Introduction
Today we are going to begin a journey through the Ten Commandments. This culture is demanding of us, wanting all that we can possibly offer and many times even more than that. Subsequently we are usually operating in a deficit; lacking energy, focus, purpose, or enthusiasm and that can and does leave us vulnerable and searching for stability. With that in mind, I want us to spend the next several weeks looking at how the Ten Commandments can help us find that stability while growing closer to God. During this journey we will look at the institutions of Holy Sabbath, reverence to God, honor of God and other people. As well as the need for us follow all of these rules, and then wrap it all up with what Jesus has to say about all of these ideals. So, today I want us to spend our time talking about Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives.
Sabbath is by Design
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
Sabbath is not an excuse made up by the Christians so we can be lazy. Sabbath is a practice modeled by God for us to experience the grace and mercy God desires to show us. Sabbath is that opportunity to “sharpen your ax” so that you are tune with God, ready to listen, eager to obey, and better prepared for what life will throw at you.
The Early Beginnings
In order for us to more easily understand how the Sabbath can do all of that we first need to have just a bit of background about the Sabbath. Sabbath has been around since the beginning of well... everything. God observed Sabbath in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. However, in spite of that fact this fourth commandment is still the center of great controversy. When to take it, why to take it, and what are we to do when we take it.
The word Sabbath is derived from the Hebrew word, shabbat, which means “to cease or rest”. Now if we look to the verses from Exodus that Frank read for us today we are also told not only to rest, but to keep the Sabbath holy and we know holy to basically mean different. Therefore, we could read the fourth commandment as, “Remember the day of rest and keep it different from other days.”
The Sabbath was designed by God as a very special day. A day to be different from any other. At this time in Scripture the Israelites have been freed and are at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses is at the top, in the presence of God, receiving these laws, the Ten Commandments. The whole purpose of these laws were to express to Israel the love and guidance of God and set them up in way so they could not only enter the Promised Land but to also receive the fullness of God's blessings. Part of those blessings was God's desire to return this creation back to its perfect, original state. God was seeking to re-establish that perfect rhythm of creation; work then rest, work then rest. Just as it was in the Garden of Eden, that type of perfection. Our ancestors, as Eugene H. Peterson reminds us, went four hundred years without a vacation in Egypt. Never a day off. The consequences were tragic. They were no longer persons, but slaves. They were hands, units of work, not real citizens. Because they were not permitted to observe Sabbath, this restoration was now necessary because the face of God''s creation had become defaced and devalued. Now the Israelites are poised to enter the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the new Garden of Eden. God wanted to the day-to-day life of the Israelites in this new Garden to mirror God's actions when God created the original Garden. God wanted that re-connection, that re-establishment, that intended order God desired from the beginning.
However, the Sabbath continued to be distorted. The Israelites took to this idea in a way not intended by God. Sabbath was meant to be a day of connection with God, a day of worship to God, a day of remembering God and all that God has done for us. It was meant to be day different from all the others, where we rested from work and in God. But in the pursuit to make sure no work was done, many laws were created, over 1500 to be exact, about what was considered work. Now, instead of resting in God, you were being watched, racking your brain to make sure that whatever you did was not considered work. There is no rejuvenation in that, only fear. Do you know the punishment for working on the Sabbath in this era? Death. If you spend all of your time trying to follow over 1500 laws, living in fear of death if you break one of them, how can you possibly find rest? Do you see how the intended design was distorted?
But We Worship on Sunday!?!
That distortion today often centers on which day to observe the Sabbath. One view is that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday. Looking through Scripture, the Sabbath is always on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Genesis tells us that God worked the first six days and rested on the seventh. When Christ was buried, the Gospels tell us that Mary returned on the first day of the week, the first day after Sabbath. There are many more examples, all pointing to the Sabbath being on the seventh day, Saturday. Most Jewish people, to this day, still observe the Sabbath on Saturday, specifically from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The entire faith of the Seventh-Day Adventists is based upon the Sabbath being on Saturday and they worship on Saturday rather than Sunday. It is us as Christians that have altered that view. We have shifted our observance of the Sabbath to Sunday because Christ rose on a Sunday. Each faith has it's own interpretation of when the Sabbath should be and I bring this up because I want us to understand its history and not be trapped by it. Yes the Sabbath, according to Scripture, is Saturday. And yes, observing it on Saturday does preserve its original tradition. But to get lost in a day is to forfeit the mercy and grace that the Sabbath is intended to provide. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians, “having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:14-17, NIV) I believe that our observance of Sabbath's grace and mercy is far more important that the day we celebrate it.
