Exodus 20:8-11 "Keeping the Sabbath Holy"

                Our text for today, the fourth commandment, is perhaps the most debated and discussed commandment in all of Christendom.  The other nine commandments, while there is some discussion about each of them, are fairly universally understood as to what is required by them.  In other words, the basic requirements of the other nine commandments are agreed upon, but not the fourth commandment.  Part of the reason for this is because of the world that we live in today.  The former pastor of FPC Jackson, MS and current RTS Chancellor Ligon Duncan says that the fourth commandment is the commandment that “we love to hate.  Really, it’s the blessing we love to hate.”  Now I’m not going to try to convince anyone to view the Sabbath in any particular way, but I want all of us to see a few things as a result of our time together this morning.  I want us to first understand what this commandment originally looked like in its application within Israel.  Also, I want us to see how we view this commandment in light of Christ’s atoning work, and what it ought to look like for us today.

                However, before we can understand what is required in this commandment we have to understand what a Sabbath actually is; we have to understand what this word Sabbath even means.  Verse 8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”  When we see the word “remember” I want all of us to think about a New Testament usage of the word.  When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are told that we take the elements in remembrance of Christ.  Now we all know that when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, that the remembrance is much more than a simple mental acknowledgement that we are indeed taking part in this sacrament.  We are called to remember the sacrifice that was made, the price that was paid, and the life giving atonement that was accomplished there upon the cross.  There is a spiritual presence of Christ that accompanies our receiving each of the elements during communion.  So, when we are called to remember the Sabbath, we are called to much more than a simple acknowledgement that it is the Lord’s Day.  We are called to remember the Sabbath, and not just any Sabbath, but the first Sabbath, the original Sabbath.  You see, all the way back in the beginning of Genesis, at the time of creation, after God had created all that is in this world, He rested.  God rested; he took that Sabbath, because, as Jesus says in Mark 2, we needed it, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  You see, the Sabbath was created and instituted to give us rest.  God, even at the time of creation, before the fall ever happened, knew that man was in need of rest, he was in need of a time of rest from his earthly labors, and so God provided for that need.  That’s what is referenced when we think of what the Sabbath is.  That’s what we are called to specifically remember each and every Lord’s Day.

Now before we really get into the other parts of this commandment, what is actually physically required of us, I have a confession that I need to make to all of you.  You see, when I was in seminary, one of our requirements for graduation was to memorize the WSC answers word-for-word.  The reason for this is that these answers so beautifully and precisely sum up what it is that we believe.  It was a way of helping us to more accurately shape our view of Reformed theology.  Well, within WSC there are questions about each of the Ten Commandments.  And for each commandment, there is a question that directly quotes Scripture word-for-word.  Now, as you can tell from our text this morning, this is a rather long commandment.  It’s much more than a one sentence commandment.  So, I, as a future pastor, made the theologically astute and responsible decision that this passage was just far too long and I wasn’t going to memorize it; not that it isn’t important, but it’s only one question and the chances of men getting it entirely right weren’t that great.

                I tell you this story in jest because it’s what comes to mind every time I read this commandment.  It’s what comes to me every time I begin to deal with verses 9-11 of this text.   You see, these three verses are the “how to” of verse 8.  These verses are steps for how we are to go about fulfilling our obligation of keeping the Sabbath holy.  They are what keeping the Sabbath holy looks like in our lives.  Unfortunately, our view of this commandment often does not include these later three verses.  “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work.”  Notice the work to rest ratio there; six days of work to one day of rest.  Make no mistake; our God is a God of action.  We’re not only called to this day of rest, but we’re very specifically called to labor and work in service of God’s kingdom for the other six days of the week.  And notice also that it’s not just you that God wants to rest.  There are a whole host of others called to rest as well:  male, female, family, stranger, servant, and livestock.  There is no one who is outside of this rest commanded by God.

                Now, I want all of us to take just a second and remember who it is that this commandment was originally given to.  Remember, Israel was the original audience here; the same Israel that had spent nearly 400 years as slaves in Egypt.  God gave this commandment requiring rest to be taken to a generation of slaves.  People who had very likely never known what it was like to rest were now being told that they should do so in order that they remember and keep holy the day in which God rested from his labor of creating the earth and all that is in it.  You know, it’s funny how things have changed since that time.  The nation of Israel welcomed this rest.  It was seen as nothing but a blessing to them.  It was something so precious that they were left in amazement that God would provide such rest for them.  Fast forward to today and think about how we view the Sabbath and the rest that we’re commandment to take on it.  We view this commandment as more of a curse than a blessing.  We view it as a curse and a burden that we’re told that there is a day in which we can’t work.  Many of you here today are of a different generation than I am.  Many of you remember what it was like when blue laws were really enforced. Of course they still exist today, but primarily in the form of alcohol sales being prohibited on Sundays.  You remember what it was like to have to do all of your grocery shopping on Saturday because every store and marketplace was shut down on Sundays.  You remember what it was like for Sunday to be a different type of day.  Unfortunately, Sunday is probably best known today nationally by many as the day that you can’t buy a chicken sandwich.  No doubt it has been an effective tool used by the enemy in blending the Lord’s Day into our calendar so that it seemingly has no special meaning.  The word “holy” means to be set apart or different.  So when we are told to keep the Sabbath holy, then we are told to hold is as special, set apart, and different; an area where I feel like we are not doing as we ought to.

