490 B.C., the Persians are at war with the Greeks. Persian soldiers have just destroyed the Greek city of Eretria and are on the move toward the plain of Marathon. A Greek soldier named Pheidippides runs a hard 24 miles without stopping to take the news from Athens to Sparta. He arrives, delivers the news, and then drops dead from exhaustion. He gave his life for the run. Today, every time a marathon is run, it harkens back to that effort of Pheidippides the runner. The people in those runs don’t expect to die for their running. But at the same time, in our modern culture, people everywhere are giving their lives for the run in another way – and deep down they know it.
The 4th command is to keep the Sabbath. Here’s more proof that God’s ways are not our ways.
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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 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.
Of these Big 10 basic principles for godly character laid out for Israel, God makes one the command to rest. (“Sabbath” doesn’t mean Saturday, it simply means “rest.”) So on this list of not murdering, not stealing, not committing adultery, is this positive command to rest. If I had been making the list of the top 50 or top 100 I might have thrown that in – but Big 10, and one of those is “rest”? Maybe we should rename the Big 10 God’s “Father Knows Best List.” It’s not what I would have included.
Yes, this is the one command that isn’t somewhere repeated overtly in the NT. Some of you would be all too quick to point that out this morning. Why is it that we squirm and finagle to prove that we don’t need rest? Sure, the New Covenant gives us the ability to discard an Old Covenant ordinance, but like a baby and the bathwater, we’ve discarded the day and the principle together.
Like a toddler at bedtime, we run around, because if we sit still, we’ll succumb to the obvious need for sleep. And, like I’ve had to tell my own children, I can hear God indicating to us, “This isn’t to punish you or spoil your fun. I give you rest for your sake.” In fact, that’s how God says it, “ Ezekiel 20:12 I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.
Jesus pointed out in Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” The Sabbath was something that God gave to be celebrated and enjoyed.
Yet, in Jesus’ day, that good thing had been taken and made over until it was a burden, not a break. The Talmud, the book of Jewish traditions, has 24 chapters that list the different ways a person is supposed to keep the Sabbath. Some say the teachers had taken the 39 letters of this 4th law, multiplied it by 39, and that’s how they came up with the 1,521 rules about Sabbath breaking!
Can you imagine what they were?
• You couldn’t walk over 3,000 feet from your house.
• You were not allowed to carry anything that weighed more than a dried fig.
• You couldn’t carry a needle for fear you might sew something.
• Women were not to look in a mirror - they might pull a gray hair.
• You couldn’t untie a knot, strike a hammer, weave 2 threads, or write 2 letters of the alphabet.
• Since it was illegal to carry a burden, you couldn’t pin a ribbon to your garment. But, if it was sewn to the garment, it was part of the garment. Good thing they didn’t wear false teeth!
• Taking a bath was forbidden - water might splash on the floor and wash it.
This is why there are run-ins between Jesus and the Pharisees concerning breaking the Sabbath. He wasn’t anti-Sabbath. He just observed it the right way, in the right spirit. We would do well this morning to ask if our times of rest are actually times of rest. Or, have we changed our days off and vacations into another reason that we’re tired? “Can’t wait till I get back to work so I can get some rest!” Ever said that?
We need this cycle of rest and work in our lives. We need the work part. Pay attention here, especially if you’re a retired person. You can’t just say, “Ah, I’ve made it to retirement. I’ve worked for 38 years. Now I’m going to rest!” You won’t be the first, and you won’t be the last to die early or dive headfirst into frustration or depression. In fact, the command says, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” The NT affirms this when Paul says it was a standing rule, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Work is also a need for our lives, but with it we need the rhythm of labor and rest.
Creation itself is full of this cycle. The seasons, the tides, the activity of animals and plants - they all run a cycle of effort and rest, of activity and sleep.
I want to preach backwards this morning. I want to start with some application, and admit that part of this command is a bit more challenging. After that, with the “how” in mind, I want us to put it all to the test and become convinced together that, yes, Sabbath really is something we need to put into practice.
As we consider how to keep the principle of Sabbath, I have to tread lightly. What you don’t need is another list of 1,521 commands from Rabbi Sherm. It’s so hard to approach this with all our traditional and cultural baggage!
Some questions are obvious up front – What day? The early Church set aside a different day for meeting together each week. The Jewish Sabbath began at dusk on Friday evening, and it lasted until the next evening. Sundays became the day of meeting together for early Christians, traditionally because that was the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Somehow, in our culture, Saturday and Sunday were regarded as 2 days that are different – I say “were” because now that isn’t always the case. And then there are those who work to keep utilities going, those who work in the medical profession, and other jobs that we have grown to depend on in our society 7days a week. So if I’m going to keep the principle of Sabbath, what day?
Still, I don’t think this is most peoples’ problem. I think a larger problem for most of us is just the struggle of having one!
