Sabbath - delight

We are returning again this week to the topic of sabbath. I started the first two messages in this series by talking about sabbath as a separation. We began by noting that the Hebrew word sabbath (shabat) literally means stop or cease. We also noted that sabbath is often associated with a time set aside for rest. This all comes to us as a pattern first put in place by God during the creation itself. God himself not only establishes the pattern of sabbath, but God himself also practices sabbath. God himself took a time for sabbath in the creation.

You may recall that I played out for us the patterns of the creation account as we see it in the opening chapters of Genesis. The first six days of creation in Genesis are divided into three days of creating a separated space, and then three days of filling those spaces of separation. The first two messages in this series on sabbath focused on sabbath as spaces of separation. Now in these next two messages in this series let’s turn our attention towards the filling of those spaces. We have already spent two messages focusing on what we stop doing on sabbath in order to make the space in our time. Now let’s see what scripture says about what we place into that sabbath time as the appropriate filling of this sacred space in our weekly calendar of activities.

two themes to use when considering what fills our sabbath time: delight and worship

There are two themes I suggest we use when considering what fills our sabbath time: delight and worship. Sabbath is a regular habit and rhythm in the time of our week which ought to be filled with both delight and worship. Today in particular we look at sabbath as a time of delight. Next week I will conclude this series by turning attention to sabbath as a time of worship.

There are two passages I am using today to set the context for seeing sabbath as a day of delight. One passage comes from the Old Testament through the prophet Isaiah. And the other passage comes from the New Testament through the apostle Paul.

Isaiah 58:13–14 (NIV)

Isaiah 58:13–14 NIV

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Colossians 2:16–23 (NIV)

Colossians 2:16–23 NIV

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. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. 20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

delight may seem undignified or unholy; as though sabbath ought to be a day that is sombre and reflective and penitent.

The whole idea of seeing the sabbath as a day of delights might strike as a bit odd or out of place. This would be especially true if you came from an upbringing in which Sunday carried a lot of legalism and rules. In that case, delight may seem undignified or unholy. By that line of thinking sabbath ought to be a day that is sombre and reflective and penitent. Delight almost feels like a desecration of the sabbath to be avoided rather than a virtue of the sabbath to be pursued.

But delight has a place in the sabbath; legalism does not. You certainly catch that vibe in these words from the apostle Paul in Colossians. Look again at Paul’s conclusion of the matter when addressing a legalistic understanding of sabbath.

Colossians 2:23 (NIV)

Colossians 2:23 NIV

23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Let’s reframe Paul’s words here. If my natural impulse is to engage sabbath as a day of holiness (and this part is not wrong), and if I define a day of holiness in terms of sombre reflection and penitent humility, then the path to filling that sabbath time would be to avoid moments of delight, not to be intentionally embracing moments of delight. Paul’s analysis of such thinking is this. It has the appearance of wisdom, but lacks any real value. Avoiding delight is not the key to embracing sabbath. In fact, it is just the opposite. Pursuing delight is the key to embracing sabbath.

does any form of delight count as sabbath practice?

our culture defines delight as self-indulgence

This is where the answer needs some qualification. Does any form of delight count as sabbath practice? We should probably spend a bit of attention here on what we mean by delight in relation to the practice of sabbath. Here is why that is important. Our world and our culture today would easily and automatically define delight as doing whatever you want that makes you happy. Delight for us in our world means self-indulgence. The Old Testament verses we saw from the prophet Isaiah cross that off the list.

Isaiah 58:13 (NIV)

Isaiah 58:13 NIV

13a, c “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day… …and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

I left out the middle of the verse here on purpose for a moment. Because if we were to look at just the beginning and the end, I suppose we could easily arrive at an interpretation of sabbath as a sombre day of penitent humility. Based on just those words, sabbath does, in fact, become a day of legalistic rule-keeping.

relearning how to embrace delight apart from self-indulgence

delight that participates in and promotes the delight of another

Before we move on to bring the entire verse into view, it would be good to spend a moment recognizing that sabbath rest is not meant for self-indulgence. Perhaps in our world and in our culture we have mostly lost sight of how to embrace delight in ways that are not self-indulgent. We have mostly forgotten how to experience delight apart from just doing what I want the way I want when I want. We have mostly forgotten any other form of delight, but not completely. Think for a moment about giving a special gift without occasion and without cause (not an obligated occasion such as birthday or Christmas or anniversary). Have you ever given something to someone else just because you happened to see the perfect item that you know the other person would love, and something in you just overflows with the impulse to get it and give it to the other person just because you know it will bring delight to that other person? It becomes an occasion in which I embrace delight simply and only on the basis of others being delighted. My delight in that circumstance is directly connected to the delight of another and my participation in their delight.

the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—embraced a mutual delight in and with one another

sabbath at its very core is a participatory rest and delight in and with God

Now, perhaps, you see where I am going with this. Sabbath began as something God himself embraced upon the completion of the creation in Genesis. The triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—embraced a mutual delight in and with one another. The heavenly Father’s sabbath delight is not self-indulgent; it is participatory delight along with the Son and the Spirit. The Son’s sabbath delight is not self-indulgent; it is participatory delight along with the Father and the Spirit. The Spirit’s sabbath delight is not self-indulgent; it is participatory delight along with the Father and the Son. This is the pattern and rhythm of sabbath which God establishes and then passes on to his people. It is no wonder that Isaiah calls out those who embrace a sabbath that goes their own way apart from God. Sabbath at its very core is a participatory rest and delight in and with God. Isaiah’s words are not a prohibition against delight; they are an invitation to find and join our delight together with the delight of God himself.

