“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou
labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy
God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within
thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath
day, and hallowed it”
(Exodus 20:8-11).
Introduction
Does this ancient command still apply for the 21st century?
Sunday, generally considered to be the Christian Sabbath, is meant to be a day
of worship and rest, a time to fellowship with those of likemind, and a day
especially set aside to reflect upon God’s word. We live in a day when more
and more people are forsaking the assembly of the saints and opting for the
televangelist or podcasting.
God ordained that one day in seven was to be set aside. The slightest deviation
from this was met with severe judgement. He meant it to be a day to refresh
ourselves both spiritually and physically, but it has become just another day
for work, shopping, and sport. We may think that we can get away with it, since
God does not seem to be pouring out His wrath, but the evidence of His judgement
is plain to see … “Speak thou also
unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is
a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I
am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it
is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for
whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his
people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest,
holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely
be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to
observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It
is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was
refreshed” (Exodus 31:13-17).
Are we treating Sunday as any other day, or do we delight to set it aside to
honour the Lord? “I was glad when they
said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1).
God commands
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).
We are instructed to “remember” to
set apart one day as holy. Why Sunday? Isn’t Saturday the true Sabbath?
Arguments concerning the Christian Sabbath will cause us to lose sight of what
God is saying to us. Some are in bondage to a day rather than joyfully serving
the Lord … “Let no man therefore judge
you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of
the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of
Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). Paul
says in Romans 14:5, “One man esteemeth
one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully
persuaded in his own mind.” We do not honour the day, but we do honour the
Lord by setting aside one day to worship Him with the brethren. The commandments
teach us that we must love God, never take His name in vain, and honour our
parents. We are not to murder, steal, be covetous, bear false witness, or commit
adultery. Are we then permitted to break the 4th commandment?
Notice the command to “remember”.
We all need to be reminded otherwise the things of the world would cloud every
day of the week. If we forget to honour God in this area our spiritual and
physical life will suffer. If we treat the Sabbath as a normal day we hurt
ourselves, family, and eventually the whole nation.
God commends
“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day
is the sabbath of the LORD thy God” (Exodus 20:9).
There are six days for labour, shopping, sport and entertainment. The day of
rest celebrates God’s work of Creation … “And
on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh
day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which
God created and made” (Genesis 2:2-3), but it also reminds us of
Israel’s great deliverance from Egypt … “And
remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy
God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm:
therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day” (Deuteronomy
5:15). For the Christian it was the day when the early church met together … “Now
concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches
of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you
lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when
I come” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
With regard to the Sabbath day the Lord requires the following from us:
(1) Rest.
(2) Reflection.
(3) Relaxation.
(4) Reverence.
(5) Renewal.
During the era when miners used donkeys to transport coal from deep underground,
the animals were kept in almost pitch darkness for six working days. On Sunday
they were allowed to roam the fields in the open air. The miners understood that
the donkeys would go blind if they did not get one day of rest. Is this the
cause of so much spiritual blindness today?
God’s commission
“The LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus
20:11).
One day in seven belongs exclusively to God. This does not infer that He should
not be Lord of the other six too! It should be seen as His gift to the church.
The world might desecrate Sunday and think they know better than He, but we
should not. We destroy ourselves by trying to burn the candle at both ends. God
gave us a day of rest for good reasons, therefore failure to honour His
authorative will has caused many to become spiritually, physically and mentally
unwell. Those who will not rest soon become as restless as the fallen world,
never able to find peace for their souls. God expects us to put Him first; what
better way than dedicating the first day of the week to Him!
Conclusion
Days, weeks, month and years disappear while we rush about building our
hopes and dreams. We look forward to that relaxing weekend, or the two weeks
holidaying in some distant land, in the hope of freeing ourselves from the
turmoil of everyday life. God has given us a weekly holiday (holyday) and
invites us to spend it in the best possible company. He offers rest to those who
“labour and are heavy laden” if
they would simply come and learn of Him (Matthew 11:28-30), for He is the Prince
of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Life
itself will cause us to be burdened with a load of care, but “There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His
rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief” (Hebrews 4:9-11).
Page created 24 January 2006