09/10/2020
Each week we are meant to rest on the Sabbath as God did, but so many do not listen to this commandment, and do not rest. When our lives on earth are complete the people of God will rest once again on the great Sabbath, but many people will not have listened, and will not be there. We live a hard and difficult life on earth, and it wears us down. We need bodily rest each night, and a Sabbath each week to refresh us, body, mind, and soul, as it prepares us to continue doing God’s will. Then following our judgement, those who are found worthy will rest again, and enjoy a greater Sabbath at the table of God... do you honor the Sabbath today? Will you rest, and eat the Sabbath meal with God in heaven?
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,”
Hebrews 4:9 ESV
To be judged worthy of entering heaven we are told to obey the commandments of God, and yet we go through life picking and choosing which ones we will honor, and which we will ignore. One of those that is ignored most often is remembering the Sabbath, and to keep it holy.
““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, 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. 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 ESV
When I was a boy we had many laws that we called “Blue Laws” or “Sunday Laws” concerning the Sabbath. They made it illegal for certain activities to occur, and for stores to open on Sunday. These laws also governed the sale and distribution of alcohol, but as the years passed those laws were systematically relaxed, and removed by applying various logical arguments until at last there was only one left... you could not sell alcohol before noon on a Sunday, Christmas Day, or certain secular holidays... so now even that law has started to vanish. Man has succumbed to the lies, and half-truths of Satan, and in one final stroke of the lawmaker’s pen the way will be cleared for man to totally ignore one of God’s great commandments. Satan doesn’t need to defeat us by using a full frontal assault, no, he woos us, and picks at the edges of our faith until he has unwoven just enough fabric from our robes of faith that our nakedness is exposed, and we are no longer obedient. In this way we are undone.
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”
James 2:10 ESV
Satan takes this one Sabbath commandment, which many people are easily convinced to view as inconvenient, and uses it to undermine the entirety of their faith, and keep them from God’s rest.
“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”
Hebrews 4:11 ESV
Moses approached the burning bush, and as he did God told him to stop, and to remove his sandals. He explained to Moses that this was Holy ground. What do you think would have happened if Moses had not removed his sandals, or had continued on? The ground surrounding the burning bush was Holy, and the Sabbath is likewise blessed and declared Holy... so what is the difference that would make us believe we can ignore God’s command concerning the Sabbath, while Moses could not ignore God’s command regarding his sandals?
How do we approach God’s commandments in general, and keeping the Sabbath in particular? Do we work on the Sabbath? Do we rationalize what we do on this blessed and Holy day so that we can ignore God’s voice? It is so easy in today’s constantly active 24x7 world to get trapped into failing at this commandment. So many of our workplaces are open every day, or at very least their computers and help lines are active, and require people to operate them. I work in the Information Technology field, and have been guilty of working on Sunday, so how can we avoid this? Is it possible to turn back the hands of time and return to the days when we all rested on the Sabbath our church or faith observed? Perhaps not, but what we can do is arrange our work schedules as best we can to avoid working on our Sabbath, and if this can’t be done then we should select a day out of our week that will be our surrogate Sabbath (much as pastors do), and bring this before the Lord in contrition, asking that we can make that day our day of rest. Are you prepared to designate one day out of your week to be your Sabbath, and keep it Holy? Contemplate this, study God’s Word concerning it, Pray on it, and then decide if you are willing to rest on the earthly Sabbaths, and which day you will observe it on, so that you will be judged worthy of the great Sabbath Rest with God.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for resting on the seventh day, and establishing the Sabbath that would give mankind a day of rest. Thank you Lord for giving us the Commandment that we are to work six days, but rest on the Sabbath. We pray Lord that every man, woman, and child, would rest as you have commanded us, and dwell on your holiness as they are idled from their work. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who has created us in your image, and told us to rest as you have rested. We lift up your name in praise, and worship from the depths of our soul! You are worthy of all glory, and we seek to bring glory upon you as we obey you, even in our times of rest. Hear our prayers Father when we ask that You allow us to be at rest on a day that is not traditional to our church or faith, and keep us righteous as we honor the holiness of that day. Hold us close as we rest together with you, and increase our faith as we find the Sabbath comforting, and refreshing to our soul. Help us in our belief, and lead us to be obedient to your Word. Open our eyes so that we do not relax a single commandment you have given us. Do these things Merciful Father In the name of Jesus, and through His cleansing blood so that we can be judged pure in Him, and be at peace with you on the great day of rest to come.
“Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:19-20 ESV
Rich Forbes