“Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.”  –Exodus 20:8

It is so easy to get caught up in the daily grind and the rhythm of our work. We busy ourselves with doing and easily forget to make time to just be. Taking rest is an imperative spelled out in the Bible, and yet we brush off any such thought as crazy talk.

Sabbath.

God commands us to rest. It is right there in the big 10 that were etched in stone so Moses wouldn’t forget to share it with the people when he came back down the mountain after being in the shining glow of God’s presence.

Of all the commandments mentioned in Exodus 20, more detail is put into honoring sabbath. It is the longest entry in this section, perhaps as some of the other laws of God are pretty obvious: don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t covet what your neighbors have and honor the authority of your parents. But taking time to rest is a nebulous concept that we often fail to deem as a holy commandment.

Exodus 20:8-10 says this, “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.”

Sabbath, or shabbat in Hebrew, means to cease, to end, to rest. It is a valuable gift from God that we often fail to put into practice. So, over the next few Sundays we will remind ourselves of the commandment to rest, refuel, and to sit with God in life giving ways.

It is good to be home after a most wonderful vacation (indeed, having taken sabbath rest, I am reminded of the value and importance). I am rejuvenated and ready to creatively lead Sun City Christian Church into the next chapter of our ministry together! See you Sunday. 

Rev. Brett