There is no rest when the wicked
roam the land, and in the 9th century, the Vikings were doing a fantastic job of
terrorizing the Frankish empire. It was, in fact, too easy. They would take
their boats and raid the Frankish coast, then they would sail up the Seine River
and loot anything that was in their path.
It didn't hurt their cause that after the year 814,
the year Charlemagne passed away, his grandsons fought for his throne. They had
no time to worry about the Viking threat; they had far more important things to
quarrel about!
Eventually the Frankish king offered money to the
Vikings to leave them alone. The Viks were satisfied, and they went back to
Scandinavia. Only to return the next year for more money!
The plunder didn't stop. In 841 they looted the famous
city of Rouen and burned the monastery of Jumièges. In 845 they came with even
more force: 120 boats and 5,000 men, and they eventually reached Paris. The
plundering continued year in and year out, and nothing seemed to be able to stop
those Viks! The Frankish empire lived in absolute terror. Peace did not exist
within its borders.
Something new happened in 852, however, when the Viks
settled in Oissel land, not too far from Rouen. Their plan was simply to winter
there, but they realize their advantage: From their settlement they could raid
the region whenever they wanted to, Rouen being one of their favourite places to
plunder. Paris was once again looted as well.
King Charles had to do something about them, but he
didn't have the necessary manpower to defeat these stubborn Viks. Instead he
signed a treaty with the Viking leader, Rollon. In return for a peaceful
coexistence, the King offered them territory that corresponds to today's
Haute-Normandie, and in 912, almost a century after the Vikings first began to
plunder France, Rollon was christened, taking the Christian name "Robert". A
name I sure like! Robert became the count of Rouen as well as the first Duke of
Normandy. It is not without reason that Normandy became one of the most powerful
provinces at that time, and even more importantly, peace and rest finally
returned to the Frankish empire.
More than 1000 years later, D day took place on
Normandy shores, a move that eventually defeated the Nazi menace in France.
There too, rest finally occurred after almost 5 long years of sheer turmoil.
Just like the Frankish empire in the 9th century,
after the creation of the world, rest seemed to be an unknown notion among the
inhabitants of the Earth as well. Despite the fact that the book of Genesis is
filled with examples of people worshipping God, there is no reference
whatsoever, of Sabbath (which means rest in Hebrew).
Only after the miraculous deliverance of the
Israelites from Egypt, do we once again find the notion of rest: "On the sixth
day, they gathered twice as much-two omers for each person-and the leaders of
the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, 'This is what
the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to
the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save
whatever is left and keep it until morning.'" (Exodus 16:22-23, NIV2)
Interestingly the first mention of Sabbath after sin
occurred, was addressed to the freed Israelites, and it was directly connected
with their need of food. Imagine living in a desert. You may have a tent to keep
you out of the sun, but your biggest need would be water and food, which is
something the Israelites began grumbling about from the beginning of Ex. 16 on.
Sorry, but there were no air conditioners available at that time. Even nowadays,
where would you find a plug in the desert for such a device?
It's clear that God wanted the people to trust Him as
the provider of all their needs, and their most urgent needs (food and water)
were miraculously provided: manna and quails send from heaven and water from
bare rocks. The Israelites had really nothing to worry about, even in the midst
of the harshest conditions of a sweltering dessert.
Every weekend the Israelites experienced a miracle.
Normally any manna from heaven would end up "full of maggots" and begin "to
smell" if it was kept till the next day (See Exodus 16:20), but not on their day
of rest! "So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not
stink or get maggots in it." (Exodus 16:24, NIV2)
Unlike us in the Western world, the Israelites had no
need to store provisions. God was their provider and He always came through. As
long as they trusted in God's provisions, they were provided with all of their
needs, even their very clothes and shoes! "Yet the LORD says, 'During the forty
years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor
did the sandals on your feet.'" (Deuteronomy 29:5, NIV2)
The whole purpose for this was to give the Israelites
an opportunity to get to know God. "I did this so that you might know that I am
the LORD your God." (Deuteronomy 29:6, NIV2) He is, after all, crazy about us!
I wonder why our society is so stressed, why we never
seem to find rest. Is it possible we have become estranged from God? That we've
stopped trusting Him in all things? He will provide if we trust Him. The
Israelites experienced that first-hand! The problem is that we may have
forgotten what trust really means!
Do you have an oscillating fan? It sure is hot out
there in the middle of the dessert!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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