Remember the Sabbath (Part 2 of 3) - Rooted in Redemption

            In my last post, we looked at the value of taking the time to cease - or Sabbath - from the frantic pace of our everyday lives in order to be refreshed physically, renewed emotionally, and restored spiritually.  Our key text was in Exodus 20.  Today I'd like to look at another passage that opens a bit more insight for us on the vital importance of remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

            In the book of Deuteronomy, we find a restating of the Laws of God and in chapter 5 we find a restating of the 10 commandments . . . similar to what is recorded for us in Exodus 20.

Key Text:  Deuteronomy 5:12-15

“Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded

you.  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 or your male servant or your female servant

or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays

with you, so that our male servant and your female servant may rest

as well as you.  You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,

and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand

and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you

to observe the Sabbath day.” (NASB)

            As we compare Deuteronomy 5 with what we have in Exodus 20, we’ll discover a shift in emphasis in regard to the principle of the Sabbath rest, we find that this abiding principle of the Sabbath was not only conceived in creation as in Exodus 20:11, but that it is also rooted in redemption.  Check out verse 15 of Deuteronomy 5:

“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt
 and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand
and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God
commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” (NASB)

            Remembering the Sabbath day is rooted in the deliverance and the redemption of the people of God from their slavery in Egypt.  You’ll remember that Moses was called by God to bring about the deliverance of the Hebrew people, but the Pharaoh of Egypt would not listen.  God brought plagues against all the gods of the Egyptian people demonstrating that He alone is the one true God.  The last plague was the death of the first born of both man and animal.  The people of God were spared this curse by the offering of a Passover lamb.

            As God instructed His people what they were to do, He told them that they were to establish a feast to memorialize this special day of redemption.  The account is found in chapters 12 and 13 of the book of Exodus.  Look at Exodus 12:14 & 16:

“Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast
to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance . . .  On the first day you shall have a holy assembly and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them . . . .” (NASB)

and also Exodus 13:6 & 8:

“For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD . . . You shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'” (NASB)

            The Passover was a week-long celebration to commemorate their redemption and deliverance.  Remember that at the time the Mosaic Law was handed down at Mount Sinai, the people of God had just been brought out of slavery.  Day in and day out they labored under the Egyptian task masters building the great dynasty of the Egyptian empire.  They were slaves.  They had no day off, no opportunity to rest, no opportunity to cease from their labor, no opportunity to find relief from the monotony of life, no opportunity to come together and worship the Lord and be restored and refreshed and renewed on a spiritual level.

            In fact, as Moses and Aaron began to bring God’s message to Pharaoh, their labor was not only increased, but made more difficult.  Check out this conversation between Moses, Aaron, and the Egyptian Pharaoh in Exodus 5:3-5 . . .

“Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has met with us.  Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.’   But the king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work?  Get back to your labors!’  Again Pharaoh said, ‘Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease [Sabbath] from their labors!’”

            Sabbath day remembrance was to be a perpetual reminder of the deliverance and the redemption that God brought to His people; that they had been freed from their enslavement to Egypt; freed to worship God and live life in joy and peace.

            It's important for us to set apart time to remember the redemption that we have been given in Christ.  There are many types, or foreshadowings,  of what Christ has accomplished for us in the events of Israel's history . . . especially in what we are considering today:  the Passover lamb . . . sacrificed to save the people of God from the wrath of God, the blood of the Lamb that covered them, the redemption of God's people from slavery, God's mighty right hand of salvation . . . .

            Take the time to cease from all the busy-ness of life and pause to remember what God has done for you in Jesus.  God established this abiding principle of the Sabbath day to be a reminder of His grace and mercy.  Don't let the trappings of this world draw you away from remembering what God has accomplished for you.  Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

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.

Helping Moore

     Tragedy tends to bring the best out of people.  That statement seems strange even as I type it, but it seems to be true.  When we see others suffer in some way, it affects us.  Compassion, it seems, is universal (at least among the sane).  If we too have experienced tragedy, then we empathize . . . we've "been there" and so we feel even more deeply . . . and even if we can't fully understand what someone is going through, there is a stirring that wells up from deep within us.  We have the inner urge to do something; to help out in some way . . . even when tragedy strikes hundreds of miles away, we are still swept up by it all.

