Get Ye unto Your Tents... and REST!

Christmas. What does this season of celebration and ponderance mean to you? Does it represent a joyous time spent with family and friends? Do you spend time pondering and meditating on the God who came to earth as a helpless infant to give His own life, so that you could retain yours? Or does it represent added work and a list of to-dos that never seem to get done?

So often we feel obligated to commit to way too many tasks out of a servant’s heart and end up overburdened and stressed out. Our intentions are pure, our heart is in the right place, but we are out of God’s perfect will and end up very unhappy.

How can we correct this? What should we do? Well that, my friends, is the focus of this article and I hope you will find it just what you need to give you rest in your spirit and peace in your home.

Have you read our background passage yet? If not, please take the time to do so now. Are you done? Good! Let’s look at that first verse:

“Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God.”

To get a sense of what is going on here let me explain - Joshua and the Israelites have just finished their campaigns to conquer the Promised Land. If you will recall there were three groups that were given land on the east side of the Jordan. Even though their land did not require conquering, they were still charged with the duty of helping the other tribes to conquer the Promised Land.

Charge is a word that caught my attention as I was studying this passage. So,I looked it up in the Strong’s Concordance.

Charge - watch, the sentry, the post; preservation, or safe; fig. observance, duty or charge, keep, or to be kept, safeguard.

I also looked the word up in the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary and I got the sense of a duty to perform or an earnest request to join ranks. This definition fit perfectly for our purpose.

Here’s the application: You have gone out and joined ranks with your friends, partners and family members (church or otherwise) and helped to complete a task. You’ve done a great job, but what comes next?

You are in the mode, so naturally you begin to search for the next area to help with. This is normal, it is called habit, but it might not be God’s very best for you during this season.

Take a look at the activities you are involved in and those that are proposed for your involvement. Do these activities fit you as comfortably as your favorite t-shirt or are they miss-sized, itchy and uncomfortable like your little sister’s wool sweater. If they are, shed them like you would that sweater and slip into your comfortable t-shirt. You have finished your charged duty. It is time to move on.

You don’t have to do it all! You don’t have to be involved with everything! Sometimes we get so in the habit of doing and being away from home, that we get involved in things that are not ours and steal another’s blessing. Have you ever felt that way?

“And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as He promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the east side of the Jordan.”

You did such a wonderful job helping that God has given rest to the one you helped. You are so good! Now that the task is finished and it's time for you to return to your own tent and take care of the business at home.

When I have been very busy away from home, it seems like my house grows clutter! Do you know what I mean? All of the stuff that we have used during these past days, all of the mail that didn’t command immediate attention, has collected in our usual clutter areas: the countertop in the kitchen, the chair in the living room, the bench at the foot of the bed. All of these places seem to grow clutter unless they are diligently cleaned on a daily basis. It is time for you to move back into your possession and make it home again. This is YOUR Promised Land!

“But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, your very life.”

The first command we are given, once we return home, is to diligently heed God’s commandments for our place in our home. It would be so easy to fall into slothful ways and neglect the very ones we were put here to minister to! This is the time to clean up, straighten up, and decorate for Christmas! It is time to celebrate our Saviour’s birth!

We are to walk in all His ways. Diligent caught my attention first, so this was my next word to check out in Strong’s, this is what I found:

Diligent - from the same as 181 (to rake together; a poker for turning or gathering embers); properly, wholly, good, utterly, very (+ much, sore), well.

We are to be diligent in our home. We are to work steadily to bring our home together through repeatedly applying God’s commands. What are His commands for our homes? Below I have listed some Scriptures that speak to this subject. Please search them for application to our purpose. I believe you will be surprised at what you find. Most of these are very familiar passages, but if you read them now with a new focus, I believe our Dear Lord will enlighten your understanding and show you fresh truths that will feed your soul.

The next word that really caught my attention in this passage was cleave. What does it really mean to cleave? I had to know the implication of this word in our passage. Here is what I found:

Cleave - to impinge, i.e. cling or adhere; figuratively, to catch by pursuit: -abide fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take.

Oh Dear friends, the only way that we can truly find rest and contentment for our souls is to follow hard after our Lord and cling to Him. We need to have our hearts joined to His and stick to Him. This is where we will find that refreshment that the Samaritan woman at the well was looking for. This is where we will find the faith that the father at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration was begging for. We need only to cleave to Him and not depart, to hold fast to His hand as a child in a scary situation, because if we wander off from our Father’s presence, things will get mighty scary, fast!

And now we come to rest. What did Joshua do after he had charged these children of Israel and commended them for a job well done? He sent them home. They did their part and brought rest and peace to the promised land and they were rewarded with a trip home. Aren’t you ready to go? I am! The busier I get the more I appreciate and guard my days at home.

Those words sound like heaven to me! I pray God will richly bless you for the service you have performed for others! I also pray that He will send you to your tent so you can rest.

