The rest and rule of the King
Notes
Transcript
The rest and rule of the King
The rest and rule of the King
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Today we have before us the final Day of creation and the implication are huge. Christians have actually argued and divided over it for years. Over what? Sabbath.
There are some really big things we need to understand about the Sabbath and there are some smaller nuances that could affect how you see this important topic. Either way we need to remember that the Bible is not a story about us… It is a revelation of God to us. It has profound impacts on us; and there is certainly things we need to do in light of this revelation of who God is and how he is to be worshipped. But this one topic has the potential to divide people.
So before we get going here, can I encourage you, that if you already have a hard and fast opinion on this, be patient in seeing the bigger picture, and if you haven’t given it much thought before, be willing to look at this as something that is not common and irrelevant.
Let’s talk about the Sabbath, What it is, Why it is important, and what we are to do with it.
What is the Sabbath?
What is the Sabbath?
The Word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word Sabat and it means to “cease”, “rest”, “desist”, or “stop”. We see it approx. 104 times in OT, and the first place where we find this word in here in , “… he ‘RESTED’ on the 7th day...” Form what? It says he finished his work… Sabbath is rest from Work.
God finished his work and rested… He then Made that holy because it was a whole day in which he rested or did no work. Found here in the creation account we see that God, who authored the scriptures, made sure to include in the story of how he created everything, that he rested from work.
What is Sabbath? - REST FROM WORK
What is Sabbath? - REST FROM WORK
The idea of Sabbath is one in which there is a rest from work. It is an intentional stoppage and cease from work. And as God created everything and gave purpose and life to everything, he also carved out time to rest and enjoy his creation.
From this moment in scripture we see that built into the fabric of the creation, coming from the author and creator of all, rest was something that was important. And not because God needed rest, but because he was beginning to relate to his creation as more than just the creator, but also the ruler!
God, as king and ruler of everything that exists takes time to rest. This is profound in coming to understand who this God is, and will carry even more significance moving forward for his special people.
Remember that in ancient times people who did not believe in the Hebrew God had their won stories of creation and their own ways to worship their gods… They would worship the sun moon and stars, but the Hebrews declared that their God made the Sun moon and Stars to reflect his glory and prepare a place for them to dwell. They worshipped the creation as elements of God, the hebrews worshipped God as creator of all elements that have been placed there to provide for them.
This God that the hebrews worshipped was so distinct, that when other peoples were constantly “working” to worship their many deities (gods), the Hebrews proclaimed that there is 1 God, and part of worshipping him was to stop working and rest, under penalty of death for those who would dare to defy his orders to rest from work.
The God of the Bible is so distinct from anything anyone has ever heard, it demands everyones attention. And in the creation story that these Hebrews would tell, the focus of Sabbath has it roots in celebrating the completion of creation. So Sabbath then becomes a command from their God to them in being a distinct people. These people will proclaim that they Know the real God, that this God is with them and this God is very different in even his commands to worship him.
The Sabbath was a way for God’s people to been seen as very different than any other religious group. Why?
The Sabbath regulations of the Old Testament are intended mainly to reinforce the provision of that day as a day of rest. Meaning that the Sabbath was a provision that God made for them… They couldn’t claim to not have time for worshipping their God because it becomes a law for them to follow, but its roots are in the form of provision for worship and rest!
Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 897). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
And so no work was allowed to be done on the sabbath as what started as a pattern and provision for rest, became part of a command on how to worship God. Remember when Moses when up on the mountain and recieved from God the commandments?
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
So the pattern of what God established as he rested, now becomes a commanded part of worship for his people. but there is more than just some religious activity here, more than just a prohibition. If it was a stoppage for nothing more than not working, then it would make more sense of the kind of legalism we see when people try following such a command.
Now maybe you are not aware of how Christians have observed the command of a Sabbath over the history of the church, or maybe you have come out of a legalistic church back ground… that word legalistic is meaning to say a very strict conservative works based system of beliefs that requires much effort in being and doing and keeping, in order to be right with God. Legalism tends to take good things and make them requirements and rules to be obeyed rather than freedoms to be enjoyed. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
Pastor in Quebec in 1920’s during a particularly cold winter.
