Hebraic Musing – When and How to Honor the LORD’s Sabbath?
We were given the
fourth commandment - “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (Holy
- dedicated or consecrated to God) 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...” Exod.20:8-10
NIV How well are Christians and the
World complying with God’s Commandment?
When living in
Europe 30+ years ago, on a typical Sunday after church the routine was to find
an open restaurant (stores and half the restaurants were closed) and fellowship
and sip on coffee while watching the world to by and/or spending a day with the
family. It was truly a relaxed day!
When we came back to the States, we found everything open! Sunday was just another day; except it
was a day off from “work” to shop, work around the house or watch sports.
What questions
does this raise?
Biblically, the
Sabbath was clearly the 7th day, our Saturday. Under pressure from the Romans, Christians
switched their gathering to worship to Sunday, the day the Romans
worshipped their “sun god”! Was it God’s
idea to switch days or did Christians decide to recognize the first day of the
week as Resurrection Day the “Lord’s Day” instead, thus complying to the Roman
rule? According to 1 Corinth.16:2, they
did meet on the first day, Sunday, but that was to handle money which was
forbidden to do on the Sabbath. Nowhere
in the New Testament are Christians even described as setting aside Sunday as a
Sabbath day.
Is it okay to mow
your lawn on Sunday? What message does
it send to non-church goers? Maybe the
Jews carried the Sabbath rules to an extreme, but they did it in a legalistic effort
to “rest in the Lord” that one day.
Do we humans need
to rest every 7th day? I know
from working in agriculture that the fields needed to go fallow every 7th
year in order to maximize productivity again.
“Mother Nature” requires a Sabbath rest!
Might that also apply to our body, soul & spirit? BTW, even Almighty God took a Sabbath rest!
Which is more
important, the purpose of the Sabbath, or the specific rules for observing it? Jesus answered that. “The Sabbath
was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Matt.2:27
Many will point
out that Jesus healed, got oxen out of ditches, picked grains of corn and other
acts of love on the Sabbath. When
confronted, He justified it with “...Therefore
it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Matt. 12:12 Jesus
recognized that people had become weary and burdened by the heavy weight of
observing the Sabbath which meant following the letter of man-made law while
missing God’s intent behind the command.
Some will point
out that the Pastor has to work on the Sabbath.
Well, Paul did too! “Every
Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”
Acts 18:4 Maybe us oxen need to be
pulled out of our ditches? (>:
Summary – The Sabbath is
not a commandment we are bound to; but it is a promise we’re invited to enjoy.
Points
to ponder
Has the world successfully distracted us Christians from honoring
the Sabbath?
How might honoring the Sabbath help build a stronger family unit?
Do we need to restore familial traditions?
Would Saturday or Sunday be a good time to devote time to “Bible”
studying?
After reading this, will you honor the Sabbath differently in the
future?
Where do we plan
to enjoy the ultimate Sabbath rest?
Yosef
a.k.a. Joe Brusherd August 30, 2022
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages
exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage” Weekly
“Hebraic Musings” InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com
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