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in linen, and place it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid. (Mark 15:42-47)
Selah.
Rest.
It is finished.
Pause and think of that.
Freedom from labor or activity.
Peace and tranquility.
Necessary for our souls.
Selah.
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in white sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him just as He told you.’ ” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. (Mark 16:1-8)
God the Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and proved that by raising Him from the dead.
Our Selah.
Jesus’ work.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:17-20)
We are much like the women who came to the tomb early in the morning.
We all need to look inside the empty tomb and tremble with bewilderment.
What happened?
Did someone steal Jesus’ body?
Is the resurrection some elaborate hoax?
Can we explain the resurrection away with scientific fact?
Do we even care about something that happened so very long ago?
Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday we wait.
On Easter Sunday morning, as we stand before that open tomb, we must have an answer.
Bewilderment is true comprehension, so says Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
We all need to answer that all important question, What happened?
Our eternity depends on that answer.
Stand amazed as you look inside the empty tomb.
Go and tell, just as He told you.
Gina, you are so right. We all need to slow down and appreciate all God has done and is doing for us. Easter is one special time the world remembers; how blessed we are as Christians, remembering His sacrifice all the time
Sue,
To have stillness in our days is something we all need to remember the other 364 days as well.
Gina
Thank you Gina. When I encounter ‘selah’ while reading a Psalm or elsewhere in Scripture, I want to stop, rest, ponder and meditate a while on what I just read or on what was just sung to me. It is important to not rush headlong through God’s Word. It is meant for us to meditate on It instead. It is good to meditate on God’s Grace in sending our Lord Jesus to us and meditate on His work on the cross on our behalf.
Al, I am delighted that you were blessed. With the fast-paced life we live, God’s Word compels us to slow down and ponder His Truth. How desperately we need to be still.
Gina