Stephen
Terry, Director
Sabbath Rest
Commentary
for the September 4, 2021, Sabbath School Lesson
"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for
the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their
works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter
that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of
disobedience." Hebrews 4:9-11, NIV
Some think that the Sabbath is
a Seventh-day Adventist thing. (Or Seventh-day Baptist, Seventh-day Church of
God, etc.) Some think of it as Jewish. Others think it really doesn't matter
anymore and have written it off entirely as belonging to the Old Testament and
an anachronism to modern times. In fact, there are far more who refute its
importance than those who assert its continuing significance. Why has the
Sabbath become such a controversial issue? There are many nuanced explanations that
have been made about this inconsistency within Christendom. I have found when
that occurs, the best place to begin is not with the pronouncements of some
well-known preacher or even with publications about denominational dogma but
with the Bible.
We first encounter the
seventh-day Sabbath back at the very beginning of all things, where God completes
Creation and through example gives the gift of rest to mankind.[i]
But the record of that first Sabbath does not command its observance. Instead,
it says God placed a blessing and holiness in that day. It was never intended
to be a burden. It was a gift. Therefore, Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for
mankind, not mankind for the Sabbath."[ii]
Some have pointed out that it was given before mankind had any opportunity to
earn it, and this makes it a metaphor for grace. But it goes much deeper than
that. It is an ongoing promise from God that no matter how messed up our week
has been, no matter what bad choices we have made, no matter how much pain we
may have endured because of those choices or the actions of others, we have
rest and a blessing waiting for us at the end of the week. Paul in his second
letter to the Corinthian church wrote that when we accept Christ, everything is
new and the old has gone.[iii]
We walk in a newness reminiscent of Creation, and we rejoice along with the
angels[iv]
at the blessing of rebirth with all the hope and promise that brings. The
seventh-day Sabbath is a weekly opportunity to experience something similar. It
is not only a metaphor for God's saving grace. It is a metaphor that has a literal
blessing.
When God created mankind, he
created him in his image.[v]
What does that mean? God is omnipresent. He is present in every place at every
moment and in every quantum state. This omnipresence gives him omniscience. He
occupies the vastness of eternity and all the dimensions contained there. Can
we draw a picture of him? We cannot even visualize eternity in our minds, much
less chart his appearance on the two-dimensional surface of a piece of paper.
How then can our appearance ever be said to be like his? Even if we allow for a
difference due to the fall into sin occasioned in the Garden of Eden, the Creation
accounts of the first two chapters of Genesis show that we are corporeal, and therein is the limit to what we can be. But the Sabbath
reminds us that God has created a conduit in time between himself and us. We
could not occupy space and time as he does, so he condescends to bring us to step
out of the linear flow of our lives to experience something more. Although the
gift was given at Creation, as time goes on, the blessing of the Sabbath grows
ever brighter.
If you have ever worked in the
mud after a heavy rain, you may remember that as you tried to walk through the
mud, more and more of it would stick to your boots. Eventually, you would have
to stop and clean the mud from your boots, or they would become too heavy to
continue. When we go through the week, so many cares and concerns can cling to
us that it is hard to move forward. It can be very hard to see hope and a future
when this happens. The Sabbath is like that beacon of hope shining at us from
the end of the week, giving us the strength to go on. It is a resting place
where we can scrape the mud from our boots and find restoration for the week to
come. Even those who have no religious understanding acknowledge this principle
when they say "T.G.I.F. (Thank God it's Friday.)" While they may not understand
its spiritual significance, they know there is a blessing waiting for them once
Friday's tasks are done.
The Sabbath is also a metaphor
for the incarnation of Christ and his ministry of grace. Jesus pointed out the
connection when he offered rest to those who would come to him.[vi]
Even God, as portrayed in the Old Testament, continually wished to bring
mankind to this rest. After four hundred years in Egypt, where they had been
enslaved, the people were confused and chaotic about their relationship with
God, but he assured them that his presence in their lives would bring them
rest.[vii]
In a sense, their forty years wandering in the wilderness may be seen as a metaphor
for all the rest they had missed in Egypt, rest that they would emerge from as
a renewed people. Each week for forty years, the people experienced a reminder
of this blessing when the manna they were provided ceased appearing each
Sabbath with enough supplied the day before each week to see them through the
Sabbath.[viii]
God felt this bridge between himself, and mankind was significant enough to go
to all this effort to remind the people about it. Even the Sabbath Commandment
in the Decalogue in Exodus chapter begins with the gentle entreaty to "remember."[ix]
Some may feel that the Sabbath
is no longer relevant because the grace made available through Christ did away
with it. They likely base this belief on the Sabbath being included in the
Decalogue. But the Sabbath existed long before the law was given to Moses, and
the Sabbath will be observed in heaven.[x]
Apparently the same bridge between unfallen mankind and God that was created in
the beginning will still be vital between resurrected mankind and God. Does it
make sense then that somewhere in between God would say "Oh, never mind?" He
craves that connection to us that he created in the beginning. God is love.[xi]
He does not change.[xii]
That connection is vital to us
as well. While we are unable to be omnipresent and omniscient, we are created with
the ability to be godlike in our capacity to love and for that love to endure.
Jesus tried to bring us back to that understanding with his Sermon on the
Mount, the greatest sermon ever given. The Beatitudes[xiii]
that began the sermon gave various perspectives on how that love should look.
But in case the message was misunderstood, he made it very clear when he said, "love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of
your Father in heaven."[xiv]
In this, we are able to reflect the image of God perfectly. But being mortal,
we tire and are challenged to maintain that love consistently over time. The
Sabbath is our opportunity to step aside for a rest, reconnect and recharge
through the blessing God has given us. Like a charging port for our cellphones
that supplies the power for us to stay connected even when not plugged in, that
Sabbath blessing can sustain us through the challenges of the coming week and
give us the spiritual energy to draw upon the unlimited roaming and data
available to us spiritually.
I grew up in a small town, and
I was early introduced to the public library. I was mesmerized by all the knowledge
available to me as a young boy. I loved history and science, and before I completed
elementary school, I had read everything the library's science fiction section
had to offer. I also read series of biographies of great Americans, and through
the National Geographic magazine, I traveled outside my small town to
destinations around the world. But as impressive as the library was, the
knowledge, stories, and experiences I can access through the small phone I
carry with me dwarfs that library tremendously. I feel I can access much of the
knowledge, literature, art, and personal experiences of the entire world. And
even that continues to expand. Initially I was limited to my native language,
English. But now, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, I can even translate
many things previously hidden from me by an unfamiliar language. All of this is
available to me if I remember to recharge my phone when necessary.
If that is astonishing, and we
are willing to pay a fee monthly to have access, how much more so to have
access to the depths of the universe and beyond through connection with one whose
omnipresence and omniscience can be a gateway to all of that. Amazingly, the
price for that access has already been paid. Should we value it less for that
reason? When God provided that bridge at the beginning and the ever-flowing
grace and love that sustains it, just like electricity sustains our phones, he
opened the door to a marvelous future just like the person who opened the door
to that library for me long ago. Whether we enter the Sabbath to find the blessing
inside is up to us. Our life will never be the same once we do.