Rest Rationale
Therefore, the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day Deuteronomy 5:15
Therefore – Have you ever thought about why God commanded the Sabbath rest? We know that it is a play and rest day. That’s its purpose. But why did God set up such a day? It’s not because we aren’t capable of going on and on without rest. In this world, we do it all the time. Our Sunday looks very much like every other busy day, with the tiny exception that we spend an hour or two at a general assembly meeting. Otherwise, most of us treat the day as nothing more than a day off the job.
Rest is important in God’s world, but it is not the reason for the Sabbath. The reason is given in this verse (in the part that is not mentioned in our quotation). That’s why the Hebrew word combination al-ken is so important. It means “for this”, that is, on account of what has just been said. God tells us that we are to observe the Sabbath on account of the fact that He has delivered us from bondage in Egypt. That might seem strange to you but there is a very profound meaning behind this phrase. You see, the Sabbath is a day of playful reflection on the absolute power and provision of God. It is a day of celebrating our complete dependence and His total sufficiency. It is a day when we are to remember that God alone rescued us from captivity. We don’t work on this day because we are to remember that we are not responsible for our freedom. We don’t work on this day because we do not want to start thinking that we earned our enjoyment of life. That’s why it is a play day. It is a day to bathe in the full provision of God.
You and I were once captives in Egypt just as certainly as the people of Israel were once literally slaves to Pharaoh. We were in bondage to a life of toil, shame and despair. We were sold to sin. But God rescued us. With His mighty arm, He led us out of those chains. And the Sabbath day is the day that we remember our rescue and celebrate His mercy and grace. Once a week, we set aside a day to honor the God Who broke those chains. We enter into the luxury of His presence. It is a day for thanksgiving. We are free from slavery to sin. That’s why we don’t do all those pressing, ordinary things. They represent the bonds that once held us. No more! The Sabbath is Freedom Day!
Is that your Sabbath day? Is it the day of celebrating your freedom, His rescue and your thankfulness? Or are you still a prisoner to the world’s demands, even on God’s play day?
