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[KelleyKramer]

I was recently reading through the 10 Commandments and when I got to the 4th--resting on the Sabbath, I was blown away. It's like I was seeing it for the first time. What does this mean to us today? Does the Sabbath have to be observed on the 7th day, Saturday to be obedient to God's commandments? Are leisure activities like sailing or fishing appropriate if we consider them restful activities?

[jimwalton]

Kelly, it's nice to hear that the Word of God has that kind of pop in your life. I experience that a lot, too, where things I have read many times just lunge out at me with new impact, deeper questions, or another vantage point. So let's head to Exodus 20.8-11.

The main command is to "remember" the Sabbath day, and it tells us how: sanctify it. "Remember" means "this is how we should live during the Sabbath," and "keep it holy" lets us know that the day is to have a definitive, different, and dedicated purpose. It's to be clearly different than the other days. The nature of that difference, however, is not explained out as we might wish it to be. But here's what it does tell us: there are plenty of other days for the meaningful labor that God has given us to do, to fulfill your calling and provide for yourself, family, and community. This one day a week is to be uncommon.

The seventh day belongs to God and not to work. Defining exactly what is "work" is a long and continuing argument. Here each of us must follow our own conscience (1 Cor. 10.23-31; 1 Tim. 3.9) and live by the faith that has been given to us (Rom. 12.3). Whatever your definition of work, though, the command is clear about making this day both different, and "unto the Lord your God" (Ex. 20.10).

As far as what was going on in setting up the Sabbath, the verse sends us back to Creation, and the "day of rest" that God took (Gn. 2.2-3). That day of rest, however, was not God taking it easy and having a leisurely day, but it was a statement that God was entering the temple (creation) that he had just made, engaging it, and taking the steering wheel, so to speak, to providentially watch over it. The Sabbath command isn't necessarily that we should do exactly what God did, but only letting us know that's where the idea originated. It is telling us that the Sabbath was a command to recognize God's authority in life by symbolically refraining from attempts to control our own lives (work work work!) on the Sabbath.

In that sense it's a blend of the practical and the spiritual—a labor law for the protection of workers (Ex. 20.10) as well as a symbolic participation in the life of God. In Exodus 20, the Sabbath commandment is addressed to people who have both servants and animals working for them so that all who labor will be given needed rest. Workers do this by recognizing God, who rested (though in a different sense).

In Deuteronomy 5, the Sabbath is connected to God’s delivering his people from bondage in Egypt. Work is good. Bondage is bad. But work easily becomes a form of bondage, and it too easily becomes our entire focus in life. The Sabbath is a sign that our work is not coerced, that we know our place in the created order, and that regular rest allows us to experience our work as free people rather than as bondslaves—as glorifying God with all we do with a sense of worship rather than the grudging grind of work work work! (1 Cor. 10.31). Therefore, Christians today tend to connect the Sabbath with corporate worship, although the Hebrew Bible did not treat the Sabbath that way. Nevertheless, the principal Christian day of worship and the principle of Sabbath rest came together in the church's thinking.

That was not without wisdom. A proper and biblical approach to work treats it as a stewardship privilege, not an enslavement, which it too easily becomes, and worship forces us to step away from our jobs, obligations, and material concerns. Worship also serves to recognize and rehearse all of who God is, and to give myself to Him—all very appropriate ideas concerning the Sabbath. Ancient worship also often included sharing of material goods with the poor, which also easily fits into what Sabbath is all about—that life is not all about ME and my accumulation of things. The command of the Sabbath encourages us to trust in God in a way that no other activity can. So much more could be accomplished by adding another day of labor, but the Sabbath requires us to trust that God will provide for all our needs and that He will continue to manage the world without our help. The Sabbath is a practical reminder that we are completely dependent on God.

It is interesting to observe how Jesus treated the Sabbath. He wasn't a Law-breaker (he was only breaking Mishna rules, not Mosaic ones), but he did help to define the Sabbath for us as believers. He acted in complete freedom toward the law. Sabbath laws had become complicated and detailed, with many parties trying to dictate behavior for the day. Jesus didn't cater to these rule-makers and their lists. He taught that religion should never get twisted into moral oppression (Mk. 2.27; Mt. 12.7). Human need trumps human rules (Mt. 12.1-14). We must be careful, however, not to just apply this general principle lightly, because we are apt to make mistakes to our selfish advantage. Remember that Uzzah was killed when he touched the ark of the covenant that he thought might be falling off the wagon (2 Sam. 6.3-7). Therefore human need doesn’t always trump God’s laws. We must be discerning and respectful, but not to think that God would rather be cruel than merciful. The Sabbath was not to be a burden, but something that brought freedom and life.

The transition from "remember" the Sabbath, on Saturday, to remembering it on Sunday came early in Christian practice, and it seems to have evolved gradually. Early Christians were mostly Jewish, and it was impossible for them not to work on both Saturday AND Sunday. Sunday could only be distinguished by them finding a way to come together (1 Cor. 16.2). The first recorded incident of Sunday worship is in Acts 20.7, where the disciples met together on the first day of the week and broke bread. This could have been in the 50s AD, but there is no proof that this happened every Sunday or only on Sunday. The first more specific Christian reference to Sunday is found in the First Apology of Justin Martyr, from about 150 AD, where he describes the Christian practice (it seems to have been habitual by they) of gathering for worship on Sunday, or "the Lord's Day," in recognition of Christ's resurrection (Jn. 20.1). As you know, there are congregations who continue to recognize the Sabbath on Saturday, feeling that is the best way to honor the teachings of the Old Testament, but more congregations who recognize a Sabbath on Sunday in honor of the resurrection of Christ and the new beginning He brought to humankind. Which is right? I'm not sure it matters a whole lot. To me, the importance is the practice, not the choice of day. It's not about rules, but about life, and Sabbath was not made for man, but man for the Sabbath. Whether you have the attitude of honoring the Law, or honoring Christ, to me either one is good.

It's valuable to ask what are some specific strategies that represent a legitimate observance of Sabbath in our world. A helpful understanding might be that our recognition of the Sabbath is that we make sure we use the day to turn our attention away from our own needs and take stock of God’s role in the big picture of our life and world. On Sunday (or Saturday) we recognizing God’s place in the cosmos and in our lives, and we give honor to him. That's the point. In my mind, leisurely activities like sailing or fishing are certainly appropriate for the "Sabbath," but each person must follow their own conscience before God as to how they are setting aside the day for Him. While we were growing up, my parents had special rules for what we would do on Sundays. Even now, I don't mow the lawn or do yard work on Sundays, and I don't go shopping. But that's just me. Jesus specifically didn't lay out a set of rules for us to follow. Fill your heart with God, use the day to recognize Him, make sure it's different from other days both in attitude and practice, and enjoy the freedom and life that God has blessed you with.

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