In our fast-paced, always-on world, it can feel like a disadvantage to take a break from work. The power of cell phones with matching cellular networks allows us, encourages us, convinces us to always remain digitally connected to our profession or responsibilities. While the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically shifted the work environment, that change further blurred the lines of work-life balance. Especially in America, our lives are becoming evermore consumed by work, effort, and toil, constantly.
It is with this cultural lens that we now look at the most curious of the 10 Commandments. Commandment number 4: Keeping the Sabbath. Exodus 20 says, “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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.” (Exodus 20: 8-10, NIV) Woof, not only does it indict our continuously working lives, but it also perceivably condones slavery. That’s not necessarily the case, but we’ll put that aside for another message–I try to keep these short. Still, the Sabbath stands in stark contrast to our American way of life, where we control our own destiny by giving ourselves wholly over to our professions.
But we aren’t really in control of our destiny through our careers, are we? In one of the many jarring generational shifts, GenX and Baby Boomer Americans have been side-swiped by the likes of the automotive layoffs in the early 2000s. Lavish pension programs that were once expected for company loyalty were cut short because of the expense–they were a broken promise. Millennials, like myself, entered a difficult job market in the early 2010s and–after seeing the way our parents were treated by companies–have been much more mobile in our careers. Yet even we, with our heavier preference for technology jobs, have been hammered by large-scale layoffs. Now, generative AI stands to eradicate many more jobs. Company loyalty does not equal job security.
Small business owners don’t fare much better. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of them fail within two years, and 65% fail within ten. Those aren’t great odds of security, either.
So, what are we to do when our livelihoods are not guaranteed, even with continual sacrifice? Do we just work harder to outperform everyone else? No, we are to trust the Lord. Otherwise, things go haywire when we opt to take things out of His hands and into our own. We see examples of this in the Bible. Not only were the Israelites to observe the weekly Sabbath individually, but their land was to enjoy regular resting as well. Leviticus 25 requires, “But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.” (Leviticus 25:4) After seven of these seven-year cycles, an extra year of rest was added–the year of Jubilee. These years were to allow the nutrients to return to Canaan’s rocky soil, as well as remind the Israelites of their need to trust in the Lord.
In Leviticus 26, God even gives a specific warning if we ignore Him and His commands (including observance of the Sabbath). He warns “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me…Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.” (Leviticus 26:27,34-35, NIV) Spoiler alert: generations of Israelites refused to listen to God. Over the next several hundred years, Sabbath years weren’t regularly observed, and God’s providential warning comes to pass in 2 Chronicles. The priests who wrote it undoubtedly had Leviticus in mind when they wrote, “[Nebuchadnezzar] carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.” (2 Chronicles 36:20-21, NIV) When God says something, it comes to pass.
This experience of the Babylonian exile is one reason for Israel’s overcorrection during the Second Temple era–the era in which Jesus was born. Strict Sabbath observance was religiously enforced. The Sadducees and the Bible-literalist Pharisees both condemned anyone who attempted to do any work–or exert any effort–on the Sabbath. Indeed, the city gates of Jerusalem and other walled cities would be literally closed to merchants on the Sabbath. Gentile sellers would arrive and camp outside the city gates, waiting for the Sabbath to pass to enter the city and begin selling again. This is the background for the accusations against Jesus’ disciples for ignoring the Sabbath by breaking the stalks of grain to eat. Jesus retorts, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28, NIV) We can imagine how controversial Jesus’ statement was for the religious leaders simply trying to prevent another exile. Spoiler #2: it didn’t work.
This has been a lot of Bible history, but for what purpose? Hopefully, we can see that the Sabbath was–and still is–important. Keeping a day holy unto the Lord does not mean that we cannot prepare a meal, but it does mean we need one day of our week to set aside and meditate on the Law of the Lord (Psalm 1). Keeping a Sabbath does not mean it must be on a Sunday, but it should be once a week. To not observe a weekly Sabbath is a selfish sin, foolishly trusting in ourselves more than our God of provision.
The Sabbath was made for man, so we should appreciate its implications. The recurring recessions and small business failure rates have proven we do not control the fate of our profession or provision. Try as we might, the economic forces are stronger than our resolve. So, what’s stronger than the economy? The Lord. Prove your trust in Him by observing a regular Sabbath. It will be good for your faith, for your family, and for your pocket. Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV) In all our ways, even our professional ones.
So, keep the Sabbath. Lean not on your own understanding. Offer your newfound time to the Lord. Trust me, it will pay off.
39 - Why is the Sabbath important?