Divine Dining March 19, 2026 Devotional

LUKE 11:45-46 |  ⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe also to you experts in the law! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.

MARK 2:27 | ²⁷ Then he said to them, The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath,

The Torah was a beautiful gift God gave to the Israelites, a manual for holiness, a guide to reality, a pathway to the divine will and ways. It was intended to simplify moral obligations, so that our daily lives would be enhanced and our relationships improved. But the scribes, or legal lawyers, added so many supplementary regulations, that for ordinary people, most of whom worked sunup to sundown on the land, it became a discouraging and an impossible burden. There were over 600 such supplementary rules.

The Sabbath, for instance, was a break from work and a chance to celebrate family and love, enjoying life’s created goods. It was as Jesus said, “made for man.” But there were so many Sabbath rules that defined work, that it felt like man was made for the Sabbath!

Does God’s instruction enhance your life?

Gracious God,

Let me receive Your law as a precious gift and not a terrible burden. Fill me with the grace to know Your will and obey it.

Amen.