Part 1 continued
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I find one particular verse interesting:
The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. -Exodus 31:16
First, the Sabbath wasn't to be imposed as a rule that kept people from enjoying themselves. It wasn't meant to suck the fun out of this day of rest. On the contrary, it was to be celebrated. Because it was to remind the people of what God had done for them and His promise for the future.
Second, the Sabbath was to serve as a reminder of a covenant. God likes covenants. Because it keeps His people from forgetting Whose they are. He made a covenant with Noah and sealed it with a rainbow. He made a covenant with the Israelites and sealed it with Passover. He made a covenant with us and sealed it with the Cross, which we remember through taking the bread and wine.
The Sabbath is a reminder to us, just like the rainbow, Passover, and the bread and wine. God told Noah that each time a rainbow appeared in the sky, He would remember the covenant He made. But more importantly, these things serve as reminders to us. God doesn't forget. We do. So He gave us these things to see and do on a regular basis so that we don't forget Who He is.
The Sabbath reminds us of Who we serve. Sundays are a day to remove ourselves from the other six days of the week and focus on Him.
Because otherwise we forget.
1 comment:
I've been thinking about the Sabbath a lot too over the past several months. The Bible says that the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath. In addition to your two points, I think also that the Sabbath was created for health reasons. I believe that God designed us in such a way that for our emotional, physical and spiritual well-being, our bodies need a day to rest.
I have also been pondering a couple of other things. How much of working for 6 days to rest on the 7th does that working for 6 days mean your employment and does it mean things like household chores or other physical activity such as exercise. Especially since many people only go to their place of employment 5 days out of the week, some less than that. I think of when the commandments were given to Moses. The Israelites just left Egypt and captivity. They probably were forced to labor every day of the week I imagine. Going to work was very different than it is today, you probably had a family occupation that incorporated more of what we see as our personal lives away from work. So I have been pondering our 21st century application to this commandment.
Anyway, I enjoy reading your thoughts.
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