READ: Exodus 20 (Focus vs. 1 & 8-17)
MEMORY VERSE
“The seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:10
BACKGROUND
My tired minivan has a digital readout with initials DTE: Distance ’Til Empty. It gives me a precise mileage countdown. Most newer cars these days have this feature.
It’s a handy one: Knowing exactly how far I can go before I need to fill the gas tank is important data to avoid being stranded!
Did you know the Ten Commandments offer something of an ancient analog to the DTE feature? It’s called Sabbath. In Exodus 20, God tells us that after six days, we’re out of metaphorical gas: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work” (vv. 8-10).
We might be tempted to ignore this commandment. After all, the prohibitions against lying, stealing, murder, adultery, coveting, and idolatry (vv. 1-17) seem pretty obvious. But resting for a day each week? Is it really that important?
We might think we can “cheat” here. But the gift the Sabbath offers is an invitation to rest. To cease laboring. To remember that God provides for us, not our own constant labor.
Distance ’til empty? Six days. And on the seventh, God graciously invites us to rest, recharge, and to relinquish the notion that it’s all up to us.
Adam R. Holz
INSIGHT
The Israelites arrived at the base of Mount Sinai two months after escaping bondage in Egypt (Exodus 19:1). It was there that Moses climbed up the mountain to meet with God and receive the Ten Commandments (the law).
These commandments were meant to guide Israel to a life of holiness, a life pleasing to God. The first four commands focused on their relationship with God, and the last six concerned their relationship with each other.
Note the fourth commandment’s wording: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (20:8). The people were to remember that after creating the world, God rested on the Sabbath, or seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3)—and they were to do likewise.
This commandment wasn’t meant to be a burden or restrictive but instead to provide needed rest from labor. It was a holy day set aside for their bodies and souls to be refreshed. Today, we also need rest from our work and to trust God to provide for our needs.
Alyson Kieda
APPLICATION
When do you find it easy or hard to rest from your work? What are some things you need to do to enable you to rest?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“God graciously invites us to rest, recharge, and to relinquish the notion that it’s all up to us.”
PR’s TAKE
“The commandment (of the Sabbath) wasn’t meant to be a burden or restrictive but instead to provide needed rest from labor.” Today’s Insight
“Whatever can’t be accomplished in the six days of the week most likely can’t be on the seventh day.” Victoria Kyerematen
PRAYER
“Dear Father, it’s so tempting to believe it’s all up to me. Thank You for the Sabbath, Your invitation to cease from my work and to trust Your provision.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“SABBATH REST”
We set our work aside. We leave our cares behind,
On this day of Sabbath rest.
On this holy day, we come to give You praise,
On this day of Sabbath rest.
Sabbath rest. Holy rest,
On this day He set aside,
Hallowed, blessed and sanctified;
Sabbath rest, holy rest,
Out of all the week the best,
We have come to be blessed,
One this day of Sabbath rest.
We set our work aside, we leave our cares behind,
On this day of Sabbath rest,
On this holy day, We come to give You praise,
On this day of Sabbath rest.
Sabbath rest, Holy rest,
On the day He set aside,
Hallowed, blessed and sanctified;
Sabbath rest, holy rest.