 

     But, what can we do?  In the aftermath of the devastating storms in Moore, OK, that's the question that rings in my head and heart:  What can I do?  Is there a way to help?  I live in Mount Sterling, KY which is 871 miles away from Moore, OK (according to Google).  So what, if anything, can I do?

 

     As a Christian, the first thing that comes to mind in times like these is prayer.  Easy answer I know, but often we discount prayer as second-rate somehow.  I suppose it's because so many will say, "I'll be sure to pray about that" . . . but most probably never do.  It sometimes seems to be the easy way out.  BUT . . . prayer is powerful and God hears and answers prayer.  Scripture tells us that the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (James 5:16; NIV).  So we must not be to quick to dismiss this important response.  It's easy and immediate:  so I pray for those suffering the effects of the storms in Moore, OK.

 

     We can also help tangibly by giving to the relief effort through reputable agencies.  There is a great opportunity to do just that right here in Mount Sterling.  Needed items are being collected until Thursday, May 30, and will then be shipped via U-Haul to Moore, OK and distributed to those in need.  You can click here to view more details and see how you can help.

 

     Physical presence is an obvious way to respond as well and I'm sure there will be numerous opportunities to go there and help with the rebuilding of lives in the days and months (even years) ahead

 

     Tragedy moves us.  It is intrinsic to who we are made to be because of the image we bear.  We are moved with empathy, compassion, and love because that's the character of God in us.  His compassion never fail and his mercy is new every morning.


A few "moore" ways to help:

     World Vision Relief
     Salvation Army
     International Disaster Emergency Services (IDES)
     LifeChurch.tv
 

Ambassadors for Christ

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”  - II Corinthians 5:20

What a great call and responsibility that God has bestowed on his followers!  We have been called to be Christ’s ambassadors; to be his representatives to the world around us.  The idea is more than just being a messenger.  Certainly we are called to share the message, but as an ambassador for Christ, we are both the messenger for and the representative of the one who sends us.  We represent Christ to those with whom we come into contact.  Who knows . . . we may be the only “Jesus” someone ever experiences.

Sometimes, in our zeal to present the message of Christ, we fail in our responsibility to accurately represent the Christ of the message.  I’m reminded of a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi (whether he actually said it or not . . . who knows?).  Here’s what he is believed to have said:  “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  Reminds me of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day – the ones who were supposed to represent God to the people.  Rather than bringing people closer to God, they actually created barriers that prevented people from coming to God . . . hmmm . . . which actually brings to mind the ritualistic religious of today . . . but I digress.

As I consider this quote, I can help but wonder what Gandhi’s perception of Christ was at the time and in what way these “Christians” he met were so unlike Jesus.  I suppose we’ll never know for sure, but it does give me reason to pause and take inventory of my life in relation to the life of Christ presented in the Gospels.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a work in progress for sure, but I know that scripture teaches me that I am to be conformed to the image of Christ; to have the mind of Christ; to live as he lived and love as he loved.  In fact, love has to be the key motivating factor as we live out our faith as ambassadors for Christ.  Jesus emphasized this throughout his ministry.  He taught his followers to “love one another” (John 13:34) to “love your enemies” (Luke 6:27) and to “love your neighbors” (Matthew 22:39).  So, as we share our faith in Christ and represent him to those around us, we must do so out of genuine love for all people.

                I’m reminded of a youtube video of Penn Jillette of “Penn & Teller.”  In this video, Mr. Jillette, a self-professed atheist, tells of an encounter with a believer at a "meet-and-greet" after one of his shows.  The believer handed him a small bible in an attempt to genuinely and unobtrusively share his faith.  Mr. Jillette saw the sincerity of this man and truly respected him for his willingness to share his faith.  In the video Mr. Jillette says, “If you believe there is a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life . . . how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them?”  Good question.

What about you?  Are you telling them . . . speaking the truth in Love . . . representing Christ as his ambassador?