Remember the Sabbath day
Three of the Ten Commandments focus on God, while the other six talk about our relations with others. The command about Sabbath serves as a bridge between these two sections, and understanding its importance reveals why it's considered the glue.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Jews were slaves under Pharaoh. They were forced to make bricks and even find their own hay. Today, companies tell their employees to use their personal phones and laptops for work, like Jewish slaves brought hay themselves to make bricks. Banks and airlines also make us do their work while pocketing hefty profits.
As the Lord freed the Jews from Pharaoh, He outlined a brand new economy. Yahweh's economy is based on sufficiency, so we can rest knowing God will meet our needs. There's no need to work all the time. Sabbath keeps us from overworking, which causes stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, and even heart attacks.
In God's economy, everyone gets a Sabbath-servants, foreigners and animals. There's even a Sabbath for inanimate land.
Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord.'
In this article, we will see three points regarding Sabbath:
- Why we are not taking rest
- Why we need Sabbath
- How we can practice Sabbath
Why we are not taking rest
We are not taking this much-needed rest because of three reasons: we're distracted, insecure, or greedy.
Today, it's harder than ever to focus. Our phones buzz with Whatsapp messages, Facebook notifications, and robocalls offering loans. Drivers check their phones while driving on a busy road. If we're distracted, we can't focus on what we're doing. No wonder our work takes twice as long because we're distracted.
How does the Bible solve this? Focus. Give it your all. Put your heart into it. Focus allows you to finish your work on time so you can go home, and spend time with your family.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
The second reason we don't rest is because we're insecure. We are worried about the future and unsure about our ability to provide for our families in the future. We're flooded with advertisements about success and made to feel insecure if we don't have enough of it. So we work too hard towards an ever-changing goal post. We always run, never arriving. The only way to overcome this insecurity is to believe that Jehovah Jireh will take care of us in whatever shape the future takes. We have to confess like David in Psalm, The Lord is my shepherd and I lack nothing.
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Greed is the last reason we don't rest. We see what our colleagues, friends, and family have and want what they have. That desire is driving us to work beyond limits. Even after we get generational wealth, we can't relax. We need more. Companies aren't satisfied with 20-30% profits. The desire for greater and greater profits leads to unethical and illegal practices, we hear about it all the time.
When the Jews were wandering in the wilderness, Moses commanded the Jews to collect only enough manna for the day. Some didn't listen. They gathered more and all they got were maggots in their manna in the morning.
However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
Even though God had given them enough manna for two days, some went looking for it on the Sabbath. Our behavior isn't that different from those wandering Jews in the wilderness who picked more manna than they needed.
Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
Is there a way to beat this greed? Here's the answer from Paul. He talks about "godliness with contentment" as a great gain. The first three commandments focus on putting the Lord first - no power, wealth, or status should be above Him. That's what godliness is.
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Contentment means accepting what God has given us. We find great gains when we combine godliness and contentment — no longer greedy about the future, trusting that Yahweh will take care of us.
To truly rest, we must declare the sufficiency of God and believe in that he will meet all our needs. Only then can we find peace and balance in our lives. So work hard as the Lord worked for six days, but remember to rest.
Why we need Sabbath
It's important to understand why we need the Sabbath and why the Lord established it. First, hear how the heart works from Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the US in his commencement address in the University of Arizona.
The heart operates in two phases: Systole, where it pumps blood to the vital organs, and diastole, where it relaxes. Most people think that systole is where all the action is and the more time in systole the better. But diastole—the relaxation phase—is where the coronary blood vessels fill and supply life sustaining oxygen to the heart muscle itself. Pausing, it turns out, is what sustains the heart.
Pausing is what sustains the heart. Rest sustains life. Sabbath is important from a Biblical perspective for five reasons:
- It is a time for rest and reflection
- It is an affirmation of freedom from slavery
- It is a declaration of your master
- It is a celebration of covenant
- It prevents us from slipping into sin
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Rest and reflection come first. Genesis says the Lord rested after six days of work, reflecting on his creations and finding them good. The same goes for us. We need to pause in our busy lives to reflect on our goals, and past actions, making sure we're on the right track.
