Sunday School Lesson
December 6, 2015
One sacred tradition that God gave his people was the Sabbath. In the Bible Sabbath is a word of many nuances. It can refer to the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:8). It can refer to the idea of rest (v. 10). It can refer to the promised land of Israel (Hebrews 3:11) and to Heaven itself (4:6-11). It can even refer to our salvation (v. 3).
Remember the Rhythm
Exodus 20:8-11kjv
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 contain the 10 famous words/commandments that God gave his people through Moses. That this Decalogue distinguished Israel from other nations for 1,400 years is nothing short of amazing. Israel knew that they belonged to God because he gave them his law. This constitutional literature gave Israel precepts by which to live. But behind the precepts were God’s principles of how he wanted his people to live. And behind the principles was none other than the person of God. The fourth commandment stands as a bridge between the two halves of the Decalogue. The first three commandments deal with our vertical relationship with God. Commandments five through ten deal with our relationships with others. In the middle is the command to rest. Work and rest seem to be a God-inspired rhythm. God is not kidding about this commandment. Notice the language: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, and on it you shall not do any work. Also he said, You must observe my Sabbaths, and observe the Sabbath, and the Israelites are to observe the Sabbath. The proper rhythm to resting is working. In this Sabbath command there is also the command to work: Six days you shall labor and do all your work. This work/rest rhythm is extensive. It applied to moms, dads, children, servants, foreigners, and animals. (Yes, even animals should learn the rhythms of God and know that their owners are Yahweh worshippers.) This work/rest rhythm is based on creation. He rested on the seventh day.
Finally the work/rest rhythm is blessed by God and set apart for him. Jesus knew this well. He was extremely busy in his ministry, but even he had time to rest (Matthew 14:13) and one of his titles is, “Lord of the Sabbath” (12:8).
Follow the Command
Exodus 31:12-16kjv
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Our second printed text comes later in the book of Exodus, bracketed by the stories of Bezalel and Oholiab being designated to build the tabernacle and the idolatry with the golden calf. Maybe the Sabbath day is a good sanity check on our exclusive worship of God and putting aside false gods.
Three reasons are given for why Israel was to follow the Sabbath command. First, following the Sabbath command was a sign. Resting every seven days demonstrated Israel’s unique relationship with God. Only God could save Israel. Only God could make Israel holy. Obeying this command underlined that salvific relationship. Second, following the Sabbath command averted God’s punishment. The penalty for disobedience was severe—death. Twice in our text punishment by death is mentioned as a penalty. Another expression is cut off from their people. Does this give anyone pause? The classic example is Numbers 15:32-36: A man was gathering sticks on the Sabbath. He was caught, incarcerated, and stoned to death. That of course sounds incredibly harsh but may be not unlike Acts 5:1-11 (Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Holy Spirit). God did not intend to do this to everyone who lies, but he could not afford to allow the early church’s growth to be nipped in the bud by this moral compromise. How could Israel be a blessing to the nations if they disobeyed one of their primal commands? Third, following the Sabbath command was a mark of the covenant. Israel was to keep this as a lasting covenant (a long time or until God changed it). This elevated the Sabbath command to things like keeping the feasts, circumcision, and obeying the law. Before sin entered the world, God commanded Adam and Eve to work (Genesis 2:15). When sin fractured creation that work became laborious (3:17-19). Sabbath is a brief respite to remind us that God will one day bring us to the full rest of his salvation.
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