Sabbath

5/18/2019 10 Commandments: Sabbath - Google Docs The sabbath: what is it, why was it commanded, and how should we respond? Intro (?) We as humans often focus so much on the “how” that we forget the “why.” Exodus 20: 8-11 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 1. What is the sabbath? The sabbath is a day that the Lord has commanded for us to set aside for the purpose of rest and worship. He used this day not only as a means for His people to rest from their work, but also for the fields to rest every seven years (Leviticus 25:1-7) and for slaves to find rest from their bondage, be it work or debt. (Leviticus 25:8-55). This was observed very rigidly by the Israelites throughout history. In fact, they were so concerned about not breaking this rule that they created an additional set of rules (called the “Mishnah”) to follow, so as to “build a fence” around the Mosaic law. In essence, this was a set of rules to help them make sure that they didn’t break the commandments. These rules were created over the course of thousands of hours of study, where scholars would pour over the scriptures and cross-reference passages with each other, comparing the definitions of words so as to best understand what “work” truly was. In the end, they used these references to come up with a list of 39 things that constitute “work,” each with their own subcategories and so forth. This “Mishnah” became very nearly just as important to the Jews as the actual law of Moses, and the Pharisees demanded that the Jewish people follow it to the letter. One example can be seen when Jesus is traveling with his disciples in Mark chapter 2: Mark 2:23-28 23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of[d]Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” You see, the Pharisees were so concerned with how they were going to follow this commandment, that they forgot why they were doing it in the first place. They forgot that “the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” They forgot that God was the true reason behind it. 2. Why was it commanded? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zY2DBWiyDVr6ewdgmvmeDsweRiiJj6Nr7PfJ-9crStY/edit 1/3 5/18/2019 - 10 Commandments: Sabbath - Google Docs Because God Himself set the example for his people. Genesis 2:2-3: 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. The Hebrew word used here is “shabath” which means “to cease.” God was not weary from his work (Isaiah tells us that God never tires or grows weary) but it was on the seventh day that He ceased creating the world. Additionally, He ceased from His work to set an example for us. - Because we as humans need to rest. - Less than five hours of sleep per night doubles the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and quadruples the risk of stroke. - Stressful workplaces, characterized by long hours and difficult situations, have been found cut years off of your lifespan. - Remember that “shabath” means “to cease.” When you look at how it’s used in the Bible, you will see that God is commanding His people to set aside one day of the week to completely cease from their work. Exodus 20:9-10 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. - - Many of God’s commandments to His people were given explicitly for their protection and safety. The sabbath is certainly one of them. Because we need to set time aside to gather together in the name of the Lord. Leviticus 23:3 3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. “Holy convocation” can also be translated as “Holy assembly.” It was a time when the Jews would gather together at the tabernacle to offer sacrifices, worship the Lord, and hear teaching about the Word. Although the beliefs of the sabbath being saturday or Sunday differ, the Christian church (post-resurrection) kept the practice of meeting together on the Lord’s day to eat, pray, worship, and learn the word of the Lord. 3. How should we respond to the sabbath? - - God called the Israelites to treat the sabbath day with respect and holiness. It was a day for ceasing from work and worshipping God. Throughout the Old Testament, we see the law clearly connected to faith. Though there were many rules, it was the faith behind the following of those rules that led to righteousness. It took great faith for the israelites to take a day to rest. They are an agrarian (agricultural) society, where productivity is directly related to work. To completely cease from working for one day per week took a great amount of faith. It does with us, too. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zY2DBWiyDVr6ewdgmvmeDsweRiiJj6Nr7PfJ-9crStY/edit 2/3 5/18/2019 - - 10 Commandments: Sabbath - Google Docs Our society is one where work is highly praised. The more you do, the better you are. Productivity = worth. Many are considered to be lazy or uncommitted if they are not willing to work weekends or long hours. To be willing to stop working means we need to give up control and put faith in God. It’s taking one day to stop, rest, and worship the Lord who has given us the very life and work that we spend our time doing. We are supposed to be a reflection of God, but we can’t do so if we forget to focus on Him. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zY2DBWiyDVr6ewdgmvmeDsweRiiJj6Nr7PfJ-9crStY/edit 3/3