LABOR DAY FOR GOD

     It’s Labor Day in A Friendly Shade!  What better time than now to review what the scriptures say about labor.

     From the beginning of time when Adam and Eve first sinned, man was given a requirement to work.  “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.”  Because of the people in this great land who are willing to work and who are willing to put God first, a prosperous nation has risen.  This is the perfect day to say "Thank you" to all those willing to work in the job positions we are so blessed to have available, and to those who are talented enough to create new industry that provides jobs in the workforce.   
     The following are just a few of the scriptures given regarding our requirement to work.

   

Genesis 2:15  And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.

Genesis 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou return.

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. 

Proverbs 14:23 In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. 

Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. 

2 Thessalonians 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 

1 Timothy 5:18  For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

     Not only are we given a requirement to work for our livelihood, but our work should be a work for the Lord.  Our work may not be able to seen with the naked eye, but God knows what is in the heart and He sees all.
     Being able to look back on the day and know we treated someone well, prayed for someone, did a good deed, gave of our wealth to the needy, or just performed some simple act to show a labor of love for God is a very rewarding fulfillment.

John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

Acts 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. 

2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.  

     God, in His awesome wisdom and love did give us a reprieve from labor even by His own example.  “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”
     I believe we all need to be reminded of these instructions, especially myself.   Our day of rest should be the perfect day to read and think on God’s Word and use the time to praise and honor Him. 

Exodus 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exodus 12:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Leviticus 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.