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The Weekly Rest
Read Genesis 2:1–3 and Exodus 20:8–11. What do these verses tell us about just how fundamental the whole idea of rest is?
God rested on the seventh day, after completing the work of creation. The Hebrew verb for “rested” there comes from the same word designated “Sabbath” (Shabbat). This fact shows just how ingrained into the fabric of creation itself the seventh-day Shabbat and the rest it offers really are. However hard for us to fully grasp, the text makes it clear that God Himself rested on the Sabbath day.
Jesus said “ ‘The Sabbath was made for man not, and man for the Sabbath!’ ” (Mark 2:27, NKJV). What was the context of the statement, and what did He mean?
Though it is so easy to get caught up in rules and regulations, we never must forget that the Sabbath is a day for our benefit. It is for reflection and enjoyment of the wonderful gifts our God has given us. It is a time to contemplate God’s goodness. The Sabbath is a perpetual sign of our recognition of His love. The good news of the Sabbath is that, through keeping it, we do not just talk about “resting in Christ,” but we—in a very real and tangible way—express that rest, showing that we trust in Christ’s works for us, and not our own, as the way of salvation.
Besides all the spiritual benefits, the Sabbath provides us a time to step aside from the toil and struggles and stress and fatigue of the week. Sabbath is God’s way of allowing us, without guilt, to truly relax, to rest, to take it easy and unwind. Sabbath provides a way for our bodies and souls to get the rest they so often need.
What is your Sabbath experience? Is it truly a delight, a blessing, a rest? Or, as in the time of Christ, has it become just another burden? How can you learn to derive all the benefits possible from this divinely given day of rest?
| THURSDAY | May 13 |
Read Genesis 2:1–3 and Exodus 20:8–11. What do these verses tell us about just how fundamental the whole idea of rest is?
God rested on the seventh day, after completing the work of creation. The Hebrew verb for “rested” there comes from the same word designated “Sabbath” (Shabbat). This fact shows just how ingrained into the fabric of creation itself the seventh-day Shabbat and the rest it offers really are. However hard for us to fully grasp, the text makes it clear that God Himself rested on the Sabbath day.
Jesus said “ ‘The Sabbath was made for man not, and man for the Sabbath!’ ” (Mark 2:27, NKJV). What was the context of the statement, and what did He mean?
Though it is so easy to get caught up in rules and regulations, we never must forget that the Sabbath is a day for our benefit. It is for reflection and enjoyment of the wonderful gifts our God has given us. It is a time to contemplate God’s goodness. The Sabbath is a perpetual sign of our recognition of His love. The good news of the Sabbath is that, through keeping it, we do not just talk about “resting in Christ,” but we—in a very real and tangible way—express that rest, showing that we trust in Christ’s works for us, and not our own, as the way of salvation.
Besides all the spiritual benefits, the Sabbath provides us a time to step aside from the toil and struggles and stress and fatigue of the week. Sabbath is God’s way of allowing us, without guilt, to truly relax, to rest, to take it easy and unwind. Sabbath provides a way for our bodies and souls to get the rest they so often need.
What is your Sabbath experience? Is it truly a delight, a blessing, a rest? Or, as in the time of Christ, has it become just another burden? How can you learn to derive all the benefits possible from this divinely given day of rest?
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