The Sabbath Is More Than Just A Fancy Word

“Sabbath” is a word we don’t use much. Growing up, I assumed it was a fancy word the Bible used for “going to church,” or maybe a religious practice we didn’t have to worry about. Through the Sabbath, God is actually telling us something about his character and who we are as his people.

THE SABBATH IS WOVEN INTO CREATION

The Sabbath is woven into creation. The Lord worked and created for six days, and on the seventh day, he rested to enjoy what he had made. The all-sovereign, powerful God who neither slumbers nor sleeps wasn’t tired or weary, but was creating a rhythm of work and rest for humans, created in his image, to reflect. Before sin and the fall, God patterned for us a model of how to live well: work hard six days of the week and devote one day specifically to worship and rest in him.

Resting, and specifically, sabbath resting, is so important to God that he included it in the Ten Commandments after he saved his people from slavery in Egypt. By his power and might, God rescued the Israelites from a cruel master who overworked them mercilessly for 400 years (Exodus 1:11-14, 5:7-9). In freeing his people and giving the commandments, God showed them what kind of master he is and who they are as a rescued people. In the fourth commandment, he reveals that he is a master who doesn’t work them to death, but invites his people to rest from their toil and enjoy him.

For some of us, this is hard to hear. In a world that is consumed with productivity and doing, it is too easy to find our worth in our work and what we do. It becomes our idol, what we define ourselves by, where we find meaning. We look to work to find the things only God can give us: significance, security, and identity. Work, like Egypt, can be a cruel taskmaster that demands more and more, never satisfied with your production, enslaving you to demands of greater output.

For others, it’s not difficult to argue for the need to rest. The problem is that because of sin, we run to other things to give us rest. We believe the lie that ultimately more sleep, a Netflix binge, or the beach will give us the rest we so deeply crave. And although those aren’t necessarily bad things, they cannot provide the life-giving, renewing rest that we actually need. Rest becomes an elusive idol to chase, never giving a return on its promises, never satisfying.

SO WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THE SABBATH?

“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. On it you shall not do any work,” (Exodus 20:8-10)

The Egyptian deities needed larger monuments and more labor from people in order to get glory, but God does not; he created everything and everything is his. So when God tells his people to not work one day out of the week, and to devote that day to him by resting, it’s because his survival and glory are not dependent on what you or I could produce for him. In fact, we are dependent on him! In the Sabbath, God is teaching us to trust in him and his provision, not our productivity. Even if we could get more tasks done, send another email, or make more money by working an extra day, the Sabbath reminds us that we ultimately trust God to provide and take care of us, and not ourselves.

SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE PRACTICALLY?

“The seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:10a)

The Sabbath is to the Lord, meaning that it is primarily and foremost to worship the Lord. Of course, we do this every day, but on the Sabbath, we’re able to pause and really focus on worshiping and enjoying him. The primary way we do this is by reading the Bible and in prayer. How could we worship God apart from his word? It is in his word that God addresses our sin, reminds us of who he is, and comforts us with the gospel. It is in his word that God speaks. It is God’s word that gives life and heals and addresses the needs that merely sleep or TV will never meet. And it is in prayer that we respond back, clinging to his promises and to his character that we find in the scriptures. For Sabbath rest to truly be restorative and refreshing, God’s word and prayer must be a part of it.

We can also worship God by enjoying the good gifts he has given us. One of the ways I’ve incorporated this into my own Sabbath is by doing things that “fill” me as opposed to things that “drain” me. I’ve realized that bingeing on a TV show doesn’t fill my tank or give me rest, and I’m often left even wearier. On the other hand, reading, spending time outdoors, and being with my community are things I enjoy and rejuvenate me, so I incorporate these rhythms into my day of rest. Sabbath rest isn’t about checking out and unplugging your mind, but it is a gift from God to refresh ourselves physically and mentally, in addition to refreshing us spiritually.

The Sabbath serves another purpose too. It points us to the rest that God provides through Jesus, where we rely on the work of another to secure our rest, a rest that is eternal (Heb 4:9-11). It is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ, where he fully obeyed the law and honored God perfectly every day, and in his death and resurrection, has freed us from slavery to sin and brought us into the family of God.

In practicing Sabbath, we display and proclaim the gospel. We show that God is a faithful provider, he is gracious and kind, and he is the source of life and rest. We declare that God has worked on our behalf and secured an eternal rest for us.

In ignoring the Sabbath, we declare that we don’t really believe that God is our provider, we don’t really believe that he gives us true rest, and we don’t really believe that Christ’s work was enough. By ignoring the weekly Sabbath, we display and proclaim a false gospel where our effort saves and sustains us.

Let us be a people who walk in obedience and proclaim the true gospel.