As you read yesterday’s account of creation, you’ll note I stopped with Day 6. That’s where Chapter 1 ended, and it seemed a good place to stop. Today the focus is on Day 7, the day God rested. He declared that day holy. God intends for his people to do the same. Work their tails off for 6 days, and then spend time getting refreshed on the 7th day, the holy day.
You may recall in Hebrews, we spent time looking at rest in THIS POST. There are other places in the Bible, too, that remind us what God intends for us. I love when Scripture points to Scripture. You know that it is something to pay attention to.
Exodus 20:8-11 says, “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”
God did this for us. A couple verses later in Exodus 31:16-17, “The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.”
God knows how hard we work. He knows how exhausted we get from our daily tasks. He knows how much better it is for us to take a day to regroup and refresh our bodies, our hearts, and our minds. Think how much more productive we’d be if we all took the day of rest he intends.
Even when we do take time off from work, do we really take time off, or are we just filling our days with some other tasks, errands, chores, or the like. Do you actually rest, take a nap, dig into the Bible, spend hours in prayer, etc. I know people who do, and I applaud them. I don’t think I’ve ever given a full and complete day with no side task of work and only devotion time. That is something surely to work for. How much more refreshed I’m sure I’d feel.
But I hear you thinking, how will I get all my work done? There are dishes to wash, clothes to launder, groceries to buy. I’m right there with you. But I’m confident that if we are obedient, God is going to help us find a way to get those other “distractions” done some other time. Not many of us test him on that. We are too busy trying to hold on to the control of our time. As I write this I’m a little embarrassed to admit my own failings in this regard. I am doing much better than I used to, but I’ve still got a ways to go.
Ask: What does this say about my relationship with God if I can’t give him one day?
In case you’re also thinking this was just for the people of Israel and those in the first covenant. Jesus came and changed things, didn’t he? Jesus did shake up the Sabbath day several times with healings and such, but he always observed the holy day. We should, too. It is a permanent obligation for all time. It is a commandment from the Lord. God modeled it first. He isn’t asking us to do anything he hasn’t already done. He will provide for us if we give him what he requests.
Let’s pray. Lord, help me to do a better job of giving you my full attention for at least one day. You showed us how we work hard for 6 days and then spend a day of rest, holy rest in You. Give me peace that I can still get it all done. Maybe I need to cut out some things that are unnecessary and holding me back. Help me to continue with the activities consistent with the future you have in store for me. Clear my head of all distractions so that I can focus on you and you alone. Bring me to the place of quiet rest in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
