The importance of the Sabbath Day!

From time to time I find myself thinking heavily about the Sabbath day and today is one of those times. Actually it began last night and it’s been heavy on my heart. The Sabbath day is a special day, the day of our Lord and this day is most important.

I’ve always felt we have failed as a nation to keep the Sabbath, and I’m pretty sure just about everyone reading this would agree. Most of us work in some form or fashion on Saturday (not going into whether Saturday or Sunday is the Sabbath – It’s Saturday). Even if it was Sunday, most of us work on Sundays too, so either way we’re screwed! But today my understanding of the Sabbath has increased and I realize even more how terrible of a position we are in.

I woke up this morning with a heavy burden to keep the Sabbath Holy, I also had a heavy burden to eat some breakfast and drink some coffee at the square. It’s a beautiful morning and I thought what a wonderful and peaceful time it would be to rest in the Lord while enjoying some coffee and eggs on the patio of the local breakfast spot. My mouth started drooling and I got my clothes on and was heading out the door when Exodus 20:10 popped into my head, specifically the part that says – thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

I became very confused, Lord, I don’t have any maids, I don’t even have any gates, why am I thinking about this verse? I had to stop for a minute and pray. What does all this mean? Then it hit me, even though the people preparing my food dont work soley for me, I am still participating in their working on the Sabbath. Even though I don’t have any gates, I am in my home town, the place where I live. I realized that even purchasing things on the sabbath is bad – When I buy something from someone else I’m causing them to work and that’s not cool.

Neh 10:31
(31) And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

All this thinking got me thinking even more. Well I’m still hungry shouldn’t I prepare some food, but Exodus 16:23 says to cook your food on friday and eat leftovers on Saturday so now I’m hungry and thinking, well I can eat some leftovers, but I really want some coffee. Coffee would be so good right now, I can still go out and enjoy the morning at the square, I’ll just get some coffee from the coffee shop.. Oh wait, I shouldn’t buy anything and cause them to work, but they are working anyway, it would be ok, not really, I really don’t want to encourage them to work so I’ll just go to the square and read my bible and enjoy the fresh morning air. That’s a very spiritual thing to do and nobody can argue with that right?

Something still wasn’t right, I really struggled with this for a minute, It seems like such a good thing to do, to REST on the SABBATH and throw in some bible reading… What more can you ask for? but I couldn’t shake it, something was still not right. So, when all else fails what do you do? GOOGLE IT!!!!! So I did, I googled it and right there on the first or second link I clicked on, in plain english and in bold type, there it was! Isaiah 58:13

Isa 58:13
(13) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

NOT doing thy pleasure, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words??? WHAT THE HECK MAN, THIS IS CRAZY!!!! But it’s right, after reading this my confusion was gone, instantly and all those questions were answered.

So now I’m really getting into this. Everything is making sense now, but what then should we be doing on the Sabbath. what are we supposed to do on the Sabbath? I looked up at the title for Chapter 58 in Isaiah and it’s called Right and wrong fasting, so I thought I might as well read the whole chapter to see if I can understand more about this Sabbath business, then again, plain as day, the answer to my question.

Isa 58:6-7
(6) Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
(7) Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Easy as pie, the answers to all my questions. Verses 1-5 explained how the people were so religious, they seek God daily, fasting and afflicting their souls, going to church and pretending to be righteous, but God saw through that. God saw their heart and says, behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sakcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

The Sabbath is nothing like what we have learned it to be in our modern religion. We go to church on Sunday which is a good start, but immediately afterwards we head out to lunch and begin ruining the Sabbath. We are causing others to work and enjoying their prepared food… We may talk about God while eating this nice warm meal that we are purchasing with money. Then we go home and talke about how beautiful the day is, then mow the lawn and watch netflix, eventually completely forgetting about God.

This is such an evil thing how we have strayed from the true requirements of God for the Holy Day. I realize, by reading the scripture, that God requires us to rest, but not in the way we think of rest, but we are to rest from our own desires, and on the Sabbath do the desires of God. We are to help the needy, deliver the sinners, preach the word, and above all Love! We are not supposed to be running around on the sabbath enjoying the beautiful day, we are to be enjoying the Lord and doing His desires. We are to serve God on the sabbath, and not ourselves!

So this Sabbath day is going to be different. I hope this new understanding of the sabbath will help you grow closer to the Lord, and keep this final Word in your hearts. A reminder that God rewards those who Keep His commands…

Isa 58:14
(14) Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.