Pastor in Quebec in 1920’s during a particularly cold winter.
Wakes to find snow drifts have blocked him in. The problem? He can’t shovel snow on the Sabbath because that is work. His only option? Put on his ice skates and skate over the frozen canal, which he does.
Upon his arrival, the parishioners are very upset. Why? What he had done was equivalent to joyriding on the Lord’s day!
After some deliberation they decided it would come down to one question… “Did you enjoy your skating trip?”
If he answered yes, he would be removed for publicly defying the Sabbath command.
If he answered no, then the case would be dropped and would be chalked up as a “work of necessity”.
Do you want to know what happened?
WHO CARES! THIS IS THE SILLIEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD… This is the reason why people will not come to church or listen to Christians. Because instead of hearing a message of Hope for their brokenness and the Love of a God who will save them, they hear of God’s people who represent him beating each other up with strict rules that miss the point of who he is.
Do you really believe that God rested for this to be what is made of his commands? Look at how God further defines this same command to hold to a sabbath…
10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. 12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
exod23.
Do you hear the provision in this kind of Sabbath? The idea of rest is good for the land, in order to care for the poor and even the beasts of the field. All of God’s creation can benefit from God’s people when we rightly worship God.
What is Sabbath? - PROVISION for God’s people
What is Sabbath? - PROVISION for God’s people
The provision of Rest meant that they needed God to bless them as a people more than others because everyone else is working 7 days a week and yet GOd’s said his people would be blessed if they rested. The provision of rest was good for their animals even, as no burdens were to be carried or loaded onto animals on the Sabbath, and . Food to be eaten on the Sabbath was to be prepared the day before because there was provision for families to not have their day begin with gathering woods for fires and buying and selling goods for food to eat, that was provision of time to worship God. And so No food would be bought from gentiles, , , , nor even a fire kindled on the Sabbath, .
These are all Gracious laws to force God’s people to rest from work and have the time to Worship and enjoy their God. And I need to make sure we all understand that this was not written to every person who ever lived, but rather this was written to God’s chosen people. His people are Israel, who were the Hebrews, a people among many other peoples. They were very different because of their God and how they worshipped him. In this command, God provision of a sabbath rest shows his willingness to provide for his people when all their own labor didn’t provide for their needs. And this was how he dealt with HIS people, graciously providing for them when they can’t provide for themselves.
Yet Sabbath was even more serious in that there was the strictest of penalties for breaking it. But before we can talk about that we need to talk about why it is important...
Yet Sabbath was even more serious in that there was the strictest of penalties for breaking it.
Why is Sabbath important?
Why is Sabbath important?
Why would rest be so important? Is rest optional for us? What are the implication of not resting?
There are many today who see any form of mandated rest as nothing more than controlling behavior. They see that act of stopping work as simple rule or a silly exercise, but all these views fail to see Sabbath for what it is and over look one small but powerful word.
HOLY...
3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
gen2.
Does it confuse you that this one day is to be seen as HOLY? What does it mean that it is Holy?
The word holy denotes wholeness, entireness, perfection in a moral sense.
It means to be unique, different and whole, absolute perfection. In a world where there is nothing that is truly perfect and whole, God is!
4 Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.
isa
So God is Holy. and Christians are holy, because we have the Holy Spirit within us.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
And not just because he dwells in us by his Spirit but also because we are consecrated to his service.
But also there are People, places and things that are called holy because they are dedicated to God.
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
ex
29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.
ex
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.
ps
20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
So there are people and places and things that are holy… and when people understand that they treat holy things and places different. there is respect and care given to the treatment of anything that is Holy. And yet people have failed to see how God called the Sabbath Holy.
Why is the Sabbath important? - It is Holy
Why is the Sabbath important? - It is Holy
IF the essence of who God is, is Holy, and that denotes an awe and reverence, then anything he says is holy should carry the same weight, unless he says otherwise.
So even the act of breaking something that God said is Holy should carry a heavy weight then, wouldn’t you agree?
The penalty for the an individual breaking the sabbath was death...
14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.
ex
Why would God say they must be put to death? Doesn’t that sound extreme??? It’s just a day??? Right?
