Into The Breach – Practices Of A Christian ManSample

Day 5 — Keep the Sabbath

Read: Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Our society has become so accustomed to a weekend break that we don’t realize what a radical concept a day of rest was in ancient times. A weekly day of rest has no parallel in any other ancient culture and can rightly be called one of the greatest gifts of Israelite culture to human civilization. Honoring the Sabbath is enshrined in the Ten Commandments (v. 12). It is history’s first and greatest worker protection act. Rather than dividing work and leisure along a class line like other societies, leisure being reserved for the ruling classes and never for the laboring classes, the Jewish Sabbath divides work and leisure along a time line: “Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God” (vv. 13-14 NABRE). 

The primary character of the Sabbath in the Bible is rest. It provides for a cyclical release from the tyranny of unrelenting, ceaseless labor. Yet, the Sabbath is not just a holiday to rest up for another week of work. The Israelites are commanded to “keep it holy,” to reserve the Sabbath as a day consecrated to God and to pursuits associated with people’s relationship with God. God’s gift of the Sabbath must be observed by all: men and women, landowners and slaves, Israelites and foreigners, and even animals. The barriers and divisions that human striving has erected are broken down on the Sabbath, anticipating the new creation that God will bring about in the world. 

The early Christians transferred the holy day of worship from the last day of the week to the first day of the week, the day of the Lord’s resurrection. On the Lord’s Day, Christians gathered for the Eucharist. Followers of Jesus must honor the Lord’s Day, keeping it a holy day for worship and leisure, avoiding unnecessary work, enjoying family and the beauty of the earth. 

REFLECT: What can I do to sanctify the Lord’s Day for leisure, worship, and rest? 

PRAY: Creator and Redeemer, who calls your people to respect the rhythm of work and leisure, teach me how to work well and to rest well, always grateful for your blessings.