Volume 05, Issue 07: Sabbath Rest

I get so excited when I learn something new. Sometimes it’s not something entirely new but something I knew at the back of my mind, but the way I come across it again makes it an aha moment for me. I have always known about keeping the Sabbath day holy, after all, it’s one of the Ten Commandments. But coming across it now has brought such new revelation for me.

I work half day on Fridays, and for some unknown reason, I never want to have anything scheduled for Friday afternoon. I just want to go home and rest or read. I do my grocery shopping for the week and salon visit before then, finish with the week’s laundry at the latest Friday morning. I never even want to cook or take care of any meal preparations that afternoon. My Saturdays are flexible. I spend most of them at home with family and reading when I don’t have a ministry engagement, a learning event, a visitation or attending a social function. Come Sunday morning it’s a rush at my house, at least for me. It appears the rest of the family understands it’s time to slow down. I make a special breakfast and I get upset if we don’t leave the house on time for church service because I don’t want to be late for worship. After 2 hours in church, we go back home and I spend about two hours in the kitchen preparing lunch and cleaning up after. Lately I have found myself sneaking in some laundry work on Sunday mornings. I quickly run a wash or two in the washer and spend time airing the laundry.

This week I got a great revelation. I have not been having a full Sabbath rest. I psychologically split it between Friday afternoon and part of Sunday. Bottom line is, I have not been observing and honouring the Lord’s Sabbath.

This is the one commandment that many of us break without noticing. I am guilty as charged. Most of us think that the fourth commandment is all about going to Church on Sunday morning. God had more in mind when he commanded us to keep the Sabbath holy.

God requires us to do all our work in 6 days and rest on the 7th day. Interesting to note is that the 7th day isn’t necessarily a Sunday. A pastor’s Sabbath day for instance can’t certainly be on a Sunday because he/she is working that day running church services. Likewise, your Sabbath day doesn’t necessarily have to be a Sunday. God did not specify which day of the week is the 7th day, and depending on our schedules, this day can vary from house to house, from person to person.

The Sabbath is not the kind of rush we put ourselves and children through on Sunday morning. It is about rest and joy. Keeping the Sabbath day holy is about dedicating 1 day of the week for rest and celebration, where we unplug from all our work and the rush and demands of life.

The foundations for keeping the Sabbath are as follows;

• God commanded it. The Sabbath is about obedience (Exodus 20:8-11).
• The Sabbath is a sign between us and God that we belong to him (Ezekiel 20:12).
• The Sabbath is a sign and symbol to our children and generations to come that God has made us holy (Exodus 31:13).
• If we treat the Sabbath as a day of joy and rest by refusing to carry on business as usual, God promises to bless us (Isaiah 58:13-14).
• If we obey the command to rest and not use it for production or to get ahead, God will look after our needs (Exodus 16:4).

The Sabbath is not our day off work when we get to run around running errands, shopping, cleaning, or doing our own thing. These activities constitute work.

The Sabbath is not doing anything else except our usual work. Sabbath rest means unplugging from all work.

Lillian Chebosi