Sabbath:
Rest for the Rest of Creation
Scripture Text: Exodus 23.10-13
In the passage we just read - It talked about planting-and-harvesting, …the poor and wild-animals, ...oxen-and-donkeys, …slaves and foreigners. It’s-a-little-odd, isn’t it!?! ~ …I-mean ~ …what possible-connection could all of this have-to-do-with us!?! ~ …Who-among-us – when you heard the Scripture - Who-among-us felt inspired and encouraged by-this-passage?
Only-a-few of-us are farmers, …and the only wild-animals in this sanctuary are those who call themselves “Jayhawks” and “Wildcats”, …and, although some-of-us would admit that we’re as-stubborn as a donkey, …we’re not-really farm-animals! And-so… What’s this got-to-do with you-and-me ~ living in this part of the country, in this day-and-age?
BODY
I. “Farmers”
Well… the beginning-point of the passage doesn’t-really help us see an immediate-connection ~
For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused…
This is a specific word to farmers. For six years, plant and harvest. Till the ground. Help it produce and be productive. But, on the seventh year, the farmer is to let the land be. Let it lie. Let it do whatever it will. Now… you can just-about-bet that it’ll produce something ~ …but whatever springs up, isn’t for the farmer’s benefit.
Now, at-this-point, about 95% of us are thinking, “This-is-not for me! “I’m not a farmer and I don’t have fields.”
And-it’s-true: the kind of world that we live in is very-different than the world of ancient Israel. Their economy was driven by agriculture: …farming, …vineyards, …flocks and herds, …planting and harvesting. Our economy is based-on manufacturing and technology and service. We’re not in ‘touch’ with the earth as-much these-days. Most of us go to Dillon’s and browse through the produce-section ~ …our hands aren’t calloused from pushing the plow, …and our fingernails don’t have dirt imbedded under them from working the soil-of-the-earth.
Some of us are novice ‘farmers’; …or ‘hobby’-farmers. Maybe you’ve got a nice-little-patch of veggies growin’ in the backyard. But-really, …most-of-our-gardening-efforts are toying with a lifestyle that used-to-be the way-of-life for the vast-majority of people!
I wonder if the reason that some of us plant patches, …and hang baskets, …and till-up a few square feet in-order-to-grow some veggies ~ …I wonder if the reason some-of-us are compelled to do-this is because of the echoes of distant-vocations that pulse through our veins. Somewhere in the mist-of-history, …our grandparents farmed during the dust-bowl-days, …or you were raised on a farm ~ …only to leave the land when you headed for college and a different-kind-of-life. But the echoes continue to ripple through your hands and fingers: …that desire for connection-with-the-land… Have you ever seen a toddler pick-up a handful of dirt, …and put it in his mouth? And-then, see him smile!?! And-then, do-it-again!?! ~ Maybe that’s an indication that even in our infancy, we desire, …we crave some-sort-of-connection to the land!
You love to see the black-earth turned over; …as you drive along highway 96, you find yourself watching the custom-cutters with their gigantic combines; …and you dreamily-wish you could sit behind the wheel; …or you get a deep-sense of satisfaction whenever you pull the tomato from the vine… Echoes… Memories… But I think there’s something-more going-on ~ I think that these are faint-reminders that there really-is a fundamental-connection between ourselves and the rest of God’s good creation. And even-though we work in buildings made of cinder-block, cement and dry-wall, …instead-of, in the great-outdoors; …and even-though our fingers are used-to-gracing the keyboard, …instead-of swingin’ a hoe; …and filling-out-forms, …rather-than pullin’ weeds; …and even-though we prefer an air-conditioned environment with the smell of air-fresheners and perfumes~ …and our nasal-passage convulses when we get a whiff of raw-farm-life… Still… God wants us to remember that human-beings are a part of the rest of creation. We are created, …just-like the flowers and the trees, …the beasts of the field and the wild-animals that lurk in the shadows. We are created, …just-like the oxygen that blankets the planet, …and the soil that lies beneath our feet. There is a fundamental-connection between ourselves and the rest of God’s creation ~ …and that basic-link: …that we are created, …and that we - (along with the beasts-and-birds, the sky-and-seas, …the seeds and the soil) – …we-all have a common Creator ~ …that basic-link stands behind the scriptural-commands to observe Sabbath-rest.
Terrence Fretheim - a great student of the Old Testament – says this:
“The… worship of God is to manifest itself in everyday life by the way in which people and animals are treated. The character of worship and the quality of life are inseparably interwoven.