This is my wish for you this holiday season. Sit down with your family and discuss what traditions are important to them. Find out what they treasure about the Christmas season in your home and what is really fluff and can be put aside.

Look closely at your life: Does your busyness glorify the Lord or does it detract from your home life and keep you too busy to really live? What activities can be trimmed from your schedule to allow more time for home and family?

At first all this down time will confuse your children and they will be listless and perhaps contentious. But don’t despair! When they discover it means more Mommy-time and less running, they will begin to appreciate it and look forward to the new joys of each day.

Let me recommend an Advent devotion that we have discovered this year. It is entitled “Jotham’s Journey - A Storybook for Advent” by Arnold Ytreeide. We are really enjoying it and I believe you will too! It is the story of a little Hebrew boy who ran away from home in a fit of pique. This started his journey back home to his family and to find Jesus. It will be a tale you will never forget.

Let me encourage you in your return to home and Jesus this season. Be diligent to heed the commands of our Dear Lord and serve Him with all of your heart and soul, even your very life.

Your first calling is as a wife and mother. Let that take precedent this holiday season and you will reap the benefits of riches untold. Your daily manna will be so abundant and so sweet that your whole family will notice the change in this new, relaxed and rested Mommy. Come unto Jesus, take His yoke and He will give you rest. Merry Christmas!

This article is copyrighted by Mary E. Woodis. If you would like to print this article in whole or part in your publication please contact Jessie and Mary Woodis at jessiew@hiwaay.net for permission and more details.


