Remember the Sabbath (Part 1 of 3) - Conceived in Creation

            We live in a ridiculously fast paced world. Everything seems to fly by at the speed of life. We eat fast-food, drive in the fast-lane, and live life in fast-forward. We have high-speed internet, instant downloads, and automatic transfers. Most everyone can be reached instantly through a call or text on a cell-phone . . . instant access. We are inundated with technology, business, and busy-ness. Life becomes a blur and we struggle to get from one event to the next as we navigate from work, to school, to sporting events, to dance lessons, gymnastics, soccer practice, and the myriad other events vying for our time. We struggle to squeeze in time for God by coming to worship, but really it’s only one more thing on our list of things we have to do – one more thing we need to get over with so we can mindlessly move on to the next . . . whatever it is.

            Maybe now more than ever, we need to take the time to re-examine the significance of this forth command. Maybe now more than ever, we need to stop the fast-forward and hit the pause button . . . and contemplate the importance and the value of remembering the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Key Text: Exodus 20:8-11 . . .

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor

and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God;

in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male

or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all

that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD

blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (NASB)

 

            What does “Sabbath” mean? Our English word “Sabbath” is derived ultimately from the Hebrew word: “Shavot”. This means that we have not translated the word, but simply transferred, or transcribed, the word from Hebrew into English phonetically. A literal rendering of the word would be: to stop, to rest, or to cease from doing a particular activity. Thus, we know, and have been taught, that the Sabbath is to be a day of rest, or a day of ceasing.

             As we dig a bit deeper in to our key text, we discover that the abiding principle of the Sabbath did not begin with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, but is one that was conceived in creation. This is a principle that has been in place since the beginning of time. Look at Exodus 20 again . . . particularly verse 11. 

“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;
therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (NASB)

            This is a reference to the creation account found in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis and is specifically in reference to Genesis 2:1-3.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done,
and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it
He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (NASB)

 

            Here we find that God “rested” . . . it was not that He was tired. He is the Omnipotent, All-powerful, Creator God. He has no need of rest due to being weary . . . The idea that God “rested” simply means that He stopped.  He ceased doing what He had been doing. He was establishing an important abiding principle for us. He knew that we would need to take the time to cease from our laboring, to be refreshed physically, renewed emotionally, and restored spiritually. Ultimately, that is the three-fold purpose of applying this Sabbath principle:  to be refreshed physically, renewed emotionally, and restored spiritually.

            God knows the inevitable rhythms of our lives. He knows that if we work seven days a week, week after week, we’ll begin to lose perspective on the true meaning of life. You know that’s true. It’s either happened to you or you know someone to whom it has happened. If we don’t apply this abiding principle from the Word of God, we’ll get to the point where all we care about are bigger houses, nicer cars, better deals, and higher yields. We’ll be worn out physically, burned out emotionally, and out of touch spiritually. We’ll be caught in a downward spiral that weakens our marriages, devastates our families, and erodes our friendships. It will affect our health and even our moral convictions.

            Our text also tells us that the Lord blessed this day and sanctified it . . . and we are told “to keep it holy.” This day is to be set apart from all others, consecrated and devoted to . . . what? Stopping? Ceasing? Devoted to sitting around, staring at one another, doing nothing? Is that what God in telling us? He tells us that we have seven days in a week and six days out of the week we are to work and do all our labor and we are to consecrate one day out of seven to cease our laboring. We are to stop our striving after all the many things that occupy our time and effort and that, in many ways, ultimately draw us away from Him. It is to be a Sabbath unto the Lord, a day of ceasing all the busy-ness of life . . . a day that is sanctified, or set apart for us to be refreshed physically, renewed emotionally, and restored spiritually.

 

            So take some time to consider this important command from the Word of God.  It is a principle that has been given to us by God for our benefit from the very beginning.  It's not just part of the Mosaic Law, but was establish well before the giving of the Law . . . it was conceived in creation.