Made to Lie Down in Safety

As we study how Christ redeems us from the law, we find that He thereby gives us rest.

There is no rest in lawkeeping for righteousness. There is only the continual terror of failure and judgment. But Praise God, our Jesus rescues us from all that by His death at Calvary, and therefore we can find rest!

In Ezekiel 34, the prophet foretells how God will appoint our Lord Jesus to be our shepherd, to save us, to feed us, to take away our enemies, and to give us rest. Indeed, God swears "I will cause them to lie down, sayeth the Lord."

Sheep will not lie down until they are fed and until they know they are safe. Implicit in God's promise, is that He will take away our terror and our fear, so that we may lie down and have rest.

Fear destroys rest. Hard work does not interfere with rest, but fear does. Over and over again, God describes how He takes away the fear and the judgment and the wrath and causes His people to lie down and rest.

We must enter into God's rest by faith, Hebrews tells us. Without trusting in God's promises of salvation, we cannot enter into the rest that God has prepared for us.

Christ takes away our fear by dying in our place, and destroying the devil who has the power of death, and delivering us who were always afraid of death and thereby under the bondage of the law.

Jesus told us that He gives us a unique peace, and therefore He urges us not to allow our hearts to be troubled.

Jesus took away our fear by taking our fear unto Himself at Calvary. He expressed the terror of the judgment of sin at Gethsemane, and when He declared that His soul was troubled.

Thereby, we are made to lie down and rest, and none can make us afraid!