Fourth Commandment
Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
Basically the Sabbath is a day of rest both physically as well as spiritually, but there has always been some confusion regarding the Sabbath Day. God worked six days and He rested on the Sabbath and we are to do the same. This was something unknown to ancient non-Christian nations and so when God instituted this day of rest for people and animals it was something unique to other nations. For example, during the French revolution the leaders not only did not keep the Sabbath but tried to institute a 10 day week.
We find that when we follow God’s order and have a day of rest it helps us to be very productive in the six days of work. I find for example a short nap after lunch helps keep me going for the rest of the day, to be more alert as well as more productive.
The Sabbath is vital to our relationship with God because it shapes the way we perceive and worship Him. We should remember the Sabbath by formally worshipping God on that day.
The Sabbath is a special day to concentrate on developing our relationship with God. It takes time to build any relationship and to build a relationship with our Heavenly Father we need to take time to do it and the Sabbath is just such a day. No close relationship can succeed without taking the time it needs, whether its courtship, marriage, friendship or especially our relationship with God.
The Hebrew word for Sabbath, shabbath, means “to cease, to pause or take an intermission.” On the Sabbath we are to take the day off from our regular activities and devote our time and attention to our Creator.
The idea in back of spiritual rest is to help build our trust and confidence in God so that we might be able to enter into the redemptive rest to where we cease from our own works and have confidence in His work.
God goes on to say in Exodus 20:9–11 “Six days you shall labor 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 and made it holy.”
Work has been ordained by God and He has given us all unique talents and skills that fit us for our unique purpose and calling that He has given us. Our work is a way to extend God’s kingdom here on earth. We see that Jesus followed His Father’s example by working hard and enjoying His work in John 5:17. “My father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”
Many people want to become rich so that they can work less, but true Christians love work. We are to work not just to supply our own needs (although that is necessary), but to work for God’s glory in all that we do.
Stephen McDowell brings out that there are three Sabbaths mentioned in the Word of God. “First, the creation Sabbath when God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Secondly, we have the Hebrew Sabbath that was to be remembered in how Israel was delivered out of Egypt by God in a miraculous way. Then we have the Christian Sabbath where we remember Christ’s triumph over sin and death and eventually the restitution and restoration of all things in Christ.”
So we find that the Sabbath is a day of rest, but it is also a time to remember. God tells us to remember what Christ has done; to remember the great acts of God; to remember God’s faithfulness, mercy and love.
The one thing that I like to do on my Sabbath is to let that be a time when I just wait upon God, to remember and to write down the thoughts that He has given me about Himself, things to do in the days ahead or just to praise Him; but the main idea is to “remember.”
To me the Sabbath is a prelude to what we read in Hebrews 4 about the rest of faith. What a tremendous thing it is in the midst of tribulation, problems, obstacles, etc. we have the rest of faith knowing that God is in control and He is working out all things for His glory and purpose.
Psalm 91:4-8 “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.”
Let us all remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.