Why we need to observe Sabbath
It has been said our great-grandfathers called it the holy Sabbath; our grandfathers, the Sabbath; our fathers, Sunday; but today we call it the weekend. Sabbath has lost some of its impact in today's culture. We get so busy, so distracted, so scheduled, that Sabbath has simply become the weekend and not a day of renewal. It used to be that “blue laws” helped us observe Sabbath by prohibiting stores to be open or certain items to be purchased. But now stores are opening earlier and earlier. It used to be that no amateur sports leagues played on Sunday but now most of them do. Sabbath has turned into just the weekend and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or read someone remarking they need a break from the weekend.
I heard one preacher remark, “in a very real sense the Fourth Commandment is God’s Maintenance Commandment. It’s God way of saying, 'If you don’t slow down, you’re going to kill yourself.' The Sabbath is meant to take us back to Eden, back to life as it was meant to be. On the Sabbath we are set free from deadlines, demands, projects, payrolls, memos, time lines, and all the rest. On that one holy and sacred day, we remember that what we are is more important than what we do. For six days each week we are judged on our performance. For one day out of seven we aren’t judged at all!”
The Sabbath gives us that chance to stop and remember why we were created. A chance to realign ourselves with God, re-connect with God, and re-connect with each other. God did not rest on the seventh day because God was tired. God rested because God was modeling for us a lifestyle we need to imitate. A lifestyle that we literally cannot survive very long without. Did you know lack of rest can cause increased accidents, decreased ability to think and learn, increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, increased chance for depression, and increased risk of death. Even our patience thins as we tire and all of this contributes to us losing sight of what it means to be a Christian, why we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Does that sound like the life God intended for us as a part of creation? Sabbath is not only necessary spiritually but physically as well. Our spirits need it and our body cannot live well or long without it.
And Sabbath is for everyone. Scripture says there are no divisions for Sabbath observance. God observed Sabbath and this commandment says everyone shall participate in Sabbath renewal, “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” (Ex 20:10b, NIV).
How we can observe Sabbath
So knowing how important observing the Sabbath is I want to offer a few ways to do it. Remember to observe Sabbath is to dwell in the grace and mercy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to find peace.
So one way is to spend time with our Triune God. Since the vast majority of us observe Sabbath on Sunday, Sunday School and Worship are wonderful places to start. Be recharged by other believers, spending time singing, worshiping, and in fellowship with other believers. Sunday should be our high point of the week. That day every week that we look forward to and if missed our week just does not feel the same. This is the day that we celebrate the Risen Savior, the day that is holy and kept differently from all the others. We need to understand that and go to great lengths to be here, not be here when we have nothing else to do. God is here in a unique and wonderful way and we need to be here too!
Another way is to spend time with loved ones, with family and friends. Go to each others house, play board games, go to the park, share a meal, wrestle on the carpet. Spend time strengthening those bonds between yourselves by spending memorable time together. For those family members that do not live nearby, send an email, write a letter, Skype. Recount memories of loved ones and in all cases celebrate the goodness you have because of God.
Regardless of how you do it, and there are many ways, just do it. Find that time, that day, that method where you will be consistent in this practice. If Sunday works best for you, observe the Sabbath on Sunday. If Sunday does not work and you have another day where you can intentionally rest in the grace and mercy of God use that day. Just pick a day and do this weekly. This is not meant to another “to-do” on our already exhaustive lists. It is not meant to be boring and drive us away but something to look forward too and draw us nearer to God. Restore the rhythm of the perfect creation where we work and rest, work and rest.
Go and Do Likewise
That magnificent preacher from Georgia, Charles Allen, likes to tell about some American explorers who went to Africa. They employed some native guides. The first day they rushed to cover as much distance as possible. They did the same thing on the second, third, and every day. On the seventh day they noticed the guides sitting under a tree. "Come on," they shouted, "Let's go." One of the guides replied, "We no go today. We rest today to let our souls catch up with our bodies."
For many people today the drug of choice is a ceaseless pattern of work that resembles slavery. A 70-hour work week, a cell phone that makes us accessible at every moment. And if that is not enough we have taken to seeing those things as status symbols, as signs of success. From a different perspective they might be seen as signs of oppression. A world which does not acknowledge the need to rest is an enslaved world. This morning we read about the Israelites who were escaping an oppressive Egyptian Pharaoh that gave them no rest. So I ask you, who has become your Pharaoh? Has your office, your life become your Egypt? God has modeled Sabbath, built our bodies to require Sabbath. I urge you to find Sabbath this week and every week from now on.
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