Well it is a day he consecrated and blessed and made holy. But yet it is more than just an angry god who will kill those who do not follow his rules, even though some portray him as that… look at a verse before this...
13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.
The sabbath was one of the ways that God was sanctifying his people. It was a way of setting them apart from all the other nations. God’s people don’t need to chase money and possessions because they worship him and give up a whole day of work. God’s people do not have to complain that there is no time for worshipping God because they do not even have to cook on the sabbath. They can enjoy him, worship him and most importantly Rest!
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary SABBATH
The Sabbath is to be both a sign of and a time for remembering the distinct relationship between Yahweh and the people of Israel (Exod. 31:13; Ezek. 20:20).
20 and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
Sabbath is a sign between God and his people and a sign for others to see! So for these people to deny the Sabbath… to work on the sabbath and not be seen as a covenant people with a distinct Holy God, to break this command and reject God’s gracious act of sanctifying his people, and to ignore his provision of rest for you and all those under your charge is to defy the God who created the universe!
To reject rest is to reject God and say, I do not need you, I don’t need you to tell me what to do, and I don’t care if people know who you are by me relationship with you.
Do you see how this became a big deal? But can you also see how the sabbath can be confused with a kind of legalism that is nothing more than a prohibition of work, rather than a gracious provision from God to his people where they display his love for his people to the world around them?
So we can see what the sabbath is, and why it should be important… But what do Christians do with it? We can see that this was very specific for God’s chosen people, but we who are now in Christ… are we the same as they were? Has anything changed?
What do we do with the Sabbath?
What do we do with the Sabbath?
We could feel a certain tension knowing that we are all here on a Sunday, but the sabbath was known to be on what we call Saturday, or the last day of the week, the day the Lord rested from his work in creation. So how do we get to where we are now?
Well if the Sabbath was truly a provision of rest, then everywhere else in scripture where we see rest provided for God’s people, there would be an echo of this same provision. In fact if you look at where God’s people get this provision as a command it will give you a more full picture of what I am talking about. We used , and to show that God commanded this sabbath keeping from his people. But where were his people? they have just been delivered from Egypt out of slavery to go worship God and enter the promised land… a Land of REST and Provision for these former slaves.
The promised land becomes a place of rest that is promised to God’s people, yet they cannot get their on their own, so God sends them a deliverer to lead them out of bondage into the land of rest, or Sabbath.
If you read through the Bible and follow the story you will see that because of unbelief Moses and Joshua were unable to deliver God’s people into the Promised land. But the Bile tells us that the rest that God provides for his people is not simply a stoppage of work, or a provision of Land, or even a deliverance out of slave labor. The rest is not only about a day or a property inheritance. Sabbath rest is ultimately spiritual rest. It is spiritual rest in which sinners may find peace with God and enjoy his presence in worshipping him.
And so as God’s people struggle and strive to worship god correctly, they make an idol out of following his laws, rather than seeing how following his laws point their hearts toward him. Suddenly religious people start treating each other badly because the law they are commanded to keep becomes more about them keeping it than the God it should cause them to worship. So would God let his people wander so far from him in appearing to holy but really being far from him in their hearts? NO!
Enter Jesus and his constant taking on of the pharisees who marginalize God’s people for the sake of keep ing his laws. They turn what is holy into works to be done, and in so doing even their resting is a work of self righteousness, and is truly breaking the command at its core. So how will sinners find spiritual rest and peace with God?
matt
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Notice how Jesus used the word REST here? to his audience they would’ve associated this with the concept of sabbath rest because they were being badgered by the pharisees with trying to work for their salvation or spiritual rest. But Jesus goes on here and makes a profound statement that will certainly change things moving forward.
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” 9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
matt12.1-8
Jesus just told the religious people who are trying to uphold the Sabbath that he is LORD of the Sabbath! Well who made the sabbath holy? God in . So Jesus is saying I am God. This statement is a claim on his deity. And he is saying don’t tell me about the sabbath, because the temple was a holy place, and he is something greater and more holy than the temple, which was meant to point to him. He is God. But Jesus never made a claim and didn’t back it up… keep reading.
