GOD’S PROVISION TO HELP US MARK OUR TIME ON EARTH
Nearly every measurement of time was set in motion by God from the beginning. Our clocks and calendars are only manmade tools to mark the “signs and seasons” which God ordained from the start. The 24-hour day and the 365-day year are set by the sun. The months are marked by the moon and the seasons by the tilt of the Earth on its axis as it orbits the sun. Even the timing of the Bethlehem Star that appeared to announce the birth of Jesus Christ was precisely set in motion at the time of God’s creation.
However the 7-day week is an exception. Although some attribute its origin to the ancient Babylonians, the 7-day week finds its true origin explained in the Bible. For it comes not by observing God’s creation, but by following God’s revelation. As we read in Genesis 2, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:1-3). Thus, the 7-day week is our “weekly” reminder of God’s revelation to us.
As we begin a new year, let us heed the instruction from God’s Word that says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa. 90:12). And let us be wise as we live this new year, “redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16), so that we are ready for the Day of the Lord’s return, which is already set in the mind of God.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your provision to help us mark our time on earth. It causes a longing in our hearts for You and for eternity. For time slips by so quickly. Yet, we are not afraid, for we know that Your Son has prepared a place for us to live forever with Him in Your presence. In the meantime, teach us to “number our days” and live with our minds and hearts set on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.