Because most people do not keep the Sabbath, it is hard to relate to the fourth commandment and therefore very difficult to relate to the Lord of the Sabbath. At Sinai, the Lord said to remember the Sabbath – the “keeping” of the Sabbath is not a matter of doing and not doing, it is a matter of remembrance. So what is being remembered? We remember the seventh day of creation. After creating all things in 6 days, the Omnipotent Creator rested. He was not tired, but He rested. Creating didn’t tucker old Jesus out, He wanted to enjoy what He had done. Likewise He encourages us, through the prophet Isaiah, to make the Sabbath a day not of our own pleasures but of delighting in Him as we remember His day of resting. But how are we to remember a day that we were not at?
It does seem slightly ludicrous to ask someone to remember something they never experienced. But that is part of the purpose of the Sabbath, meditating on that which we do not know in order to go where we have not been. There are places in the Heavenlies, rooms and realms, which we have access to but have never gone to because we did not know we were allowed to go. In meditating on the day of rest, we come to experience the very Sabbath rest that still remains for us (Hebrews 4). We experience what we think on.
As we set our minds on things above, we have to let our logical minds take a break and allow our imagination to run around a bit. Many people do not like the idea of letting our imagination in on our relationship with the Lord, but Paul said that we throw down “vain imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God”. First, it is the vain imaginations, those things that are of our selves which are less than “all we could ever ask or imagine”. Secondly, if we are meditating on Him and what He does and did, our greatest imaginations will not be exalted against the knowledge of God. He is better.
When we consider the seventh day, we are trying to answer the question “What does God do on His day off?” He is not just the one who invented resting and the Sabbath, He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is the One who knows how to really do Sabbath right. He is the King of chilling, the Duke of relaxing, the Emperor of enjoyment. When we see Him rightly we will also see that He is not a God of laws, regulations and “don’ts”. The Pharisees were so focused on the letter of the law, which kills that they missed the whole point of the Sabbath – to enjoy God. When the Jews would punish someone, they would whip them 39 times. Ironically, the Talmud teaches that there are 39 sorts of “work” that you cannot do on the Sabbath to keep it holy.
The real issue is that you cannot make the Sabbath holy, or even in your own ability keep the Sabbath holy. God made it holy, it will remain holy. The question is whether or not we will keep it holy within our own hearts, will we honor the Almighty’s request that we enjoy Him and allow Him to enjoy us? Before you think about trying to keep the Sabbath or any other of the 613 laws in the Torah, realize what Paul explained to one of his churches. He said that if we bind ourselves to one law, we bind ourselves to the whole law. And if we are responsible for the whole law, if we break just one of the 613 laws, then we have broken all 613 because the Law is a whole, not many parts. Our God knows what we need before we even ask Him for it, He knew from the very beginning that we needed to learn how to slow down and enjoy Him. He is not asking us to follow rules, but to rule the earth for 6 days and then hang out for one with Him.
*Lord of the Sabbath, grant us grace to stop and remember what You have done. Amen*
Fascinating reading of the Commandment. So you claim that “remembering” and “keeping holy” are things we’re supposed to be doing all the time, and not something we do by a weekly observance?
Never thought of that. I don’t agree, but I like the idea!
No, I’m not saying we do not need a weekly observance, I’m saying that the 39 types of “work” that the Talmud teaches we cannot do on the Sabbath are missing the point. I’m giving helpful guidance for anyone who wants a worth-while meditation focus on their day of resting with the Creator.
I don’t think you disagree, I think you misunderstand. I could be wrong, though.
I agree with most of your points about the Sabbath, especially about the Jews and their man-made commandments. However, remember that the Sabbath is still one of the commandments, and therefore actually is a “rule.” It’s is how we live that day which counts. Nothing, as you say, should not be enjoyable about the Sabbath. It was made for man to get to know his God better. Peace.
http://breakthroughtogod.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/first-day-of-the-week-sunday-or-saturday/