“The character of worship and the quality of life are inseparably interwoven.”
In-other-words, …the people-of-Israel are not simply to go to the Temple, …offer their sacrifices, …eat some sacred meals, …and participate in some-sacred-ritual ~ …and that’s-the-extent of what God requires (or expects) of them.
No… God’s people act-like God’s-people in all areas of life. And-here’s-the-deal: God commands us to rest, …to have a weekly Sabbath, …because life is less-about-producing and more-about celebrating our Creator! God commands that the earth be allowed to rest, …to have a break every seven years, …because its existence and its purposes ultimately are-defined by God, …and not by those who of us who manage it…
We’ve got to remember that we are not owners, …we are stewards; …and we are not machines, …we are creatures; …and we are not sovereign, …but God is!
Ultimately the earth, and it’s creatures belong to the Lord …and while He provides produce to the farmer for his toil, …every seventh-year, God chooses to let the land rest ~ …and if there’s any produce, then other members of His Creation will benefit from it: …the poor, …wild animals, …those who have nothing of-their-own.
So, this passage is obviously a word-to-farmers, …but, what we need to see is that there’s something goin’ on behind these-commands that’s much-bigger than the specifics that are written on the page. To let-the-land-rest, …and to take-a-Sabbath for ourselves, …and to somehow-see the connection between these-commands and God’s-concern-for-the-poor, …and-for the very-soil-itself – ...These are specific-applications of a great-big-principle that is woven into all-of-creation!
II. The Sabbath Principle
And I’m gonna call this-principle: The Sabbath Principle.
The Sabbath-principle is a reality that’s just-as-real as the laws-of-physics, …and the rules-of-attraction, …and the ‘inalienable-rights’ that our nation is founded on. The Sabbath-principle is just-as-real as any-of-these-things!
When God spoke, the heavens and the earth came into existence… When He said, “Let the land produce vegetation…”, …and, “Let the water teem with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth…”, …and “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds…” …when God did the business-of-creating all-that-is, …He built-into-His-creation, the Sabbath-principle: That, all-things need rest.
In the past few-weeks, …we’ve dealt with different aspects of Sabbath-keeping: …that one-of-the-main aspects is remembering God’s work on our behalf; …and that Sabbath is a time for God’s people to gather together and worship Him (for He’s worthy of our praise and adoration); …and-last-week, we were reminded that Sabbath is also a time to rest. Different-aspects of Sabbath-keeping.
But-today I hope-we-see that this Sabbath principle is woven into the fabric of creation-itself. God didn’t add it on, as-an-after-thought. The Sabbath-principle was an integral-piece of God’s original-creative-work. I-mean, the first-expression of it, was-when God paused at the end of each-creative-act ~ …to survey and to evaluate the work-of-the-day, …and at each stage, God declared, “It is good!” But, that-act-of-pause and reflection ~ …that’s an expression of this principle that we’re calling the Sabbath-principle.
It’s most-evident, though, …when, on-the-seventh-day-of-creation,
God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Gen 2.2-3)
We usually think of this as the clearest-example of the Sabbath-principle: …that God-Himself rested.
Later-on, …when God makes Sabbath-keeping one-of-the-Top-Ten (i.e., the Ten Commandments), …we know that it’s not some-random-thing that God came-up-with to try to burden the people with arbitrary rules-and-regulations… No! This is something that God designed into the blueprint of all of His creation, …even, God-Himself, takes-a-break from doing and producing and hurrying-and-scurrying.
Is-it-any-wonder ~ …that-if God took a Sabbath-rest, Himself, …and if God desires that His people observe-the-Sabbath, also ~ …is it any wonder that Creator-God also plans for other-aspects of His-creation to-need, …to-require Sabbath-rest, too?
The Exodus-passage that we’re focusing on today takes the Sabbath-principle and applies it to a variety of other parts-of-God’s-beloved-creation: …every seventh-year, …the soil is to rest; …and if anything-grows in the field, …or on-the-vine, during that Sabbath-year, …well, that’s for the poor and the wild-animals ~ …which, btw: makes their daily-struggles-for-survival much-easier!, …and they don’t have to work-so-hard to have-food during a Sabbath-year; …and-so, …the Sabbath-principle applies to God’s people, …and-to God’s land, …but as we work-further-down in the passage, …we find other-applications of the principle: …on the Sabbath-day, …the beasts of burden (oxen and donkeys) are to-rest, as-well; …and servants-and-slaves, and foreigners-and-aliens ~ …Everybody and everything is to enjoy a Sabbath because, the Sabbath-principle is a design-feature on God’s blueprint for Creation!