                I think that we can all agree that the Sabbath, Lord’s Day, or whatever else we call it does have special meaning.  There is something different about this day that doesn’t exist with other days.  The biggest issue, however, comes in the application of this in today’s world.  You see, the discussion begins here with what exactly this commandment forbids.  Well, we know that we are forbidden from work on the Sabbath.  However, Jesus worked on the Sabbath.  He allowed his disciples to provide food for themselves on the Sabbath, and we know that Jesus never violated or broke any one of these commandments.  No, there is nothing against doing what is necessary and merciful on the Sabbath.  (Hey, technically I’m working on the Sabbath.)  There is nothing against work that must be done on the Sabbath.  There is nothing against acts of mercy and worship on the Sabbath.  This is one point that as we looked at John’s gospel last year, the Pharisees never seemed to quite grasp.

                The (for lack of a better word) issue that arises from this commandment for many of us today comes in the question of recreation on the Sabbath.  It’s fitting that this text should come before us on a day like today.  I, like many of you, am going to be glued to a television tonight for some 5+ hours (minus the halftime show).  Well, the guys playing in the Super Bowl, officiating the game, announcing the game, filming the game, etc. are all doing some combination of work/play on the Sabbath that I don’t believe any of us would call absolutely necessary.  Sure they are providing for their families, but it’s not like that couldn’t be done either a day earlier or a day later.  We could also look at this and talk about ourselves and our children.  Whether it be youth sports or that round of golf that starts after lunch on Sunday, how does it fit in to our understanding of the Sabbath?  How can we possibly remember the Sabbath and keep it holy while watching children run around a soccer field or while we cut grass or whatever else it is that we typically do on Sundays after church?  Well, this has been the dividing issue for many Christians when it comes to how we are to conduct ourselves on the Sabbath. 

When it comes to observing the Sabbath, there are primarily only two views:  the Sabbatarian view (no action at all on Sundays) and the non-Sabbatarian view (allowing for some recreation/work on Sundays).  In other words, those who are very literal and strict with their interpretation of this fourth commandment, and those who aren’t.  Now I want to say that there is nothing work with either interpretation in my opinion.  I tend to interpret this commandment more loosely than other, but greatly respect and to a certain extent admire those who refrain from all activities other than worship on the Sabbath.  However, if I might offer up this explanation as to my view of the Sabbath.  You see, the primary purpose of the Sabbath, as we stated earlier, is to give us rest.  Well, for me, an entire day of laying and resting will have the exact opposite effect.  I’m the type of person who is re-energized by doing something.  My wife is so gracious in this aspect.  When I’m stressed out or feeling overwhelmed, that’s usually when projects start around my house.  After seeing me do this countless times, she doesn’t even ask me why I’m beginning a new project anymore.  All she does is just look at me and say, “Stressed out aren’t you?” and then goes back to whatever she is doing.  You see, I don’t think that kicking the soccer ball in the backyard with our future Olympian is something that is to be refrained from on the Sabbath.  My rest from my labors comes in the form many times of playing with my children.  It’s not as if I am constantly working, never taking any type of break.  No, I am refreshing myself from my labors by doing something that reinvigorates me.

Now the other side of this coin, the trap that many fall into (and do indeed violate the Sabbath) is when Sunday is another work day.  Yes, we go to church and we go to lunch with our families and maybe even take a little Sunday afternoon nap.  Then, somewhere in the mid-afternoon, the work week begins.  We decide that it’s time to crank up the occupational to-do list again so that we can get a head start on the week to come.  When this happens, the Sabbath has lost its rest, it has lost its being holy, it has lost its being set apart from all other days.  The fourth commandment is reduced from “remember[ing] the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” to “thou shalt go to church on Sunday.”  Friends, the Sabbath is a great blessing, not a bothersome curse.  We should never act as if God’s commanding us to rest from our labors is a burden.  He calls us to this rest not to inconvenience us, but to provide for our need.  When we neglect the Sabbath, when we neglect resting in the Lord, then we sit in danger of falling away from Him.  When we don’t take the time to remember God and his care and providence, then we risk becoming immune to it.  Don’t allow the Sabbath to be just another day.  Don’t allow the world around you to dictate how God’s day of rest is spent for you.  Enjoy it.  Be renewed by it.  However, do not take this day for granted, because it is required by God, and need by us all.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.