Then there is the question of “how”? What constitutes “rest”? How do I define that? If you sit at a desk all week, you might find going out and cutting a load of wood very restful. If you are on your feet doing physical work all week, you might find just sitting and reading restful. No wonder creating 1,521 rules about keeping the Sabbath is a burden – we rest in different ways – and now, with a much more complex society, that’s especially true.
So, you know what? I’m not going to stand here and tell you when your Sabbath needs to be, how long it must be, or what all you should be doing or not doing during it. That’s going to vary. But I will suggest 3 ways to test if you’ve done it well. Here’s a rest test: Ask yourself, after observing this principle
1. Am I refreshed?
2. Did I reflect?
3. Do I go back to activity refocused? I’ll talk more about all these.
The main point is, get it done. Figure out how the principle of Sabbath needs to be fit into your life. Be creative. Do what you need to. But do it! Be deliberate in this. Start figuring it out right now: When am I keeping this principle?
Or, if you prefer, just say, “That’s for Jews. That’s for someone else.” Ignore this principle. But understand, there’s a cost involved with that, and you will pay. The breakdown will come. It may be physical, spiritual, financial, emotional, or marital, but it will come. The ‘rest bill’ will come due.
So, while you’re thinking about whether you’re doing this or not, or while you’re still having an internal argument that this doesn’t apply to you, I want to share some reasons we need to observe the Sabbath principle. It’s not doing nothing. I do several things when I observe Sabbath rest…
When I observe Sabbath,
1. I Reaffirm That I Trust God to Provide
The principle of Sabbath isn’t limited to the OT Law. One reason to believe that is where it comes from. It’s a precedent of creation and of the Exodus of Israel (Dt 5:15). Sabbath started when God took a break from working on the 7th day. That’s true for everyone. God created the world in 6 days. Amen? God rested on the 7th day. Amen? Why? Was He tired? No. Just like Jesus was baptized for our sakes, God was making a point by resting: rest is normal and good. OT law? No. This was over 2,000 yrs before God gave the Big 10. In fact, consider our calendar: Where do we get the idea that a year is 365 days? Space. Where do we get the idea for 12 months and that a month is 28 days, on a lunar calendar? Space. Where do we get the idea that a week is 7 days long? This one comes from the mouth of God.
Then, in Exodus ch 16, before the Law is given at Sinai, the Sabbath is mentioned again.
God is going to provide Israel with bread from heaven – Manna, they’ll call it. Every day, before the sun grows hot, they are to go out and gather it off the ground. They are to pick up just enough for each person, not hoarding it, and not saving any of it until the next day. Some of them gathered too much, tried to save some until the next morning “just in case,” and they got a special surprise: manna & maggots! But, on Friday morning, everyone was to gather up twice as much as usual, so that, on the Sabbath day they wouldn’t have to do the work of gathering it. And what happened? It didn’t spoil. It was a lesson from God: “Work and take time off like I tell you, and I’ll take care of your needs.”
Do you see that by pushing ourselves past our personal limits, by working without sufficient time off, we’re saying that God won’t take care of us?
Ill - Leroy Lawson remembers as a boy when his family-owned grocery store was facing heavy competition by stores that were opened for business on Sunday. Finally, his parents made the decision to do business on Sunday, and he traces the breakup of his home to that decision.
Don’t tell me that overwork without time off is just part of a good ol’ fashioned work ethic. Today, a farmer can produce 100X more than a farmer 100 years ago. Technology has enabled us to do far more, to produce far more, than our grandparents ever dreamed of. And we could have made the choice, as a nation, to have just as much and work much less. In fact, Juliet Schor in The Overworked American says that if we had cashed it in for time off instead of more money, America would now enjoy a 4-day work week or a 6-month work year with full pay. But what have we chosen? To work even more, so we can have even more – only we’re too busy to even enjoy what we have! Regardless, for most of us, Sabbath is an exercise of faith – a reaffirmation that everything doesn’t depend on just me after all. When I observe Sabbath rest, I reaffirm that I trust God to provide.
2. I Re-acknowledge That God Deserves Every Day
Tithing – giving 10% of our income – isn’t just a deal we make with God. “You get 1/10, I get the rest.” It’s a way of saying that all we have belongs to God. Sabbath is the same way. It’s not a deal we make with God. “You get one day, I get 6.” It’s another way of being reminded and testifying that every one of our days belongs to God anyway.
Stop and ask if this is where you’re at. When we fail at this, it usually starts with worry. When we worry, we tend to make money our god. That means we reject God. That means we reject God’s rest. That means we suffer a character failure.
As we look at these last 2 reasons for keeping the Sabbath principle we should point out that Sabbath isn’t just about the absence of work. It also involves the presence of worship.
