Remember The Sabbath Day To Keep It Holy
“Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God and in it you shall not do any work…..” Exodus 20: 8-10. The Genesis-writer records the fact that God “worked” for six days ( six million-long periods), and God “rested” on the seventh day.
The word “Sabbath” means (1) to cease from work; (2) to abstain from working; (3) to come to an end of a work-period and to be at ease/at rest. In ancient times, the number 7 was considered to be unlucky; therefore, people did the least possible on the 7th day. In time, this belief became connected to the Genesis-story of creation. The Hebrews, however, lived in an agricultural society; so, there was some necessary, maintenance-type work that could be done on the Sabbath.
This Commandment, as all the others, is based on a love relationship with Almighty God. Each Commandment begins with the phrase: “If you love ME, you will do certain things, and you will refrain from doing certain things.”
IF we love God, we will work six days out of every week! Work is a holy calling; let’s keep it that way! (A) We were created in God’s likeness. As God worked, so we are to work. (B) From the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve a work to do; they were to be in charge of all God created, and were to take good care of it; they were to be creative, and to ensure that the earth produced enough for everyone. Adam and Eve knew that they were merely tenants here — they were God’s servants, God’s hired hands. Adam and Eve owned nothing; nothing on this earth belonged to them. (C) Work is a great teacher: we learn to be responsible; we learn to be dependable; we learn that there is joy and satisfaction in doing our work well; we learn to be obedient to the Boss’ orders. Work, when connected to God, is a blessing! Disconnected from God, work becomes a drudgery and a curse. (D) Our work gives us the opportunity to witness to the whole world what a joy it is to work with God and for God! Work is a holy calling; let’s keep it holy!
After we’ve done our work, we are to rest! If we were to go for a whole week without any sleep, we would no longer be able to function; we’d be like walking zombies. So it is, that if we do not take a day out to rest, to relax, to put all work aside for awhile, and to show our reverence and respect for the Lord God — we will not be able to function! Our lives will be chaotic, confused, listless and lifeless; we will continually be frustrated and stressed-out. Our existence becomes unbearable. We become irritable and ill.
Finally, to leave God out of our thinking and doing is to have no life at all! Cut a branch off a tree and it dies; cut oneself off from the Source-of-Life, and we die! There are millions of people in this world who are existing, going through the motions, and getting nowhere. Without God, there is no life! ! !
Work is a holy calling; a blessing, a responsibility to be treasured. Sunday is a holy day, a blessing, a time to rest from our labors and to honor the Lord God! Let’s keep it that way!