GOD’S MARRIAGE COVENANT – TAKE A DAY OFF
“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy…” Ex 20:8
The fourth commandment refers us back to creation. God established a rhythm ratio of 6:1, six days of work to one day of rest. The Sabbath is to be a day that is unlike the other six days. We tend to evaluate life by how much we accomplish rather than who we are. The Israelites had to make a daily quota of bricks for their slavedrivers and that was the measure of their worth to them. If we make our life about” making bricks” it will never be enough. God wanted them to know that they were just as valuable to Him when they were not accomplishing anything as when they were. He not only freed them from their slavedrivers; He had to free them from the notion that they were only valuable if they were making bricks. He instituted the commandment that for one day in seven they should do something different.
God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. Is God still Creator when He is resting and not creating? Of course, God is still Creator whether He is creating or not. We are still His sons and daughters whether we are producing anything or not. But we must settle this question in our own minds. Am I who I am regardless of what I am producing or is my value determined by what I accomplish?
The Jewish religious leaders quarrelled with Jesus because their interpretation of the Sabbath conflicted with His. They accused Him of being a law breaker when He persisted in healing on the Sabbath. Their laws forbade them to do anything on the Sabbath that they classified as “work”. To them, healing was “work” and therefore fell into the category of “forbidden”. Unfortunately, they missed the whole point of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was a gift of God’s mercy, freeing them from unending toil so that they could rest, recover their strength, and restore broken relationships to prepare them for a new week. Without a break in their week, they would soon wear out and never have an opportunity to find themselves. It would be easy for them to equate their value and those of their fellow Israelites with work.
Jesus modelled God’s mercy by freeing people from their afflictions on the Sabbath. He defended His actions by declaring that He was only doing what He saw the Father doing and the Father was always working regardless of the Sabbath because His work was showing mercy.
The Sabbath is God’s gift to us, providing us with an opportunity to rest, to understand our worth to God regardless of our achievements or lack of achievements and to help others in need because God’s mercy reaches out to us all the time. Sabbath was not given to bind us to legalistic rules to benefit God as though He needed us to impress Him. Instead, it is God’s loving gift to us.
Sabbath is also a prophetic promise of God’s eternal rest, fulfilled in Jesus. No longer do we need to labour in vain to find acceptance with God. We rest in the finished work of Jesus for full salvation.