Most everyone has heard the Old Testament view of working on the Sabbath, taking a day off to rest. It was real serious back then. Exodus 31:14,15 NASB says,” Therefore you are to observe the sabbath for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 For six days work may be done , but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.” Death or excommunicated , neither one sounds like a choice I would want to face. The sabbath was serious. What does it even mean? By Merriam- Webster’s definition it is a weekly day of rest and solemn worship that is observed on Sunday by most Christians and on Saturday(from Friday evening to Saturday evening) by Jews and some Christians. At biblestudytools.com the meaning and definition is this (Hebrew verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”) the day of rest. So a day of rest and worship, is it really that important? In this blog post we will look at why it is.
First of all, it is a covenant with God. Exodus 31:16 says, “So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.” But what if I’m busy? Exodus 34:21 says, “You shall work six days , but on the seventh day you shall rest, even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.”
Take rest when it is offered to you or when you can. The Israelites were offered rest from God on occasions and refused to take it. In Jeremiah we see it offered then refused. Jeremiah 6:16 “ Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it’; ‘And you shall find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’’ In Isaiah we see them refuse again. Isaiah 28:12 says, “ He who said to them, ‘Here is rest, give to the weary’, and ‘Here is repose,’ but they would not listen.” In Isaiah 30:15, God offers instruction for rest and strength, For thus the Lord God the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you shall be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.’ But you were not willing.” Hebrews 4:1–6 shows it offered and why it isn’t received. “Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, anyone of you should seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also, but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, ‘As I Swore In My Wrath They Shall Not Enter My Rest.’ Although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has then said somewhere concerning the seventh day, ‘And God Rested On The Seventh Day From All His Works.’ 5 and again in this passage, ‘They Shall Not Enter My Rest.’ 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience.” Paul admonishes us to enter God’s rest in Hebrews 4:10,11 “ For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.” We must learn from the mistakes of those before us and even us ourselves. Let’s receive what graciously has been given by God!
Next, we see in Mark 6:31 Jesus tells His disciples to enter rest. “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)” This shows us that even the disciples got caught up in their work and busy life and had to be reminded of the importance of rest. I’ve always heard it said that if we don’t take time to rest and to fill up or own spiritual gas tanks how are we going to pour out to others? We see Jesus again offer rest to those who need it in Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy- laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and You Shall Find Rest For Your Souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” We also see it offered to the Israelites in Exodus 33:14, “And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Again in Psalms 116:17, “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountiful with you.”
As we have seen, God has offered up rest to His people from the beginning. Let’s learn from the Israelites’ disobedience and receive the rest that God has for us. In researching rest in the Bible, I found that it is connected to at least five other topics; quietness, satisfaction, contentment, peace and ancient or right paths. In the weeks to come, I will be posting on each of them. So follow along and see the big picture of the rest that God has for us here on earth. Thanks for reading and remember to rest- take it easy.