Life-giving Sabbath Rest

"Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy."

Exodus 20:8

"Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy,

as the Lord your God commanded you."

Deuteronomy 5:12

One clergy group I belonged to would spend a week-long retreat at Weston Priory.

We divided our time between worship with the brothers, study, and fellowship.

During our gathering, before the retreat started, our conversation was usually about the need for time away from routine parish life such a visitation, Bible study preparation, and preaching.

The retreat was a sabbath time.

Genesis describes sabbath time after God created the earth in six days.

God rested on the seventh day, blessing it and setting it apart for humans to imitate God, by honor that day.

The Bible describes two ways to honor God’s sabbath blessing.

First, in Exodus 20:8: “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy”.

Second, in Deuteronomy 5:12: “Observe the Sabbath day, and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.”

There’s a significant difference between remembering the Sabbath and observing the Sabbath.

Remembering the Sabbath as God gave it to Moses, meant remembering the people were once slaves in Egypt, but are now free.

Remembering the Sabbath in today's society is remembering it is God who set you free from the stresses of contemporary living to time from holy rest.

Obeying the sabbath, as Deuteronomy indicates, is refraining from work in order to be ready to do the Lord's work the next day.

Obeying the Sabbath’s intention, means resting to work recharged for looking around and asking, "Who do I see needing sabbath rest?"

 Isn’t a Christians work to keep the Sabbath by asking "who needs a life-giving, holy rest because society has given up on them, or their worth, or their dignity has been stolen from them?

Who needs Sabbath rest in order be recharged to continue to “fight the good fight”?