Pentecost 2 2024

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 NIV84

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Exodus 20:8–11 (NIV84)

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For 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.

When Moses codified the Ten Commandments (Inspired by the Lord to write down and command laws that were already being observed), he commanded that at the end of every week, those who labored should rest from their work. This is a reference to what we take for granted: The seven day week. Have you ever thought about how the seven day week came into being?

And did you know that not all cultures even had a seven day week?

The Bible answers this question rather quickly and for us I hope conclusively. It is referred to already in the first chapter of Genesis in the creation account. Genesis 2:1–3 (NIV84)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

The oldest extra biblical reference to the seven day week is from Babylon (the culture that Abraham came from) in around 2400 BC. We would explain that one reason the Babylonians had a seven day week was because of its close association with where early biblical events took place and it was a remnant of the past.

One author uses the seven day week experience as a convincing argument for creation.

During the centuries from Noah to Moses, there was little occasion to refer in the Bible to the week as such. However, there do at least seem to be two allusions to it, in the story of Jacob and Leah ("fulfill her week"—Genesis 29:27, 28) and in the story of Jacob's burial (Genesis 50:10).

Whatever form of Sabbath observance might have been practiced by the early patriarchs, it is probable that the long servitude in Egypt caused many to forget its religious significance, even though the weekly cycle was still followed. When the time came for God to redeem His people, however, He began to remind them of its importance. In preparation for the great Passover deliverance, He commanded: "Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread,—And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you." (Exodus 13:15, 16). It is interesting that, in this preparation for the incorporation of the Sabbath into the Ten Commandments, both the First Day and the Seventh Day were days of rest and worship!

Soon after this, the Israelites were strongly reminded that a seventh day each week was intended to be a day of rest, in the experience of the manna (Exodus 16:4, 5, 25-30), which fell for six days each week and was withheld by God on the seventh. Finally, Sabbath observance was incorporated as the third in the array of Ten Commandments recorded for Israel by the very finger of God on tables of stone (Exodus 31:18).

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,—(Exodus 20:8-10).

It should be stressed again that the Sabbath observance was by no means established here for the first time. The Israelites, however, were now commanded to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy, as it should have been since God so pronounced it following the creation. The Lord's holy day may have been neglected by God's chosen people, or even forgotten altogether by most other nations, but it was still God's primeval commandment. At this time, God stressed again that the basis for the commandment was not regional but universal, relating to the entire creation. "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:11). A commandment intended for all people should certainly be obeyed by the chosen people!

All of this is the tremendous testimony of the seven-day week and, especially, of the day of rest which marks its boundaries. Its very existence can only be explained by the reality of a primeval six-day completed creation! God desires that we never forget that He is both our Creator and Redeemer, and also that we continually look forward to the eventual fulfillment of all His creative and redemptive purposes, when they are finally consummated in that eternal Rest for all the people of God in the ages to come.

Exodus and Deuteronomy both record the command to remember the Sabbath Day but for two different applications. In Exodus it was to remember God’s creative work and his resting on the seventh day. In our text it is to recall how they had been slaves in Egypt with no rest but that they needed rest. So the week was divided into two parts. Days of work and a day of rest. Note that the work came first and the rest came second. “Work before play.”

The work week has a certain rhythm to it, doesn’t it? Even if you are no longer gainfully employed, your week may have a repetitive cycle of seven days. At one time homemakers had a priority on certain chores to be done each day. You may recall these examples:

Ivory Soap added a Mother Goose rhyme about washing on Monday to one of their ads (below). In Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book Winter Days in the Big Woods, the author notes the following schedule for homemakers:

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Churn on Thursday

Clean on Friday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

However, in Antiques from The Country Kitchen by Frances Thompson, a slightly different schedule is put forth:

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Bake on Wednesday

Brew on Thursday (later marketing/shopping)

Churn on Friday (later housekeeping)Mend on Saturday

Church on Sunday

“Everybody’s working for the weekend.”

In our household Monday is grocery day (which threw us off this past week), Tuesday is breakfast with the pastors morning, Wednesday is wash day, Friday or Saturday is lawn mowing day, Saturday is recycling day, and Sunday is worship and lie around watching football day. Of course, we do many other things as well.