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Second, the Sabbath lets us declare freedom from slavery. Jews were slaves in Egypt, working without rest for a greedy pharaoh. Sabbath is a way to celebrate their freedom from slavery. When we honor the Sabbath, we declare our freedom from sin and slavery. By observing Sabbath, we say "no" to this modern-day bondage never ending work.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
King David says in Psalm 23, God leads us to lie down in lush green pastures and gently guides us beside peaceful waters. Both actions represent rest, which refreshes our souls. By declaring that the Lord is our shepherd and master, and following his leading we can truly find rest and refresh our souls. The first three commandments emphasize that when we recognize the Lord as our master, He will lead us to rest. Observing the Sabbath is a way of declaring who our Lord is.
Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.'
We're told in Exodus 31 that the Sabbath is a covenant between God and us. By honoring the Sabbath, we reaffirm our commitment to this covenant, continually renewing it and reminding ourselves that Yaweh is our God. Whenever we rest, we fulfill our part of the covenant and declare God will do his.
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
Finally, keeping the Sabbath keeps us from sinning. 2 Samuel says David stayed back from war when he should have been fighting. The wars he fought without a break probably tired him out. As a result, he took a break when he should have been fighting. He was tempted and fell into sin then.
We can also fall into this trap if we're overworked. We might overwork ourselves with spiritual tasks like attending prayer groups, conducting Bible studies, attending conferences, and doing all other ministry events. Pushing ourselves too hard and not resting when needed can lead to sin.
How we can attain Sabbath
Having understood the Sabbath, let's explore how to practice it and attain rest.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind." Then he added a second one – "Love your neighbor as yourself." In a way, Jesus condensed the first three commandments into one, and the remaining ones (5 to 10) about living in society—like not stealing or lying—into the second.
But did you notice something missing? Jesus didn't mention the commandment about taking rest on the Sabbath. Why is that? One could argue that loving yourself includes giving yourself rest. However, Jesus himself is our rest. His sacrifices and the blood shed for our sins deliver us from sin's effects – anxiety, depression, stress – which cause physical and mental disturbances.
So when Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments, he left out the one about rest because he is our rest. You can find this idea explicitly mentioned in Matthew 11:28.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
The Sabbath was a one-day rest ritual in the Old Testament. Jesus offers continual rest. We need spiritual rest first. Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." The only way to find inner peace is through Jesus. You can only find rest if you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, worship Him, and obey His teachings. When you're at peace inside, everything around you will be better. The only way to enjoy a true Sabbath is by accepting Jesus as Lord and handing over our burdens.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Popular Christian preachers have reduced God's blessings to inner peace and material things. As we read the Bible, both old and new testaments, we often notice that God's blessings are comprehensive - mental, physical, emotional, even peace with neighbors. Jesus brings life to every part of your life when you come to him for rest.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Even when we come to the Lord and accept him as our Savior, we're still part of society. Each society - eastern or western - relentlessly molds us, dictating how we work, interact with our partners, raise our kids, and manage our money. Cultures have their own unique patterns, which often conflict with what the Bible says. We refuse to conform to societal norms when we live by Jesus's principles. By reading God's Word, praying, and coming together as a church, we constantly have to transform our minds. That's the only way we can keep enjoying the rest Jesus brings and living the life he gives.
That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
Finally, Sabbath is not just passive rest. It also encompasses satisfaction and enjoyment. True enjoyment emerges when we are guilt-free, worry-free, and anxiety-free. God's gift includes enjoying the fruits of their labor, as the NLT translation puts it. Whenever you rest, take a moment to unwind with friends or family, basking in the simple pleasure of their company. This gift of contentment is an incredible blessing from above.