2/4/2013

The Sabbath. 

Honestly, I've never been one to care much. I know it's one of the 10 Commandments - keep the Sabbath holy. But it's one of those laws nobody seems to follow anymore. 

Recently I started caring. Recently I began a quest to better understand the Old Testament holidays and feasts and holy days. The Sabbath seems to be the most basic of the holy days and yet even that has fallen out of favor. 

A few weeks ago we decided to start being intentional about the Sabbath. We learned more about the Jewish calendar, to understand why the Sabbath traditionally goes from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. We read verses related to the Sabbath, to understand why God instituted it to begin with. We learned a little about how the Sabbath is observed in the modern day.We learned about the Sabbath rest as symbolic of eternal rest and of firstfruit offerings to God.

And we began observing the Sabbath. 


On Friday night, I do a few things that physically set the Sabbath apart from other days. I put out a nice tablecloth before supper (one not used for any other occasion). I set out special candles (not used any other time). And sometimes I make special bread for our meal (again, not used any other time during the week). The point is: set it aside as something special, out of the ordinary, distinct from the other 6 days of the week. 

I don't have a special meal that we eat each Friday night. There is no special ceremony necessarily. But we all know it's the start of the Sabbath and that for the next 24 hours the focus is on resting, not doing. Of course, we still do basic things and are not legalistic about it. We are not observing the Sabbath to somehow make ourselves look better in God's sight. That would defeat the purpose altogether. 

We observe the Sabbath because we are tired human beings who need rest. God knows that. He made us. He created one day a week for us to rest, to refocus, to entrust our week to Him. 

So we rest. We read. We play. We try to simply be. We relax. We breathe deeply. We reconnect with each other and with God after whatever blows we've been dealt during the week. 

And it's been a beautiful thing. My kids look forward to it. I look forward to it. It's a great way to end one week and begin another. It provides time to look back at what has been accomplished and to look forward at what will come. 

Like so many things in the Christian life, the ways of God lead to abundant blessing... yet it takes time for us to come to the place where we embrace them. The Sabbath doesn't make natural sense, especially in our fast-paced society. Yet, God made it for a reason and we will be blessed if we walk in His ways. We have found Him faithful.      

Exodus 20:8-11  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.