“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour 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” Exodus 20: 8-11
Exodus and Deuteronomy both mention the importance of the Sabbath. In Exodus, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. He blessed and consecrated the seventh day. In Deuteronomy, the rest day commemorates Egyptian slavery. Here God commands us to make this a day of joyful celebration and well-deserved rest. How do you approach your day of rest?
Every person needs a day of rest for their physical and emotional well-being.
Western cultures have labour laws that recognize the need for rest from our work. However, they have also created a 24/7 entertainment and shopping culture that causes separations as family members must work odd hours to provide for this cultural quirk. Those not working are lured out from their places of rest to be entertained or served by those who must work. We are becoming slaves to society’s draw, making us no more rested than those who Pharaoh controlled and abused.
We need to separate ourselves from the tensions of work and so-called recreation and spent time relaxing.
The Sabbath is also more than a breathing spell as it was a day set aside by God for God. Only a day of rest can give us the tranquillity necessary to refocus our lives so that we will work and live for a worthwhile purpose. Sunday is the start of the week, but it is not just a preparation for next week’s work. It should be a day for quiet, unhurried worship, studying or simply browsing in our bible. Leave the shopping and whatever else for the other six days and stay at home. There can be no better way to bring Christian and human warmth into our homes than through a day of rest.