Doesn’t that just-blow-you-away!?! ~ I-mean, …I’m not sure I’ve ever fully-appreciated that! I’ve thought of the command to keep-Sabbath as a good-idea, …but-really, …that it was an add-on-feature, …or an option-that-could-be-added to the base-model! But-no! It’s right-there, in the Top-Ten list ~ …right-there with “Don’t worship other gods, ...and “Don’t bow to idols, ...and “Don’t kill, …and “Don’t lie, …and “Honor your father and your mother” ~ …Sabbath-keeping is no secondary-after-thought. It’s big-stuff… So-big, in-fact, that it’s a sign of a kingdom-principle, …a fundamental-reality for all-of-creation: …It’s not-just-something for church-goers, …but, it applies to the whole-of-humanity, …and the animal-kingdom, …and-even the soil-of-the-earth.
The Sabbath-principle!: Rest for the rest of creation!
III. Bringin’ It Home
Don’t-ya-find-it-interesting ~ …that right after you have these-commands about letting servants-and-slaves, and oxen-and-donkeys, …and-even the earth-itself… …that right after these broad, sweeping commands to rest ~ …isn’t it interesting that we immediately-read:
Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips. (Ex 23.13)
What does this have to do with the commands to observe Sabbath – …for ourselves or for the earth?
Here’s what I think it means: The other ‘gods’ are those of ‘success’ and ‘production’ and ‘material gain’.
Aren’t these the things that we’re tempted to bow down to? Aren’t these the things that we’re tempted to believe in? Are these not the things that drive us to produce more and more? Are these not the things that strike fear in our hearts at honoring the Sabbath? “If I close the store on Sunday, “…my competitor will gain the edge. “If I don’t plant the ground, “…my income will be cut!” “If I truly take-time-to-rest, “…I’ll fall behind, …or something will fall-apart, …or I’ll be a slackard!”
Isn’t it funny how the question of whether or not to observe Sabbath brings us back to faith and trust!?! Do we trust that God knows what He’s doing? Do we believe God will take care of us and to provide for us? Do we truly have faith that God’s ways are best? Do we truly trust that if I obey, …that this is what’s best for me, …my family, …even, my world?
CONCLUSION
The goal of this sermon series to open our minds and to challenge each-one-of-us. I hope that you’ve seen that Sabbath-keeping is a much-bigger-deal than what you used-to-think; …and-that there’s a much broader-and-deeper purpose for Sabbath-observance. I think it has been challenging, too. It’s challenged us to look at the ways in which we dismiss Sabbath-keeping, …or excuse our busyness.
But-really, what I hope we’ve discovered is that the Sabbath is a gift from God. And like all gifts, it is to elicit praise and thanksgiving from us. Out-of-the-magnitude of God’s love for His creation, …God instituted the blessing of rest!
And I think that every time we keep Sabbath ~ …in all it’s aspects (remembering, worshiping, and resting) …keeping Sabbath in all it’s aspects, we hear echoes of Eden. God took great pleasure in His handiwork… declared each stage,“good” ~ …the stones and the fields, …the seas and the sky, …the mountains and the plains, …the beasts and the birds, …the fish and the fauna ~ …God took a look at what He’d made and He declared it all to be “good”. But ~ as the New Testament says, “the whole creation groans in anticipation of our redemption”!
Should we not-also-seek to manage not-just-our-persona-time in God-honoring ways, …but also the rest of God’s creation in ways that please God? One-of those-ways, is in terms of Sabbath-rest for the rest of creation. The earth needs rest. The Creation requires rest. God wills it. And I think that the-fact-that God cares so much about the rest-of-creation, …that He would include them in the blessing of Sabbath, …I think that gives us a glimpse into the heart-of-God, …and how-much He loves all of His handiwork!... He loves you. He loves me. He loves children. He loves grand-parents. But, He also loves the earth ~ in all-its-variety and beauty. And, He loves the creatures that inhabit the globe.
And-so, What possible-connection does the Exodus passage have to do with us, …and life in today’s day-and-age?
It helps us see that God cares about all of His handiwork. And, if God cares about letting the soil and beasts-of-burden, and foreigners-and-slaves ~ …if God cares about them-also-experiencing the blessing of Sabbath-rest, …then God’s heart is even-bigger than I usually give Him credit for! God’s love is amazing! God’s love is wonderful. God’s love is indescribable!
