“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 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 ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.“
Oh the Sabbath! Jesus is our Sabbath rest. And then the Sabbath.
Work six days, rest on the seventh (which in OT times was Saturday). No work was allowed for anyone, including animals and foreigners.
- The Sabbath was rooted in Creation. God worked six days and then rested on the Sabbath (Gen 2:2)
- The Sabbath was part of the covenant God made with Israel during Moses’ time (Mk 2:27)
- Jesus was Lord of the Sabbath (Mt 12:8)
- Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath
- The Sabbath was fulfilled in Jesus (Col 2:16-17)
Much can be said of the Sabbath and perhaps I’ll write more extensively on it later. The questions comes down to whether or not Christians should still practice the Sabbath now that Jesus fulfilled it?
Just a summation is that I think we are not under Mosaic Law to abide by the Sabbath, Jesus filled the Sabbath, and the Sabbath was made for man, but we I think should follow the Sabbath under grace. God rested. Man needs rest. Animals need rest. Workers need rest. And as we’ve seen with this Coronavirus, the land also needs rest (above pic people in Punjab can see Himalayas for first time in 30 years).
No one was designed to work 7 days a week. The earth cannot handle factories that work 24/7.
Rest is built into us all. We cannot go many days without it.
It’s for this I’m trying to be more careful of observing the Sabbath. In a part of the country that only knows how to work, it can be a challenge.
It doesn’t mean a legalism or a not caring for my daily responsibilities, but it means I cease from my labors for awhile. I dedicate a day specific for worship. And I rest and recuperate from the week.
The Sabbath is good.
