A Biblical Basis
The word Sabbath is from the Hebrew word SHABÀT, meaning “cessation” or
“time of rest”.[i]
The text in the creation account provides the basis of all decrees for the
practice of the Sabbath.
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,
and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished
his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work
that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it
holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”
Genesis 2:1-3
No command for us to rest is given in this
passage— only the fact that God rested. The word “Sabbath” is not even used.
However, the seventh day is set apart and made holy because it is the day that
God rested from his work. It is distinguished and sanctified by God
himself.
The first occurrence of the term and the
first command for Israel to observe a Sabbath practice of any kind is found in
Exodus 16:22-30. Here, Sabbath is in the context of manna provided by God in
the wilderness wanderings. God provided twice as much on sixth day and
commanded his people to rest on the seventh day. Manna was not to be gathered
on the seventh day because it was a “Sabbath to the Lord” (vss. 23, 26).
Therefore, that which God did at creation is now transferred to his children.
They are to rest on the seventh day.
Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments
given to Moses for the people of Israel. The fourth command in this list
crystalizes the desire of God for his children to rest and restore on the
seventh day. The command is clear and compelling.
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.” Exodus
20:8-11
It is
interesting that the Israelites are not called upon to sanctify the Sabbath,
but to protect it from becoming unsanctified. It was already made holy by God
at creation, but the way God’s children conduct themselves by way of laboring
on the seventh day could profane it before God. The main idea for Sabbath is
the cessation of work. The all-inclusive language (“you, or your son, or your daughter, your
male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner”)
signifies how important the termination of labor on this day is to God. The
rest that was commanded here would eventually make way for worship to occur on
the Sabbath for the Israelites (see religious celebrations in Leviticus and
Numbers). In time, worship would become a part of this holy day and was made
possible because work was absent from it.
Why the
correlation between the absence of work and holiness? Though by nature work is
difficult in a sin-stained world (Genesis 2:17-19), it can be personally
fulfilling as well as an extension of our worship to God. We may have callings
to certain professions rooted in the Lord and employ those callings through
God-given gifts and abilities. These bring the possibility of nobility and
godliness to labor. Some love work for these reasons. However, this that has
potential for good may also bring harm. It becomes harmful when work is taken
to an extreme and when we lose the ability to step away from it. “There is
happiness in the love of labor; there is misery in the love of gain.”[ii]
Part of Satan’s ploy is to take this good gift from God and pervert it. We then
work too much becoming preoccupied with it and what it produces. It encroaches
on every other dimension of life not allowing us to separate from it. When this
occurs, work even stands in the way of worship.
The principle of the Sabbath is God's
ingenious command to help us draw boundaries around labor and know a healthy emotional
and spiritual existence. The Sabbath means once in every week and for 24 hours
dropping everything— i.e., dropping every concern and every thought of every
concern. When practiced properly, it allows the mind, body and spirit to be
restored and replenished. True spiritual maturity requires the imitation of God.
“God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from
all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:3) When we Sabbath, we
do as God did— this is the essence of godliness.
Time and Money
In the context of studying about the
Sabbath I came upon a comparison regarding obedience to God in two primary
assets of our lives— time and money. I thought it helpful to share them with
you. Other than God and people, nothing is likely more important to us than
these two dimensions of life. Both are things we spend and both are things we
attempt to save.
There are amazing similarities in God’s
commands toward the management of our time and money. The Sabbath and the tithe
stand as clear directives from a loving God in how to steward these precious
resources.
- Both imitate God: in giving and in resting I am doing what God himself did.
- Both draw me close to God: as I do what God did, I fellowship with him deeply, understanding his ways, and identifying in relationship with him more.
- Both are an antidote to the culture: tithing stands as an antidote to greed and materialism; Sabbath stands as an antidote to addictive work and indispensability.
- Both bless me in return: the irony is that though I give away my money in tithing and give away my time in Sabbath, I have enough money and enough time to do God’s Will. God provides in return so that by giving I receive and my needs are adequately supplied. It is amazing to see how efficient and effective my time becomes on the other six days of the week when I Sabbath on the seventh.
- Both set my priorities in proper place: By tithing and keeping that Sabbath I do not allow my money and time to manage me. I instead manage them. This keeps them in proper perspective for healthy living.
- Both are proportional: Sabbath is one-seventh of my week; tithing is one-tenth of my money. While all my time and all my money is his, I practically give to God in proportion to all he has given me.
- Both are systematic: The “system” is that I give from the first of my income and from the last of my week.
- Both are sacrificial: Time and money are precious and therefore are not easily given to God— which is exactly why God requires them.
- Both reveal my level of trust in God: tithing and Sabbath-keeping are a constant, concrete reminder that God is the owner of all and that I can trust him with the most important portions of my life. They remind me that he is the provider and will make up for anything that I might lack through giving and keeping the Sabbath. To not take the Sabbath or to not tithe means not trusting or believing God in the most practical sense. In a deeper sense, not giving and not keeping Sabbath then is practical atheism. But, when I give and when I rest as God prescribed I show my trust in him and my dependence upon him for all of life.
The Sabbath then, just as in giving, is an
act of faith. It means trusting God with work and the leadership of our
organization in our absence; trusting him with our need for rest (whether we
think we need it or not); and trusting him with the need for consistent, weekly
worship. The Sabbath is not a suggestion. It is not a nice recommendation from
God. It is a clear command. But it is a command from a loving Father who seeks
the best for his children and who desires for leaders to experience authentic
power from within.
“Stay
in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart
and a sense of God's presence envelops you. Listen for the inward Voice till
you learn to recognize it. Give yourself to God and then be what and who you are
without regard to what others think.”[iii]
[i] Young, E. J., & Bruce, F. F. (1996).
Sabbath. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, &
D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible
dictionary (3rd ed., p. 1032). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press.
[ii] Herschel, Abraham Joshua. (2005) The Sabbath. New York: Farrar, Strauss,
and Giroux Publishers, p. 3.
[iii] Tozer,
A. W. (2001). Tozer on Christian
Leadership: A 366-day devotional. Camp Hill, PA.: WingSpread. p. 128-129.
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