Sabbath (Ex 31:14)

Exodus 31:14

You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

How many of us have done laundry on our “day of rest”? Or just one “quick” task. I know I am guilty. In those moments I don’t think it’s ever occurred to me that what I’m doing is displeasing to God, but the truth is… it is. God said we should not even kindle our fire (Exodus 35:3).

Now I realize we are no longer under the penalty of the law – so I know God’s not going to put me to death or “cut me off from among His people” (if He was going to He would have already – I did the math I have not observed over 2 years worth of Sabbaths!) – but if He thinks it’s this important… isn’t it something I should think is important as well?

He says it’s holy. Holy means “set apart, dedicated to the service or worship of God.” So our “little” tasks literally steal from what is God’s. Ouch! He takes rest very seriously. So seriously that He wanted us to understand that it was something we do for Him.

The truth is He likely put this law in place not just to have time for us to get quiet and commune with Him but also because He knows how He made us. He knows we NEED rest. Even God rested and was refreshed on the seventh day of creation. Rest is important.

Lord I repent for not making the Sabbath day holy. God it is to be set apart for You. Even though I know only too well that working 7 out of 7 days only wears you out and you still don’t get everything done – even though I know that, I still have not been faithful to observe Your day. Lord help me to learn to do this. I want to honor You. I ask for creative ways to carve out the time to truly rest and set a day aside solely for that purpose. Thank You that You value me getting rest because You know it’s good for me. You are such a wise and loving God. It’s my honor to spend my life learning more and more of You.

You know, I have to pause and be really honest. As I sat here pondering what I’d just written I thought, “Do I really believe all that? Because if I do, I need to follow it. Am I even able to follow it? Do I want to follow it?!” Some may think it odd that a woman without a job is having such a difficult time making way for rest. The fact of the matter is that you don’t have to be getting paid to be doing “work”. Ask any stay-at-home mom!

I guess for me one of the biggest things is finding the time to rest.  I “do” a lot. It’s hard to just stop. As humans we have such a tendency to do things in our own strength rather than walking in God’s.  Lord please forgive us and help us to walk in Your ways!

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4 Replies to “Sabbath (Ex 31:14)”

  1. You know we talked about this a while back and I thought this sounded horrible and impossible, but I find myself trying hard to make a way for that one day a week now. I may have to work to fit a weekend of to-do’s, plus my work week build-up, in to one day of my weekend, but I find that the remaining day is something I look forward to all week. It is nice to know I have a Sabbath set aside – to be attentive to Him and to just rest. It feels good just trying my best to be obedient. I might mess it up here and there with little things I do, but I’m trying, and I think he blesses the heart and the trying. This is good stuff.

  2. Thank you for this reminder. I probably have about 25 years of not resting on the Sabbath. Ouch!!!

    I never really took it to heart, as most Christians probably don’t. But, of course, what you wrote makes total sense.

    Does this mean no cooking, either?!?! Ahh, well, seriously, I’m going to have my family read your blog and we will strive to be pleasing to God together, because He does know what’s best for us and has our best interests at heart. His love for us is so overwhelming and precious!

  3. Amen. As a stay-at-home mom I can attest to that! Even without a child, there are “endless” tasks to accomplish at home. From daily, weekly, monthly & seasonal cleaning, to learning new recipes, shopping, research, paperwork, finances…etc. I struggle with resting because I don’t feel productive but God has taught me much about the necessity of resting. I mean, if God rested, who am I that I should not do the same! Thanks Meghan.

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