Worship or Rest? What is the sabbath all about?
Because I live in a community that has a high concentration of Sevent-day Adventists–brothers and sisters in the Lord that I have come to appreciate and love–the concept of the sabbath is a pretty big deal. If you read scripture the sabbath is a pretty big deal. But I’ve always been curious about why it seems so controversial–at least in our neighborhoods.
Questions run the gambit of whether or not the sabbath is Saturday or Sunday, did those who moved us to the current calendar somehow mess up in the translation from Hebrew to western calendar systems? Is our Saturday really the original saturday that the Jewish people celebrated on? Did New Testament churches move the sabbath to Sunday, the “Lord’s Day” in order to celebrate the power and transformation of the resurrection? Does this all even matter? And the list goes on.
My mind is put to rest with the following thoughts, which I know will be questioned by some or many–it’s just the conviction I’ve landed on.
A DAY OF REST
A brother in our church challenged me to find somewhere in scripture where God says the sabbath is about worship… as in you must “worship” on the sabbath, which seems to be a huge part of the Seventh-day persuasion.
Well, I didn’t find anywhere that declares the sabbath as a day of worship. What I did find is the command that the sabbath is a day of “rest”. That sounds different then worship, not that we shouldn’t worship Jesus on the sabbath or every other day of the week–our worship should be a constant in our lives. But everywhere I see the sabbath as a command it is in regard to holiness and rest. This is a huge challenge to our American culture and one that we miss too often.
Our bodies need rest, our soul needs rest, our spirits need rest. God knew what He was talking about.
THE SIGN of SANCTIFICATION
Another biblical truth, regarding the sabbath, jumped out at me as I read my devotional today. Something I missed, but something that I think is very powerful and eternal. Check out Exodus 31:13
God says that the sabbath is a sign. A sign of what? “…for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”
The sabbath is a day to be reminded that it is God alone that purifies us, washes us, makes us holy and sets us apart for an amazing purpose that brings glory to God. This is God sanctifying us.
Combining these two purposes of the sabbath brings about an amazing peace to our soul. When we can learn to rest in the process that God takes us through… truly fall without flinching into the arms of our creator and give him 100% permission to complete the work He began in us… we have captured the heart of the sabbath.
Worship on the sabbath… absolutely, but Jesus told a Samaritan woman he bumped into at a watering hole something I have spent much time thinking about. Jesus essentially said… Worship isn’t about Samariah or Jerusalem. True worship isn’t about a day or a sanctified place… rather a sanctified person. True worship is when you worship from a place of truth and honesty. Jesus elevated worship beyond physical places and times. We must worship God with our whole lives and our entire calendar and in the process of worship guard the sacred day of sabbath rest and restoration.
This may not sit theologically firm in the hearts of my Seventh-day brothers and sisters, but it is where my heart rests. I’m far from attaining this call, but my heart longs for times of rest, refreshing and sanctification.
God takes the sabbath seriously… we should too. So, what are you going to do about the protecting your sabbath rest?