The Lord is my Rest
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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 20:8 - 11
Shabbat shalom! For those who don’t know this is a common Jewish greeting wishing peace to those celebrating the traditional Sabbath of Friday evening through Saturday evening. In our westernized, Christian culture we tend to miss this very important commandment God gave. I recently started to research what God meant by “rest” when He rested on the 7th day. This also made me ponder what “rest” meant when the Lord commands the Israelites in the ten commandments to take a day devoted to Him.
When I researched “rest” and it’s word origins, I discovered that it’s origin is the Greek word “Shabbat”. Shabbat means Sabbath. Studying the context of Exodus 20:8-11, I discovered that “rest” or “Sabbath” meant that even the Lord took a day to sit back and enjoy what was created. Throughout the Old Testament, you continue to see the pattern of resting for seven days. You also see where God commands the Israelites to rest or “shabbat” on the 7th year.
Leviticus 25: 1 - 8 says:
And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.
Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee.
And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat. And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
These verses in Leviticus show that every 7 years, the Israelites were supposed to take a year of rest. During their year of rest, they celebrated “Jubilee”. This was a time of joyous celebration. It reminded me of a time that I had the privilege of joining a celebration with Jewish folk dancers on their sabbath. I was confused at the time because everyone spent the entire night dancing. How was that restful was my thought? This was part of my research into Sabbath.
After reading different Scripture passages, I came to three conclusions about the Sabbath. The first conclusion is that we should celebrate it in the modern times. Many of us get so caught in the hustle and bustle of life that we forget to stop and remember God. The Jews today do well at this. We as Christians who love and honor our God should consider a sabbath as well.
This led to my second conclusion. What if the purpose of how we rest is not about what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it? Many people hear rest and think of this as sleeping or laying down. The purpose of the sabbath is to celebrate and honor God. Based on Leviticus, it is a time where you rejoice over the things God has given you - recognizing that you didn’t do any of the work - God did.
This leads to my final conclusion. How are you stewarding the things you have? The talents, people, job, church, money, and so on that God has given you. If you aren’t stewarding things well, you won’t have room to rest. The Bible says:
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. - 2 Cor. 9:6
If you are not sowing or stewarding the gifts you have well, you won’t be able to rest. You won’t be able to celebrate what God has given you. God asks us to rest, to trust Him, to steward our gifts, and to honor Him above all else. Jesus is our sabbath.
If we forget to remember to steward what He has given us, how will we remember that everything came from Him? How can you make room for rest or a sabbath?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alycia Marie is a free-spirited missionary and follower of Christ. She spends her days wandering around the city with the unique family that God has given her. At this time, she is currently working with two non-profits to tackle rebuilding families in the city of Milwaukee. In her free time, she plays with preschoolers, writes in coffee shops, and travels the world.