Remember The Sabbath

July 14, 2008

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-10)

As I become older my memory has become not so keen. Although I may not remember new acquaintance’s names and I have to make grocery lists, lists of things to do and mark my calendar, and forget a few unimportant things, but one thing I can never forget no matter how old I may get to be, and that is the Christian Sabbath.

Within the first hundred years after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, the early Church began keeping their Sabbath on the First Day of the week, Sunday. This was the day Jesus rose from the dead and they remembered Jesus’ resurrection every First Day of the week by religious observance and a day of rest. We, like they did, meet together to corporately worship and celebrate Jesus. Even God rested on the seventh day from His labors of creation. God makes time sacred by declaring the Sabbath day holy. The first or the seventh day (the Jewish Sabbath), whichever we choose, should be kept holy and separate, unlike all other days.

As most of the Ten Commandments have been compromised, over the years the fourth commandment also has been compromised. Notice these are called “Commandments” not options. The eighth through the tenth verses of Exodus 20 details this commandment in how to keep it holy – “withdraw from common employment and that it should be dedicated to God” (Amp.).

I remember when I was very young some states and Canada enacted what was called a “blue law.” This law was designed to enforce religious standards and observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest,with prohibition of any commerce on Sunday, with the exception of groceries and drugs. Some have repealed the law and some declared the law unconstitutional and some just don’t enforce it. There are still some places where this law is still enforced due to religious principles and others retain the law as a matter of tradition or convenience.

When we moved to Marshall in 1966 this “Blue Law” was still in effect. I don’t know if it is still on the books, has been repealed or just isn’t enforced. I still am very hesitant to go shopping on Sunday for unnecessary things, and I really don’t like to eat out on Sunday because I think if all of the "church people" would go home to eat and we would do our shopping the rest of the week, then all the restaurant and store workers could go to church and have a day of rest. I have thought about this commandment a lot. I don’t want to be legalistic or hard-nosed about it, but I do want to obey it, without compromising. There are circumstances that call for buying on Sunday, but I want to be very conscientious about it.

I believe God put every word in His Word for a reason. He wants the best for us. He doesn’t want to ruin our fun or keep us from making money but I believe He saw we greatly needed a day that we could focus just on Him, not all the activities we do all week long. A good example is Chick-fil-A. Their owners are Christians and made that decision from the beginning not to stay open on Sunday to honor God and directing their attentions to things that mattered more than their business. The Lord has blessed their commitment to honor the Christian Sabbath and they now are one of the fastest growing fast food chains in America. I believe the love of money is the main reason for Christian business people to compromise the Fourth Commandment. God never blesses disobedience but always blesses obedience in more ways than in monetary gain.

Let’s look at the Hebrew meanings in the key words of this scripture. “Remember” means to, “to mark as to be recognized.” Recognize it as a day that God has purified and set apart (made “holy”) from the other days of the week for us to rest and worship. “Sabbath” means “rest.” This rest doesn’t mean we have to nap and lay-around all day but we rest from our manual labors. Worshipping the Lord is a wonderful way to rest. Enjoying the fellowship of others, group or individual Bible study, playing games and enjoying God’s creation – all are ways to “rest.”

I read some statistics several years ago of workers in Russia who worked seven days a week, never having a day of rest. Their health was poor and their life span was much lower than others who had a day of rest. God didn’t need to rest on the seventh day but He set an example for us, who do need a day of rest. Let’s plan our week so we can enjoy a day of rest and worship. Let’s “withdraw from common employment and be dedicated to God for one day” – the rewards are great!