Overflow Daily...ish: The Sabbath

2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

Exodus 35:2

While I love my state (nation) of Texas, we have had some strange laws pass through our legislation. For example, up until 1973, it was illegal to milk another person's cow that was not your own. Some are still on the books though. For example, in Clarendon, TX, it is illegal for a person to dust any public building with a feather duster. Or how about the law which prohibits all dogs from being named after a Kardashian. Ok, the last one is made up, but I think you get the picture. Sometimes we may feel as though the laws should change with the times. In certain cases, that may well be true; however, when considering God's law it is always timely and relevant and true.

When you think about the Ten Commandments, they are all pretty straight forward and we would be quick to agree that they are in fact good. Good, regardless of time, location, or context. It will always be wrong to have any gods before God. No matter where you are in the world, it will always be wrong to murder. And no matter the circumstance, it will always be wrong to steal something that is not yours. But what about the fourth commandment? The one that states that you must remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (Ex 20:11).

In Exodus 35, Moses provides the people of God with His law and reminds them that the Sabbath is to be maintained. In the immediate context, the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between Israel and God (Ex 31:13). So then does that law extend to us today as well? The answer can be found in two places, Colossians 2:16-17 which reveals to us that the Sabbath day, among other ones, was simply "a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." Hebrews 4:9-10 gives us the insight that under the New Covenant we enter into the Sabbath rest when we cease from laboring and trust in the Lord of the Sabbath. (cf Matt 12:8)

The fourth commandment is in no way repealed, rather we come to understand what is required of us in the Sabbath. We are to cease from our labors and striving as though they would somehow merit us entrance into God's rest. We keep the Sabbath when we trust that Jesus is the only way to the Father and the only means of salvation. We rejoice in God's law because we find that it is not burdensome. We celebrate every Lord's Day (Sunday), as we gather together in local fellowship to remember God's graces and to worship him in community. I charge you to Remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alex

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