9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
Jesus validates his claim by healing, and he did it on the sabbath to prove that the heart of the Sabbath is meant to be provision for God’s people not prohibition for God’s people. And he has every right to do that because he is God. And so if says something about how we use the Sabbath is wrong then we listen to him. In a parallel Gospel telling the same story, one part is added to give emphasis to the meaning of the Sabbath...
27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
What is Jesus saying here? “I am God, ‘Lord of the Sabbath’, and I tell you that you were not made to be a slave to the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for you as a provision of rest.”
What is Jesus saying?
So Jesus redefines our understanding of the sabbath, and tells us that real rest is found in him. As moses is associated with the exodus that was needed to take God’s people to the promised land of rest from slavery; So also is Jesus’ ministry at the cross as the “Passover Lamb” associated with a new exodus!
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
What the scriptures declare to us is that Jesus did a work for us that we could not do for ourselves, and he as our new passover lamb, , becomes our real rest as he does on the cross what we cannot do for ourselves. And everyone who benefits from Jesus’ ministry will enter his rest, because we have received a new covenant in his blood.
6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
heb8.
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Jesus now gives us a new covenant by the shedding of his blood for the atonement of our sins. The new rest he provides for us is celebrated in the new covenant sign and seal of the Lord’s supper. Which is a reflection of the passover meal that was a provision and preparation for Israel’s escape from slavery and entry into the Promised land of rest! What was their true sabbath land, only pointed to our true sabbath rest that we find in Jesus who mediated a new covenant between us and God!
And Jesus completed the work he came to do and he rested on the 7th day… But was raised on the First day! When even the women wanted to go to prepare their Lords body they could not because of the Sabbath, . But when they did come… It was no longer the Sabbath...
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
And because of this, the early church began to to worship the Lord on the First day of the week. They were no longer under the law and old covenant with tis works being made the preeminent act. They worship and practices communion on the first day, what we call Sunday.
this proves that Christ was not working on that sabbath, yet new life
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
We see Paul leading a church service for the believer on the first day of the week, and he gives further instruction that assumes the believer will be gathered and worshipping on the first day of the week.
2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
1cor
The churches that were being established were gathering to worship and giving on the first day of the week. And when the Jews came into the new Church full of Gentiles and outsiders who believed in Jesus they tried to get them to go back to the Sabbath, but Paul gave them this command and ties it to believing in the Gospel...
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. 16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
col2.
And in all of this we see instituted by God in Creation and amended by Christ in the new covenant and yet it points us to the final Sabbath, place of rest that is eternal with our God… Just as in the beginning, before sin entered in to ruin humanity, God will surely restore it all to us and we will experience his real rest, but we can only enter through Jesus who is the way the truth and life. No one comes to the but by the Son. Adn so we look forward...
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Someday we will have the real rest found in Christ, but for today we have a rest from trying to obtain a position with God, because he worked for us to rest in his finished work.
3 questions for community groups
3 questions for community groups
What is the Sabbath, and what isn’t the Sabbath?
What is the Sabbath, and what isn’t the Sabbath?
Where is it found in scripture? What did you learn about it? How do people get this wrong? Is the Sabbath really about what we can’t do, or shouldn’t do? or is it about something of more value to God’s people?
Why is the Sabbath important?
Why is the Sabbath important?
What value gives the Sabbath any importance? Who came up with the Sabbath? How should the idea of true rest from work be seen in light of the scriptures? Were we created for religious activity or non activity, or was the Sabbath created for us as provision? How so?
How should we handle the Sabbath now in Christ?
How should we handle the Sabbath now in Christ?
Is the time we worship any less important because of a renewed understanding of Sabbath in Christ? Should we be just as serious about it setting time aside for appropriate worship of God?
You may have more questions now than before… that is good, because that means you care to be right with God. But none of us can be right with God by observing a day without seeing that it needs to point us to him. We value keeping a day of rest, because it speaks of the true rest our weary souls need and can only find in Christ. We value gathering on that day of rest because we still worship a God that others don’t understand and this becomes a visible expression of the God who created the universe. We consistently join in worship of God no matter how we feel or what we have going on, because God commands us to rest and worship him, and it prepares us for our eternity waiting for us in him.