Work and Leisure
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On if you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:8-11).
A few years ago a friend telephoned with an urgent request. "Phil," he said, "I'm calling to ask a favor. I need the most precious thing you have."
Can you guess what he needed?
He was asking for my time, of course. As the pastor of a large church - not to mention the father of a growing family - few things are more precious to me than my time. I need time to work, time to worship, time to rest, and time to play. I need time to spend with the Lord. I need time to prepare sermons and meet with people. I also need time to love my family. It all takes time, and there never seems to be quite enough.
Many people have the same frustration. We often feel rushed. We never seem to have time for work and leisure, for family and ministry. So we complain, "If only I had one extra day this week; then I could get all my work done." Or we say, "You know, I could really use some time off." Or, "If only I had more time to study the Bible and serve the Lord." Thus, we grumble about being overtired and overworked. It is all part of the frustration of living as finite creatures in a fallen world.
Out of His great mercy, God has provided a remedy: one whole day out of seven to rest in His grace. He has given us a rhythm of work and rest, with six days for labor and one day for leisure. And He grants us our leisure specifically for the purpose of His praise. The Sabbath is a day for worship, a day for mercy, and a day for rest.
Keeping the Sabbath holy may not seem very productive. In fact, sometimes it keeps people away from Christ. They would rather do something else - anything else - than go to church on Sunday.
When billionaire Bill Gates was asked why he didn't believe in God, he said, "Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning." 1
Remembering the Sabbath
Devoting a whole day to God may not seem very efficient, but it must be important, because God has commanded it:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:8-11).
This is the longest commandment, and it comes in three parts. Verse 8 tells us what to do, verses 9 and 10 specify how we are to do it, and verse 11 explains why.
What God wants us to do is to "remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8). The word remember has a double meaning. For the Israelites, it was a reminder that they had heard about the Sabbath before. On their journey to Mount Sinai, God provided manna six days out of seven. The seventh day was meant to be "a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD" (Exodus 16:23a). So when they reached Mount Sinai, God commanded them to "remember" the Sabbath.
This was something they needed to remember not just once, but every week. It is something we need to remember, too, so the fourth commandment calls us to a weekly remembrance of the Sabbath. We are prone to forget. We forget the great work of God in creation and redemption. And when we forget, we fail to praise Him for making us and saving us. But the fourth commandment is a reminder. It is God's memorandum to His people, reminding us to give Him glory for His grace.
Remembering involves more than our memories. It demands the total engagement of our whole person in the service of God. Remembering the Sabbath is like remembering your anniversary. It is not enough to say "Oh, yes, I remember: It's our anniversary." It takes dinner and flowers - maybe even jewelry - and a romantic evening for two. In much the same way, remembering the Sabbath means using the day to show our love for God in a special way. It means "keeping it holy." Literally, we are to "sanctify it," to set it apart for sacred use.
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly
How are we to do this? The fourth commandment gives explicit instructions for keeping the Sabbath holy. God begins by telling us what He wants us to do with the rest of our week: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Exodus 20:9). Although this part of the fourth commandment is often overlooked, it is our duty to work. This does not mean that we have to work all day, every day. But it does mean that God governs our work as well as our rest. He has given us six whole days to fulfill our earthly calling.