In these posts we are looking at some of the main laws of God and considering them as principles for a godly life. This is not to say that they should not be considered as laws to obey, but that they should also be seen as the principles God put in place for a man or woman to live the life that God had in mind when he invented life.
The commandment to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy works very well in this light. Exodus 20:8-11 says,
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.
Christians always struggle with this. Nine out of Ten Commandments are moral no-brainers. No one thinks that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled the laws against murder, lying, adultery, etc., to the point that we are not supposed to keep those laws anymore.
But the command to keep the Sabbath is tricky. It is somewhat of a ceremonial law. Jesus is the “true and better Sabbath,” so resting on the Sabbath can be thought of as believing in Jesus, trusting him for salvation, that his work is enough for God to accept us.
We know that “in repentance and rest is [our] salvation” (Isa 30:15). To top it off, most of the church considers the Lord’s Day, Sunday, to be the replacement for the Saturday Jewish Sabbath. Historically, businesses in America did not open on Sundays (this was called Blue Law). But, aside from Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-a, most have discarded the practice. I myself am a pastor and often have my busiest workday on Sunday. I have wrestled to see Sunday, worshiping with my church family, as my Sabbath with mixed results.
There are many resources that you can study if you want to figure out this law for yourself. But for now, allow me to consider Sabbath as a principle. The principle is resting in God. We are supposed to find our home and our rest in him always as we “pray without ceasing“ (1 Thes 5:17). We also know that the Sabbath was for setting aside the day to holiness. Everyday should be given to holiness, but the Sabbath helps us to stop and think about it every seven days. Give every day to holiness, and check in once a week to make sure by stopping everything.
There is another important “use” of the Sabbath (You can “use” Sabbath. Jesus said it was “made for man.”). A Sabbath day can help you know how strong your idols might be. Let’s say you love working out. You are driven every day to do it. Can you skip a day? Can you stop? More importantly, let’s say you might be a workaholic. Can you stop on Sunday (or even some other day?). Can you skip whatever it is that you are compelled to do on the other days? If you cannot, you might be idolizing an activity.
To see it as a principle, see it as permission to stop. Be driven the other days, but show yourself that you love God even more than those activities. Holiness usually applies to things, but the Sabbath is holiness applied to time. This is a really cool aspect of it. Let it bring you back to God. It is permission through a command not to stress about what you are usually tasked with stressing about. Rest in God. You were made for it, and the Sabbath was made for you.
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