Shabbat is particularly important to the Jewish people because God gave it exclusively to Israel as a sign. The Sabbath was to be observed from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday (the Jewish day begins at sunset), and it was holy because God Himself blessed the seventh day (Gen. The Hebrew for Sabbath ( Shabbat) means “desist, cease,” or “rest.” Although the Bible mentions many Sabbaths, the term Shabbat primarily speaks of the seventh day of the week, the day God rested from His labor of creation (Ex. These works consist of the timeless truths and concepts of Scripture that picture the unfolding of God’s eternal plan. Like an art museum, the Bible contains “galleries” that display works of art created by the Master Artist Himself. We loved to stroll casually through the galleries, observing the paintings from afar or getting up close to examine in detail an artist’s brushstrokes. To top it off, general admission is free. When my wife and I lived in Minnesota, we enjoyed visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art where more than 90,000 beautiful works of art are on display at any given time. Let Sabbath rest rejuvenate you and your work.The Sabbath was meant to be a day of rest, but people have a way of complicating God’s intentions. We should love the vocational work God has given us so much that he makes us take off a day every week.
#Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy meaning how to#
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).Īll our troubles, if we carefully see out their source, derive in some way from not knowing how to make a proper use of time. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. This is why Jesus can tell his disciples,Ĭome to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Setting aside one day in seven to observe the Sabbath will begin to change the way we see our work and what it can and cannot accomplish. We have to work hard at disconnecting from what we do the other six days and really enjoy the release and peace that God has designed for us on this holy day. The author of Hebrews writes that we have to labor diligently to enter God’s rest (Hebrews 4:11). The Sabbath is a time to unplug from our vocational work. The freedom found in the gospel, freedom from slavery to any material object or human expectation.Your accomplishments, achieved through God’s help.Instead, the purpose of Sabbath is to set aside time to enjoy: The purpose of the Sabbath is not rejuvenating yourself in order to be more productive. The only thing that will silence the condemning voices driving so many of us to the brink of exhaustion is the biblical discipline of what Keller calls “Sabbath rest.”Ĭorrectly practicing the Sabbath brings about a new spiritual understanding of both work and the whole of our lives. Keller suggests that it is not the physical work that exhausts us but “the work under the work” that creates our unshakable weariness. One of the best explanations of the Sabbath and why it is important to Christians today is found in an article written by Tim Keller a number of years ago. How then does the Sabbath deliver us from always feeling stressed, exhausted, and running on empty? When divorced from God, all work degenerates into pure self-centered ambition. This distortion of work’s purpose cripples our chances of finding true joy and fulfillment in our work. Our work is never done, and the constant drive to prove ourselves destroys our ability to find rest. It is what supplies our identity and gives meaning to our lives by maximizing success and money through our labor. Today we are taught by a culture that views work as an end in itself. God repeats this idea again in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). God wanted to teach us that work is not an end in and of itself. God rested not because he was tired, but because he had “completed his work” ( Genesis 2:2). Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. So on the seventh day he rested from all his work. God reminds us of this on the seventh day of creation.Īt the end of the creation story we read, Work is one of the primary means by which we fulfill our true purpose: to glorify God, serve the common good and further God’s Kingdom. For the Christian, life without work is meaningless but work must never become the meaning of one’s life. Man was created by God for work (Genesis 2:15). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.