God's Precious Gift
And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20:8-11)
The writers who composed both the books of Genesis and Exodus reflect a deep and profound insight into God’s ordering of time. God creates light and darkness and then uses that light and darkness, evening and morning, to mark days. God works for six days and then on the seventh day God stops working and rests. Scripture tells us quite clearly that God intended for time to be divided between work and rest. One of the interesting marks of divinity is that God knows when to stop working, when to rest, when to enjoy what has been created by work. God models for us –what God commands of us.
It is in following God’s command to rest, that the keeping of Sabbath became a defining practice of Israel from her earliest days. Sabbath was to be a day of rest and relaxation as well as a day of remembering. Remembering that God chose Israel to observe the Sabbath in God’s honor. Sabbath- stepping away from working- was to be observed in joyous celebration and appreciation for the privilege of worshipping and of being in relationship with the God of all creation.
As both the Old Testament tradition and Jesus knew, “The Sabbath was made for humankind,” (Mark 2:27). Sabbath time is a precious gift from God. Sabbath time is to be holy, a time intentionally set apart from ordinary work to allow for care, renewal and the deep breathing of one’s soul. Sabbath time observed well, is said to give a person a second soul, that is, to make us twice as rich, deep, and large as we were at the end of the work week. That is the reward of real Sabbath time –rest, renewal and the deepening of one’s inner life. Keeping Sabbath is not just time from work but for my soul to rest and renew.
Certainly, the fullness and business of our daily lives will press hard against our keeping of Sabbath time. But that’s the whole point. Our Creator never meant for our lives to be so busy and so full that we forget to live from and nurture our own souls. If we are not careful we end up living every moment directed by our To Do list far from the center of our very being; a kind of sleep walking through life. We humans forget so easily. We need to remember. We need Sabbath rest.
For Reflection:
Do I really believe that God knows what is best for me?
Why does God command for human beings to keep Sabbath time?
What are the practical issues to be faced in my family and my situation as we/I approach keeping Sabbath time?