You are aware that this commandment was strictly observed by some at the time of Jesus and included many additions to the definition of what was meant by “work”. That is what is behind the conflict Jesus had with the Pharisees in our gospel lesson. The “unlawful” thing wasn’t gleaning from another’s person’s field but “gleaning” i.e. working on the Sabbath by the disciples and Jesus letting them do it.

We celebrate Shabbat because G-d created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. This has become a day of rest for Jews until today, called Shabbat. In essence, on this day, G-d created the concept of resting. The day starts on Friday evening after sundown and commences until Saturday evening, 25 hours in total. Shabbat is a very central part of Judaism and is synonymous with being a religious Jew. The commandment of Shabbat appears twice in the Torah: After G-d took the Jews out of Egypt and brought them to Sinai in Exodus (Sefer Shemos) and later when Moses repeated the ten commandments to the Jews before his death in Deuteronomy (Sefer Devorim). In Exodus, we are urged to remember that He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh and to observe Shabbat as a testimony. In Deuteronomy, we are commanded to keep the Shabbat because G-d saved us from Egypt. The difference is that from Exodus, we learn that we should remember the Shabbat (Zochor) and perform different actions as a reminder. In Deuteronomy, we learn to refrain from doing things that are forbidden on this day (Shomor).

What is the general atmosphere of Shabbat? Shabbat is a much anticipated and celebrated day in the Jewish calendar. It is a meaningful day of reflective peace and bonding with family. Traditionally, our Sages saved the best meat, fish, and wines of the whole week for the special day. The preparations for the day are also very extensive. It is customary to shower on Friday and don beautiful clothing reserved especially for Shabbat. All the foods that will be served and eaten throughout the day must be prepared in advance since there is no cooking or baking on the day itself.

Modern Jews emphasize the rest and celebration of Sabbath instead of the pickiness of the Pharisees.

Although as Christians, we also believe in creation in seven days and the Exodus of the Jews, why don’t we observe the Sabbath by not working? And why is it not a sin for people to work on the Christian version of the Sabbath which is Sunday even though some denominations would argue this?

The answer can be found in Colossians 2:13–17 (NIV84)

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

We believe that the Jewish religious ceremonial laws not only celebrated the past but also pointed ahead to Jesus. So we no longer celebrate those observances. We do still believe what they stood for and how that was importance, but we no longer look at them as a requirement.

Nevertheless, the concept of work and rest are still a very important part of our lives.

Work is required and a blessing from God.

In the creation account, we learn for the first time what God is doing. Oh, we may speculate what he did for the unfathomable eternity that he exists in before Genesis 1, but we are not given a narrative of what he was doing. But in Genesis 1, we read about how God begins to act in time. In six days he creates the universe and everything in it outside of himself. This is summarized in a progressively more and more complexity of creation results. He works first. And then on the seventh day he . . . rests.

God worked first, and then he rested.

God’s priority for mankind is also that we work. Adam and Eve did not just lounge around in the Garden of Eden, God gave them the task of taking care of it and also ruling over the rest of creation — managing it. Work has been a required activity for mankind ever since.

Before the Fall into Sin, work seems to have been a pleasure. One of the consequences of the Fall was that work would become toil and involve exertion and frustration.

God promises to bless our work when we are faithful to him. Deuteronomy 30:9–10 (NIV84)

9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, 10 if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

St. Paul commands the importance of work on more than one occasion:

2 Thessalonians 3:6–13 (NIV84)

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

Colossians 3:22–24 (NIV84)

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Jesus certainly worked. He was a trained carpenter. But he is more well known and praised for his work with his mind as he healed people and taught them about the kingdom of God. His greatest work was to sacrifice himself on the cross for our sins. He certainly worked (even on the Sabbath) as noted in John 5:16–23 (NIV84)

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

This statement by Jesus brings us back to the Third Commandment. This commandment teaches that work will be a big part of our lives. It also intimates that work is to be our priority.

For many occupations, this involves five or six days of work leading up to the weekend of a day or two of rest. Work leading up to rest. Does this not emphasize the importance and priority of work?

Specific sins: Some people are lazy and need to be commanded to get to work.

For others, they are so involved in work, they don’t take time to rest not only physically, but also spiritually. Even the Jewish people spent time on the Sabbath not just lying around but devoting themselves to God’s Word and family. We may not have a required exclusive time to do this, but we still need time to rest in God’s Word and promises as the writer to Hebrews encourages us.

Hebrews 4:9–13 NIV84

9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.