Intro:Most of us live for the weekend. It is ingrained in us from school. There is nothing like coming home on a Friday after class and playing without the responsibility of homework.
As we get older, we learn that work is still not that much fun and so we continue the pattern of living for the weekend. Everybody’s working for the weekend. We even have a restaurant dedicated to our celebration of the weekend: TGiF.
In the OT the folks did not work 5 days. They did not live by alarm clocks. They knew nothing of 9-5. They worked 6 days, got up with the sun and quit when it was dark. If they lived for anything they lived for a day to rest.
Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-15
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
New International Version
Think:
I am not qualified to talk about the Sabbath. I am not sure I fully understand it. What is clear is the following:
*Work 6 days
*Work as hard as you want – wear yourself out
*Set apart one day as a day of rest
*The Sabbath rest is based on pattern and principle. The pattern is that God rested. He wasn’t tired! He rested and reflected on his labor. The principle is that he can do more with your 6 days of labor than you can with all 7 on your own! We can trust the Lord with the outcome of our labor.
*This day of rest set apart the Jews from the rest of the world – that is the gist of verse 15. God had proven he could take care of them. If they trusted him he would take care of them and they would rest.
*There has to be health benefits to this. The stress is killing us! Rest might do us good.
Do:
How well do you rest? Do you set aside 1 whole day where you will not advance your career or money making opportunities? Do you trust God that he can do more with your 6 days than you can with all 7? Do you believe that God can make you the top performer in your company by working less? Are you willing to PLAN your week so you can rest?
This is the reason DevoLink is written 6 days only. I want a rest from the writing. I want the opportunity to be with my family on Saturday night.
This day of rest does not exclude us from showing mercy toward others. This is not “No work” day! This is a day to not advance our interests in money making adventures. This is a day to trust the Lord. This is a day to reflect on God’s word. This is a day to rest and reflect. This is a day to recreate yourself.
Go throw a frisbee. Go help a friend move. Go and enjoy the lake, ocean, mountain, whatever. Go and enjoy God’s creation. Go play softball. Do all these things but make sure you rest your stress. Relax. Reflect. It will do you good and allow God freedom to show himself to you!
DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.