	Crooked Pines Ministries \| home back to Articles by Mary E. Woodis Get Ye unto Your Tents... and REST! Get Ye unto Your Tents... and REST! By: Mary E. Woodis with inspiration by: The Holy Spirit and Melanie Irions Background Passage: Joshua 22:3-6 Christmas. What does this season of celebration and ponderance mean to you? Does it represent a joyous time spent with family and friends? Do you spend time pondering and meditating on the God who came to earth as a helpless infant to give His own life, so that you could retain yours? Or does it represent added work and a list of to-dos that never seem to get done? So often we feel obligated to commit to way too many tasks out of a servant’s heart and end up overburdened and stressed out. Our intentions are pure, our heart is in the right place, but we are out of God’s perfect will and end up very unhappy. How can we correct this? What should we do? Well that, my friends, is the focus of this article and I hope you will find it just what you need to give you rest in your spirit and peace in your home. What is Your Charge? Have you read our background passage yet? If not, please take the time to do so now. Are you done? Good! Let’s look at that first verse: Joshua 22:3, “Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God.” To get a sense of what is going on here let me explain - Joshua and the Israelites have just finished their campaigns to conquer the Promised Land. If you will recall there were three groups that were given land on the east side of the Jordan. Even though their land did not require conquering, they were still charged with the duty of helping the other tribes to conquer the Promised Land. Charge is a word that caught my attention as I was studying this passage. So,I looked it up in the Strong’s Concordance. Charge - watch, the sentry, the post; preservation, or safe; fig. observance, duty or charge, keep, or to be kept, safeguard. I also looked the word up in the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary and I got the sense of a duty to perform or an earnest request to join ranks. This definition fit perfectly for our purpose. Here’s the application: You have gone out and joined ranks with your friends, partners and family members (church or otherwise) and helped to complete a task. You’ve done a great job, but what comes next? You are in the mode, so naturally you begin to search for the next area to help with. This is normal, it is called habit, but it might not be God’s very best for you during this season. Is it itchy or comfy? Take a look at the activities you are involved in and those that are proposed for your involvement. Do these activities fit you as comfortably as your favorite t-shirt or are they miss-sized, itchy and uncomfortable like your little sister’s wool sweater. If they are, shed them like you would that sweater and slip into your comfortable t-shirt. You have finished your charged duty. It is time to move on. You don’t have to do it all! You don’t have to be involved with everything! Sometimes we get so in the habit of doing and being away from home, that we get involved in things that are not ours and steal another’s blessing. Have you ever felt that way? How the Clutter Does Grow! Let’s look at the next verse: Joshua 22:4, “And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as He promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the east side of the Jordan.” You did such a wonderful job helping that God has given rest to the one you helped. You are so good! Now that the task is finished and it's time for you to return to your own tent and take care of the business at home. When I have been very busy away from home, it seems like my house grows clutter! Do you know what I mean? All of the stuff that we have used during these past days, all of the mail that didn’t command immediate attention, has collected in our usual clutter areas: the countertop in the kitchen, the chair in the living room, the bench at the foot of the bed. All of these places seem to grow clutter unless they are diligently cleaned on a daily basis. It is time for you to move back into your possession and make it home again. This is YOUR Promised Land! Diligent. That brings me to our next verse: Joshua 22:5, “But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, your very life.” The first command we are given, once we return home, is to diligently heed God’s commandments for our place in our home. It would be so easy to fall into slothful ways and neglect the very ones we were put here to minister to! This is the time to clean up, straighten up, and decorate for Christmas! It is time to celebrate our Saviour’s birth! We are to walk in all His ways. Diligent caught my attention first, so this was my next word to check out in Strong’s, this is what I found: Diligent - from the same as 181 (to rake together; a poker for turning or gathering embers); properly, wholly, good, utterly, very (+ much, sore), well. We are to be diligent in our home. We are to work steadily to bring our home together through repeatedly applying God’s commands. What are His commands for our homes? Below I have listed some Scriptures that speak to this subject. Please search them for application to our purpose. I believe you will be surprised at what you find. Most of these are very familiar passages, but if you read them now with a new focus, I believe our Dear Lord will enlighten your understanding and show you fresh truths that will feed your soul. Deuteronomy 6 Joshua 24 1 Samuel 28 Psalm 113:128 Proverbs 14:1; 21:9; 31 Matthew 6:33 Luke 10:38-42 Romans 12 1 Corinthians 7 1 Timothy 3; 5 Titus 2 1 Peter 4 The next word that really caught my attention in this passage was cleave. What does it really mean to cleave? I had to know the implication of this word in our passage. Here is what I found: Cleave - to impinge, i.e. cling or adhere; figuratively, to catch by pursuit: -abide fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take. Clinging to the Father Oh Dear friends, the only way that we can truly find rest and contentment for our souls is to follow hard after our Lord and cling to Him. We need to have our hearts joined to His and stick to Him. This is where we will find that refreshment that the Samaritan woman at the well was looking for. This is where we will find the faith that the father at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration was begging for. We need only to cleave to Him and not depart, to hold fast to His hand as a child in a scary situation, because if we wander off from our Father’s presence, things will get mighty scary, fast! Resting in Your Tent And now we come to rest. What did Joshua do after he had charged these children of Israel and commended them for a job well done? He sent them home. They did their part and brought rest and peace to the promised land and they were rewarded with a trip home. Aren’t you ready to go? I am! The busier I get the more I appreciate and guard my days at home. Here’s our last verse: Joshua 22:6, “So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.” Those words sound like heaven to me! I pray God will richly bless you for the service you have performed for others! I also pray that He will send you to your tent so you can rest. What is rest? Let’s look at Strong’s definition according to the original Hebrew: Rest - settle down, give comfort, cease, lay, let down, (be) quiet, remain. This is my wish for you this holiday season. Sit down with your family and discuss what traditions are important to them. Find out what they treasure about the Christmas season in your home and what is really fluff and can be put aside. Look closely at your life: Does your busyness glorify the Lord or does it detract from your home life and keep you too busy to really live? What activities can be trimmed from your schedule to allow more time for home and family? Slow down and enjoy your family and this wondrous season. Just take this time to rest, relax and enjoy your children. Here are some activities that help me: Reconnect with your Father God through daily devotions and refreshing prayer time. Take a bubble bath. Spend some time alone with your husband and reconnect your hearts. Take a solitary walk to enjoy God's wonderful creation and refresh your soul. Set aside an hours quiet time each day. Telephone an old friend and enjoy a nice long chat. Take this month off from school and just snuggle with those blessings. Do special, seasonal, family read-a-louds. Make crafts. Bake goodies to bless your family and perhaps others. Or simply DO NOTHING, just rest in your Father’s will. At first all this down time will confuse your children and they will be listless and perhaps contentious. But don’t despair! When they discover it means more Mommy-time and less running, they will begin to appreciate it and look forward to the new joys of each day. Returning Home Let me recommend an Advent devotion that we have discovered this year. It is entitled “Jotham’s Journey - A Storybook for Advent” by Arnold Ytreeide. We are really enjoying it and I believe you will too! It is the story of a little Hebrew boy who ran away from home in a fit of pique. This started his journey back home to his family and to find Jesus. It will be a tale you will never forget. Let me encourage you in your return to home and Jesus this season. Be diligent to heed the commands of our Dear Lord and serve Him with all of your heart and soul, even your very life. Your first calling is as a wife and mother. Let that take precedent this holiday season and you will reap the benefits of riches untold. Your daily manna will be so abundant and so sweet that your whole family will notice the change in this new, relaxed and rested Mommy. Come unto Jesus, take His yoke and He will give you rest. Merry Christmas! May that special, holy love, that brought Jesus to earth, be yours this Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you all! With love, Crooked Pines Publishing and The Woodis Bunch Jessie, Mary, Jessica, Emily and Parker-Daniil This article is copyrighted by Mary E. Woodis. If you would like to print this article in whole or part in your publication please contact Jessie and Mary Woodis at jessiew@hiwaay.net for permission and more details. Crooked Pines Publishing Jessie and Mary Woodis 1365 County Road 74 Florence, AL 35633 jessiew@hiwaay.net This page last updated February 2003