January 9 Order - Sabbath

January 9

 

I’m so busy. . . 

 

You’ve said it. . . I know you have. 

 

How do I know? Because everyone seems to say it! We pack our days full of everything you can think of, and by the time we make room for others or the important things, we just can’t seem to find time. So we tell others that we are so busy we just haven’t been able to get together with them, or we don’t seem to fulfill obligations because we are too busy. .. 

 

There is something wrong here. . . 

 

How is it that we are too busy to do the things in life that matter? 

 

In Exodus there is a list of commandments that were given to the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. We read them in Exodus 20:1-17. 

 

1And God spoke all these words:

2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3“You shall have no other gods before ^a me.

4“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but 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. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

13“You shall not murder.

14“You shall not commit adultery.

15“You shall not steal.

16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

 

 

In this list, you have a few commands that deal with how we view God, you have a couple verses with two we relate to God, and then you have a few commands on how we relate to others. But the 5th commandment is the one I want to focus on for a moment. First of it, it is a command that is different than all the others. The first word of this command is . . Remember. Why remember? 

 

Well, because prior to these commandments, this was something that was already told and modeled for them. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. 

 

Where would they remember it from? 

 

For that, let’s go to Genesis 2. . .

1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 

 

God, in all of his purposefully specific creation, chose to stop on the 7th day and rest. 

 

This was part of his order in creation that was different than everything else that was going on around the cosmos. How do I know? 

 

It says that he made it . . .  HOLY. 

 

What does this word mean? It actually is closer to the word Sanctified in the original text and it means to be set apart and consecrated. 

 

What was this day set apart from? 

 

Everything!!!!!

 

God demonstrated that in all of this order, there was to be a day that was set apart from everything else. 

 

The problem with people today is that there is not a day that is set apart from everything else. The order God had planned, was that he worked hard for 6 days, and then on the 7th - nothing! He stepped away form all the hard work he had done, walked away from the creating process, and rested. He paused and did nothing. . . 

 

We don’t like to pause do we. . 

 

(Pause) 

 

See, that made you uncomfortable didn't it? 

 

Did you know your body was actually made for rest? 

 

Have you ever heard of Circadian rhythms? 

 

Franz Halberg is a scientist who is widely considered the “Father of Chronobiology.” This Romanian man who studied at the University of Minnesota, did extensive research on the rhythms of the body. Here are some of the rhythms he found that take place in 7 day cycles with the 7th day being a recovery day from the work that took place in the body the previous 6 days. 

 

Here is a list of discoveries that Halberb made about bodily systems and functions that seem to rise and fall in seven-day cycles. These include heartbeat, blood pressure, body temperature, hormone levels, acid content in the blood, red blood cell count, oral temperature, urine chemistry and volume, the ratio between the brain’s neurotransmitters called epinephrine and norepinephrine, and the flow of several body chemicals such as the stress-coping hormone cortisol. Even the common cold is circaseptan.

 

So interestingly enough, the human body was made to recover every 7 days. Without the 7th day being a rest day, the body can’t fully recover the way it was designed to. 

 

This is because of the imbedded call to order. 

 

God literally made your body for a sabbath. But most people never take that sabbath. 

 

So the one command that was set before the 10 commandments were ever given, is the one that most people ignore. 

 

Why do we do that? 

 

If I’m being honest, it is because we think too highly of ourselves! What will the world do without us? How will we find purpose and identity if we aren’t always needed for something or someone to thrive? 

 

So we fill our schedules, overbook our calendars, and cause our clocks to run out to the last minute so that we can feel valued and full. But all it does is create health issues, and quiet honestly - relationship issues, because we are too busy to enjoy life and real relationship. And in case you didn’t know this, you can’t fully understand relationship with the LORD if you don’t take a day to rest and reflect! 

 

So think about this, without the order of creation including rest, we would wear ourselves down. God didn’t need to rest. He is God. He is the same yesterday today and forever. So it’s not like he is going to wear out if he doesn’t take a rest. 

 

No, he did it for us. He took a rest so that you and I would know that if we don’t take a break, we will break! 

 

This is what order looks like. God specifically made us with a specific need to recover. This was meant to push us into relationship with him. That we would take a day to slow down and reflect on the creator of all things who spoke order and purpose into the world! 

 

So, when was the last time you listened to God, your body, and the rhythms of life, and took a day to rest? 

 

It’s what the God of order instructed! 

 

So, if you want to be the best you can be. . . If you want to succeed in life. . . You must take a day of deep rest! Separate it from everything else, and see how God rejuvenates your body, soul, spirit, and mind.. . 

 

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it separated from everything else. 

 

And in so doing, let God restore the rhythms of life!