#210: Shabbat: An Unending Longing for Rest

 

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8

Shabbat is a Hebrew word which means "stop". Shabbat is an exciting concept in the bible taking its origin from the beginning and later becoming part of the moral laws in the decalogue (the ten commandments).

And on the seventh day, God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation. Genesis 2:2-3

Note that God sanctified it during the creation week. There was also something about this seventh day - the creation story does not tell of its end. Unlike the other days of creation, the evening and the morning did not end the seventh day. It was in this rest that Adam ministered in the garden. The Hebrew translation of the word for put in Gen 2:15 is Nuakh which literally means to rest. In other words, God took the man and rested him in Eden. However, in Gen 3 everything changed. When sin entered the world, man was cursed to till the soil. He had lost the rest he initially enjoyed. The Bible narratives following is God's plan to restore man to the Shabbat and Nuakh (the two terms in Hebrew used for rest; typically, you Shabbat in order to Nuakh). Many generations later, God invited His chosen people Israel to partake of the blessing of rest in the 4th command in the decalogue.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour, 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11.

It was a very important commandment from God

Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places. Leviticus 23:3

The big deal of Shabbat:

The Shabbat law is a two-edged commandment. The command is not just to Shabbat (stop work) but to keep it holy. It is not just to stop work (Shabbat), but to rest in God's presence (Nuakh). It was also not an abstract exercise; the command is to remember. We must remember that God stopped His work and rested because He finished His work. For man, we Shabbat to share in the foretaste of the rest we lost in the garden and yearn for a future rest. We Shabbat to also remember that our labour and toil are caused by sin. When we stop all our work to rest in God's presence, we acknowledge that toiling for bread is not our mission. It is also a time to acknowledge God's providence beyond what our strength, effort and plans can achieve. To stop and rest is an act of worship and reverence to God.

When God fed Israel in the wilderness, they were not to bother about coming out for bread on the Sabbath. God personally took care of their needs (Exodus 16). So many times, we are encumbered with the reluctance to step on the break and take a retreat with the LORD. We believe that we will be at a loss while we are not working. But God demonstrated through the provision of manna in the wilderness on the sixth day for the seventh day that He is our true source.

Sabbath was made for man. It was a blessing to man - while we wait for our eternal rest.

When is Shabbat?

Shabbat begins from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday

Has Shabbat changed?

Today, Christians say that Sunday is the new Sabbath. However, there is no biblical justification for this fact. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). His disciples after Him kept the Sabbath (Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 18:4). The early church (Jew and Gentiles) in all of the scripture met in the synagogue every Sabbath. For whatever reason we choose any day as our Sabbath, the vital thing to note is that the bible only talks of the seventh day as the Sabbath. It was meant to be a sign between God and His people as a covenant forever (Exodus 31:16 - context vs 12-18) It was never to be changed. The fact that Sunday is generally accepted does not mean it is God's way, and Jesus did not come to break the law. We do not also have the authority to consecrate a day. God consecrated the seventh day from the beginning of time and blessed it.

Conclusion:

We must ensure that, unlike the Pharisees, we do not convert God's command to mere traditions (Matt 15:3; Mark 7:9-13; Col 2:8-23). Even though they were ceasing from work on the Sabbath, they were not enjoying the blessedness of Shabbat - God's provision, and God's invitation to true rest - no wonder they did not recognise Jesus who is the LORD of the Sabbath and the captain of our eternal rest.

We will continue exploring the biblical theme of rest next week. Anticipate! God bless you.

Shabbat Shalom.

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