Genesis 1-2

The word "sabbath" seems so foreign to us today. Whenever we hear the word we tend to think of Sundays or going to church, certain places being closed and the prohibited sale of alcohol. The word "sabbath" has evaded our vocabulary to the extent that when I type the word on my computer in the lower case, it keeps highlighting the word as being a mistake. However that’s not what sabbath is all about.

Today we are going to look at the origin and the importance of "Sabbath". Let’s start by looking at Genesis 2:1-3.

1. The Definition of "Sabbath" (Genesis 2:1-3)

In these verses we read that God rested on the seventh day. He created the world in six days, and then he took a break on the seventh day. He didn’t just rest on the seventh day in order to create a time for us to worship him, but he rested in order to recover from his act of creation. He was tired. We read here that he rested "from all his work, which he had done." God "worked" and expended a great deal of energy; therefore he needed to rest. I would like to point out that some of us find ourselves working seven days a week. We apparently think that we are Super Man or Wonder Woman without having any need for rest. Author Leonard Sweet, dean of Drew United Methodist Seminary in New Jersey, points out that nowadays we take "working vacations," "working breakfasts," "working lunches," and "working dinners." He says we can never get away from our work, and he tells us, "Ask around: Who doesn’t check voice messages and e-mail while on vacation . . . [or] before going to bed just in case a client or someone needs us?" I think we fail to recognize that the Lord of the entire universe had a day off – and if God needed a day off, how much more do we need a day off?

The word "rested" in these verses is the Hebrew word shabat from which we derive our English word "sabbath." In the Hebrew, Sabbath means, "to desist from exertion," "to cease," and "to rest." In an article that is entitled "Guidelines for Sabbath Rest," we read the following insight: "God ‘rested on the seventh day from all his work,’ implying that those whom he created in his image should do the same . . . The sabbath is a time to abstain completely from everyday work. It is a time to relax the mind, body, and soul in order to be filled and nourished . It is a time to rely on God [and] a time to let God be God in one’s living." We must remember Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God." We need to slow down if we are ever going to hear God’s voice and to receive renewal from abiding in his presence.

Leonardo da Vinci excelled as a painter, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, city planner, scientist, inventor, anatomist, military genius, and philosopher, but he couldn’t do all of these things without some rest. De Vinci left us with some good words of advice. He stated, "Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen."

As Leonardo da Vinci pointed out to us, rest enables us to become more productive at our work. Too many of us believe that productivity comes with pushing ourselves all of the time, however that will only wear us down to where we are unfit for work. Going all the time without slowing down can cause great harm to our emotional, physical, and mental health. As I asked us earlier, "If God needed a day off, then how much more do we need a day off?"

2. The Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)

When you look very closely at the Ten Commandments they are placed in order of their significance in the eyes of the Lord. The first three commandments pertain to placing God first in our lives and worshipping him alone. The fourth commandment pertains to both God and human beings. The Sabbath day is a time that we give in devotion to our God, but it is also a day in which we recover from our labors. The Lord placed the command to keep the Sabbath in fourth place because he realized that it is vital that we have a time of rest. God looked at us and said, "I have made a way for my people to care for me, and now I must make a way to care for them."

The second thing that I want to point out pertains to when we should keep or observe the Sabbath. When should we observe a Sabbath day? Verse 11 says, "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." According to verse 11 we should observe the Sabbath on the seventh day. Christians celebrate the Sabbath, or their day of rest and worship of God, on Sunday because it is the day when Christ was resurrected from the grave. The point that I want to make here is that the exact day is not as important as what we do on that day. A Sabbath day is a day of rest and worship. We need to set aside another day to rest and to spend time with the Lord. The Lord set aside the Sabbath for our benefit. We benefit from worshipping God and resting, and the Lord is not going to be picky about the day that we choose to do this. It is still vital that we attend church on Sundays, as one of our newest members Patrick Henry reminded us a few weeks ago.

3. Jesus Declared A Sabbath (Matthew 14:22-23)

I wanted to point out this passage because we see here that even Jesus felt the need to rest and spend some time alone and with God. Jesus only had a ministry span of about three years, and he could have easily become anxious and tried to do as much as he could in his limited time. However, Jesus was concerned with quality not quantity, and to obtain this quality meant spending some time alone resting and meditating.

Mark 4:35-36, "On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was." Jesus left the multitude behind because he needed to get away from the crowd in order to rest a little. Leonard Sweet points out that in this particular passage Jesus does not "promise himself a vacation when things slow down. Jesus doesn’t start elaborate planning for a distant getaway. Jesus declares an on-the-spot sabbatical. And he begins his sabbatical with a dispatch. The Greek employed in Mark 4:36, "epheimi", is typically rendered as simply [when they had left the multitude]. The word could also be translated to read as ‘abandoning the crowd.’ Jesus declares a sabbatical and takes off pronto. Even the disciples have to hustle to catch up with him."

I like the story of one man who challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don’t get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But you didn’t notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my axe when I sat down to rest."

Whenever we spend some time in prayer or in reading the Bible, this enables us to be sharpened spiritually and to be made of use to the Lord. Sabbath rest shapes and molds us into instruments, or tools, to be used for God’s glory and for his kingdom purposes.

4. Time of Reflection

I want to leave you with a few words of comfort straight from Jesus. In Mark 6:31-32 we read, "And He said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves." Isn’t that good news? – "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." Jesus told us in 14 Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Jesus says, "Come, slow down a little and learn of Me, and I will give you rest."

What a great message to begin our summer holiday: "Shabat Shalom!" or Rest, rest! Rest is a welcome word in this fast-paced world, and Jesus offers us rest today. If you already know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then start taking advantage of this spiritual command that he gives to us. If you are tired and need to rest, then do so. Take a day off to pray and spend time in God’s word, and also to vegetate if you must. If you are someone who doesn’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you likely have a lot of unrest in your life.