Leviticus 23:3 "'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
This principle will be kept only when we not only have a regular time off from work, but also a regular time for worship. That’s why, when I observe Sabbath…
3. I Refresh Myself
Sabbath is such a basic principle that God even commanded it for the land:
Leviticus 25:2-4 "…the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.
Israel was to give the land a Sabbath. Farmers learned that land has to have a break to replenish its minerals, otherwise it becomes depleted. When a field is allowed to lie fallow, it will produce a better crop. The Jews may not have realized that a Sabbath for the land helped the soil to not become depleted, but it still taught an important lesson: even dirt needs a rest!
Guess what you and I are made out of!
Ill - Ron Mehl tells about a bowling alley in Beaverton, OR years ago where he learned something that amazed him. At this alley, every 2 weeks, all the bowling pins were put in storage and another set was taken out of storage. They would rotate the two sets every two weeks. Why? To give them a rest. It was discovered that if the wooden pins don’t get a rest they lose their vitality. They won’t bounce as much or be as “alive.” But give them some time off, and they come back stronger and with more life.
Ill – Imagine a running back in football who runs ahead of his blockers. At first, he may get an extra yard or two that way, but by the end of the season he’s useless from being clobbered so many times without blockers. All because he decided to run ahead of the plan.
I know it’s easy to get “heroic” and think we’re doing more by neglecting rest. I know this because I’ve been there! Reading on this subject, 2 different authors talked about the 23rd Psalm. Have you ever thought about the words there? “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul.” He makes me. One of these authors had a major heart attack. The other was grounded for a couple of months by mononucleosis.
Has God ever made you lie down in green pastures and restored your soul? When I observe Sabbath, I refresh myself.
4. I Reassess My Relationships and Life
There’s a protection built into Sabbath not only for myself, but also for those around me. Did you notice that the command is also for others?
“On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates”
Rick Atchley writes, “if we are not home enough to model our values by our presence, our families will lean our priorities by our absence.”
Ill – Years ago there was a song by Harry Chapin called “The Cat’s in the Cradle.” It’s about a busy father who’s never home as his son is growing up. The boy keeps saying he wants to be just like his dad, and the dad keeps saying that some day he’ll be home and they’ll have fun together then. It ends with the son growing up, the father seeking time with him, and the boy being too busy to visit his dad. The son had become just like him. The father thought the time demands were temporary and that opportunities with his loved ones were permanent. But exactly the opposite is true.
Have you considered, whether you feel the need for time off or not, that your family is pretty sure that you do?
What are the odds that work, school, or whatever demands that you face are going to suggest to you, “Hey, you really need to get some time with your spouse, your kids, and to just make sure that you’re building your home the way you should.”?
The odds are even lower that these demands are going to suggest you reassess your relationship with God.
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God" God repeats that message a lot throughout the Bible. Be still.
Ill - 11 years ago Michael J. Fox, in an interview with Barbara Walters was talking about his struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. One symptom is restlessness – you could see it in the interview as Michael kept squirming in his chair. The popular star of movies and TV said, “I had to not be able to be still before I could learn to be still.”
What is it about church camp, retreats, conferences, and things like that that makes them so powerful in our lives? I’ll tell you what it is – we set aside the busyness and reassess our relationships and lives, and especially our relationship with God.
Ill - WV coal mine country. A group of mules that were used in the mines were brought out each Saturday where they would spend the day outside. Someone asked why. “If the mules aren’t brought up into the light one day a week, they’ll go blind.”
By keeping the Sabbath holy, we keep ourselves whole. We need the time, not just away from work, but with God, and with God’s people.
Ill – There is a test for men learning to fly where they must close their eyes and the airplane is then turned and its attitude changed until the student can’t tell by his senses what way it’s headed. He can’t tell by looking out the window. He has to learn to look at the instruments and trust them beyond his senses and instincts.
We all need to shut out the confusing outside stuff and have quiet, meaningful time with God. Sabbath is a time when we can process a week’s propaganda through the filter of God’s unchanging principles for living a life of character – beyond our senses and instincts.
Ill – In the middle of the Watergate trials, Jeb McGruder was asked by a judge how he could enter into something that so clearly seemed wrong. He said, “Sir, somewhere along the line I lost my moral compass, and with it, the ability to navigate my life.” McGruder described to a tee what happens to people who don’t regularly stop and reassess their life. They lose their moral compass, and along with it the ability to navigate their life. There’s a way to avoid that.
Conclusion:
Are you tired of giving your life for the run?
Yeah. You’re tired. You can’t seem to think deeply about anything for more than 1 red traffic light.
You know that there’s a list of things you ought to do, but you have no idea when you’re even going to sit down to write the list. And you’re tired.
Jesus has some words for you.
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
God’s ways are not our ways, but they’re always the best way.
His way for the harried and helpless person of our age is rest – real rest.
Why fight that? Why keep putting it off?
