Labor Day
Exodus 20:9-10: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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.”
Greetings:
The International Labor day is created for the purpose of celebrating the Laborer. Labor Day is an annual holiday declared in most of the countries to celebrate the achievements of workers. May Day, day commemorating the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labor movement, observed in many countries on May 1. The eight hour work day strike in 1856 in Australia group of employees had an Eight hour working strike. Latter brought order, policies, and safety for working Class and a grant of leave to all labors. So, the leave came to be celebration of Workers achievements, talents and gifts invested on everyone.
Exodus 20:9-10 has three principles: 1. Six days you must work, 2. Seventh day is the day of rest, and 3. Keep the seventh day. This fourth commandment is a call to remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy, and rest in it.
I would like to share with you three things on this May Day. The work is ordained for men, the blessings are ordained for men, and the rest is ordained for men based on three Bible passages (Exodus 20:9-10, Mark 6:31-33).
1. Work is ordained for Man:
If you want to enjoy more, if you want to live long, if you want to be blessed in everything and every place then work only for six days. Close your office on Sunday. Retreat on that day. Change your course of action for a day.
Jesus Himself said, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working (John 5:17). We are commanded to work six days. “He who idles his time away in the six days is equally culpable in the sight of God as he who works on the seventh” (Clarke).
God commanded man to till the ground and labor for his livelihood (Genesis 2:15, 3:19). He has to work for six days in a week (Exodus 20:9, Deuteronomy 5:13). God knows our work. God looks into our Labor. Whatever may be the Job we are engaged, employed (Genesis 31:42, Deuteronomy 26:7).
The book of Ecclesiastes teaches that employment or a job is a gift of God, it gives satisfaction, and it comes from the hand of God (Ecclesiastes 2:10, 2:24, 3:13, 5:18, 19). Do the Job with wisdom, knowledge, equity and interest (Ecclesiastes 2:21).
2. Blessing is Ordained for Man:
Jacob says that the Lord has seen my labor and rewarded me, he has seen the labor of the bonded slaves at Egypt (Genesis 31:42, Deuteronomy 26:7). He heard their cries, injustice done to them. He labors with us, he is present in our planning, workouts, executions as Psalm 127:1 says that “Unless the Lord builds” everything is in vain. He allows us and blesses us to eat the labor of our hands (Psalm 128:2).
The Proverbs throws some of the important lessons about the labor. The wages of the righteous brings life. God blesses the savings done in a little bit little, it grows slow and steady. The wealth through labor of Integrity, All hard labor brings profit (Proverbs 10:16, 13:11, and 14:23). Godless work is chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11).
Every night we should speak to our Soul, “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.” (Psalm 116:7).
3. Rest is ordained for man:
Rest is one of the themes that runs from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis, God “rested on the seventh day” of creation (Gen. 2:2). In Revelation, we are promised an eternal rest: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord … they will rest from their labors.” Every seventh day is a Labor's day. Seventh day is the sacred day of assembly (Leviticus 23:3).
The word Sabbath is found in the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments, and is presented as a positive formulation. Sabbath is found in Exodus 20:1-17, and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Scholars have recognized this: “Deuteronomy is more explicit than Exodus regarding the Sabbath commandment.” “Deuteronomy’s distinctive formulation of the Ten Commandments increases the importance of the Sabbath.” The Sabbath commandment “is at the center of the pattern. The Sabbath commandment is given a central, mediating position.”
Come rest a while (Mark 6:31-32): He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while” —for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat. Rest is defined as refreshing yourself from sleeping or relaxing, inactivity after exerting yourself or rejuvenating yourself by lying down. It's also defined as alleviating weariness.
William Barclay talks of two dangers in Christian life. First is the danger of excessive activity, work without rest, and working for God without listening to God, and without having time with God. Second is the danger of too much withdrawal. The devotion that does not lead to action is not real devotion. Prayer that does not make you work is not real prayer.
We need to eat Food and Rest: Jesus told his disciples about the importance of Food, Rest, and being away from the noisy situations, away from cries, and concerns. Rest without a work: Rest is found in being in the place God wants you to be—both literally and spiritually. Canaan, the promised land, was called “the resting place” (Deuteronomy 12:9). The resting place is free from interruptions (Barnes). It shouldn’t become another camps office, a Holiday office. In 2 Chronicles 20:17, God tells his people to “position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with you.” Quiet time with Christ.
Conclusion:
“He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:29-31).
