Moses has had quite a time spent with God on the mountain. Today’s reading will conclude God’s message to Moses for the people. It’s not a new message. God’s desire for us is to rest. Sabbath rest. The death part was a little shocking I must admit. It does help to understand why the Pharisees were so appalled when Jesus did “work.” They were so literal. However, when God says you will die if you do work, one should definitely listen!
So what constitutes work? While we get more details here, God is more focused on “why” Sabbath rather than what is work.
Why do we rest? So we may know God. He is giving us something holy. He is giving us a day set apart to honor him. We are to be refreshed on the 7th day, just as the Lord was refreshed after creating our world. I don’t know about you, but after working hard for 6 days, cramming so many activities on top of a full day of work, having a day of rest sounds pretty fantastic.
Do you take a day for Sabbath? What does your day of non-work look like? David and I have been a lot more intentional about taking Sabbath rest as a couple since we retired. Before that, Sundays (the day I would typically think of for Sabbath rest) and Saturdays were David’s big “work” days. As a pastor, weekends were not a restful time. They were his busy days. His Sabbath would be on a weekday when I was off toiling at my job.
Sharing a Sabbath rest has been great. Sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday has become our new day of rest. As of a couple of months ago, however, David has been officially serving our church as interim pastor. So, our Sabbath has taken a bit of a hit. However, our missionary service is a lot less demanding than serving a large congregation or even a small country church.
God still intends for us to rest. Living in Mexico has really helped us with resting. The culture is so laid back. We don’t feel the urgency or stress of high expectations. Do we still want to be excellent for God? Absolutely. But our life experience has shaped us both in such a way that when we share, we are sharing our best, the gifts God has given us. God has shaped us for this moment.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen anyone be struck down dead for working on a Sabbath. There were plenty of years I worked all 7 days, trying to fit everything into a weekend that didn’t get done during the week. Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning the house – I’m sure I wasn’t alone. I am still alive.
What I can tell you, is that since being more intentional about rest, my work has been way more effective. Being refreshed is the way to go. Again, God knows what he’s doing.
Let’s pray. Lord, I look forward to my Sabbath rest with you each week. While there may be some “work” involved, it is more “servant work” rather than “toil work.” When I can focus on you, God, it doesn’t feel like work. Thank you for your great plan for me. May I honor you in all I do and say. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