Put this verse back together.

Isaiah 58:13 (NIV)

Isaiah 58:13 NIV

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

Hebrew oneg “delight” = taking pleasure, experiencing enjoyment, being pleasant

participate in God’s enjoyment of his creation by joining in that enjoyment

Sabbath is meant as a day for delight. Yet it is a rather specific kind of delight. It is a participatory delight in and with God. Maybe the word itself needs a little explanation. The Hebrew word oneg is what our English Bibles translate as delight. In the Hebrew it carries the meaning of taking pleasure, experiencing enjoyment, or being pleasant. That sounds like a wonderful experience of sabbath to me. To participate in God’s enjoyment of his creation by joining in that enjoyment with a sabbath rhythm of delight sounds perfect. Of all the rules and commandments God gave to his people, this one sounds the best; the easiest. How in the world did God’s people mess this one up?

The apostle Paul seems to be asking that very question in his letter to the Colossian church. Chapter 2 of Colossians actually contains three directives from Paul; the verses we read only contain two of them. The first directive comes in verse 8

Colossians 2:8 (NIV)

Colossians 2:8 NIV

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

1. Don’t be trapped by a sabbath that focuses on human rules rather than on Christ (Col 2:8)

One. Don’t be trapped by a sabbath that focuses on human rules rather than on Christ.

The next directive we see in verse 16.

Colossians 2:16 (NIV)

Colossians 2:16 NIV

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.

2. Don’t let others judge you on matters apart from the grace of God received in Christ (Col 2:16)

Two. Don’t let others judge you on matters apart from the grace of God received in Christ.

The third directive is in verse 18.

Colossians 2:18 (NIV)

Colossians 2:18 NIV

18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.

3. Don’t allow others to make you feel excluded or cut off from Christ if you do not conform to their rules (Col 2:18)

Three. Don’t allow others to make you feel excluded or cut off from Christ if you do not conform to their rules.

Okay, I acknowledge that the English word delight technically appears in this verse; but I think this one is a bad translation. Here, it is the Greek word thelon, and is better translated as wish or desire or longing rather than delight. The apostle Paul is taking a correct Old Testament understanding of the sabbath as participatory delight with God and framing that experience of sabbath in a New Testament context of fulfillment in Christ. Theologian G.K. Beale says this about Paul’s words here in Colossians:

“Let no one impose upon you his arbitrary standards of Christian conduct; do not feel yourself inferior because your own life is not governed in the way that he declares to be necessary.”

“Let no one impose upon you his arbitrary standards of Christian conduct; do not feel yourself inferior because your own life is not governed in the way that he declares to be necessary.” —G.K. Beale

if Old Testament sabbath is an invitation to delight along with God in the goodness of his creation, then New Testament sabbath expands that sabbath invitation to also delight in our status as co-heirs of Christ, adopted by the heavenly Father into his eternal covenant family

Sabbath delight, then, should never be sidetracked or derailed by expectations of regulations which stand apart from Christ—from the grace we receive in Christ, from the freedom we are granted in Christ, from the righteousness we are given through Christ. If Old Testament sabbath is an invitation to delight along with God in the goodness of his creation, then New Testament sabbath expands that sabbath invitation to also delight in our status as co-heirs of Christ, adopted by the heavenly Father into his eternal covenant family. That should be a cause for delight that fills our souls. A regular habit and pattern of sabbath allows us as God’s people to not only claim that identity as God’s people in Christ, it allows us to celebrate and delight in the goodness of God along with the celebration and delight of God himself.

What is it that brings you delight in the goodness of God’s creation?

What is it that brings you delight in the goodness of Christ?

Let’s bring this one together with some practical tips, and even a little crowd sourcing. The first sabbath occurred when God completed his good creation and then took a sabbath to delight in the goodness of that creation. If you at all need a place to begin with sabbath delight, start there, where God started. What is it that brings you delight in the goodness of God’s creation? If you can answer that question, then you have a great place to begin with embracing sabbath delight. As Paul expands this understanding of sabbath in the New Testament in relation to Christ, we can expand our experience of sabbath along with it. What is it that brings you delight in the goodness of Christ? —in belonging to God, in having a secure place in his covenant family, in resting in the eternal security of God’s faithful love, in confidently embracing assurance that Christ’s righteousness covers you.

Answer those questions. And then don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with somebody else. This is not a contest to see who can “win” sabbath. It is a sharing that allows others to perhaps hear some ideas they have not thought of, but would help them. It allows you to hear some ideas from someone else that perhaps you have not thought of. It allows our experience of sabbath delight to become a participatory embrace of delight with one another and with God.