Exodus 20 v 8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
This fourth commandment requires some thinking on our part. But for starters let’s remember that this commandment was engraved in stone by God’s own finger.
Therefore, like the rest of the Ten Commandments, it should be graven on our hearts.
The word “Remember” indicates that we are apt to forget what the Sabbath means as well as what it commands us to do. Let’s not forget that during the French Revolution, France became the only nation to officially denounce the existence of God, to which people danced in the streets. One of the outcomes of this decision was to banish the seven day week and institute a ten day week. This was an act of defiance which sought to dismantle the Christian Church in France and gave rise to several ridiculous attempts to change the pattern that the Almighty God himself had built into society. Finally 12 years later the new Republican calendar was abolished by Napoleon and France returned to the Gregorian calendar on January 1 1806. You can Google this information for yourself.
The point is that God has so constituted the human race that rest breaks which are numbered in 7’s suit us. God Himself rested on the Sabbath day, although there is much more to consider than the fact that God simply ceased creating. It does however give us a pattern for our lives. The blunt truth is that we are so programmed as human beings that we all need regular rest. When we do not get it all kinds of physical or psychological problems may occur. So let’s make sure we all fit in with God’s rhythm for our bodies which benefits us physically.
But of course this command has far more to it than a mere command for us to rest. There is a profound reference to the Gospel here. So we need to do some more thinking about the fourth commandment.
Prayer: O Lord. Your word is so deep and profound. Please help me to understand your commands so that I may live by them. Amen