Keep the Sabbath Holy

Scripture Passage

Exodus 20:8-11

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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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.

Sermon Script

Today’s passage is taken from the Ten Commandments. It is the fourth commandment. It is the longest commandment. It is also the last commandment of the first half. The first half (4 commandments) focuses on our relationship to God. The second half (6 commandments) focuses on our relationship to each other. This commandment speaks about keeping the Sabbath.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Exodus 20:8

I would like to reflect on this with you today.

What is the Sabbath? The sabbath is a day of rest. The Hebrew word is ‘shabat’ – which literally means ‘stopping’ or ‘ceasing’. It is a day where everything comes to a complete stop. That is what God commanded.

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.

Exodus 20:10

On the sabbath, we refrain from doing any work. We rest from the work we have done. Not just human beings – but all creation. Even God himself rested from his work.

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.

Exodus 20:11

It was God who blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. ‘Holy’ in its original word (‘qadosh’) means, ‘set aside’. God set the sabbath aside because it is the most important and precious day of all.

The sabbath doesn’t exist for the six days of the week. We don’t rest in order to work for the next six days. It’s the opposite. The six days of the week exist for the sabbath. We work hard throughout the week in order to rest on the sabbath.

In other words, rest is the CLIMAX of our life. It’s the highest point. Rest makes our life whole and complete. Without it, our life can easily fall apart.

We live in a world that expects us to function at our best all around the clock. We work all the time. We are always on. No wonder we often suffer from burnout, anxiety, and exhaustion. We are made to rest, and yet, we never let ourselves rest. At best, we use rest as a means of working more.

Then, does keeping the sabbath holy mean not working at all? As in, not lifting a finger? Not doing homework or assignment that I didn’t get to finish? Should I not move at all on Sunday?

That’s what the Pharisees believed. When they saw Jesus’ disciples picking grains to eat on the sabbath because they were hungry, they were offended.

The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?

Mark 2:24

To keep the sabbath holy is more than just not moving or working. It’s not purely about what we do physically. It has to do with our entire being.

We can be sitting completely still, but still thinking about work. I’m sure that’s what some of you are doing right now. So, keeping the sabbath involves resting not just our bodies but our minds as well. I think that’s what makes resting very difficult for us. We might be able to control our movements, but we can’t shut our minds off just as easily.

The way to rest from our thoughts is not by forcing them to quiet down. Rather, we rest from our thoughts by focusing all our attention on God. That is WORSHIP.

Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God…

Exodus 20:9, 10

The sabbath is not just a day of rest. The sabbath is a day of rest and worship. The two are connected. On the sabbath, we turn away from ourselves. In that sense, it echoes the first commandment—

You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:3

Instead, we turn ourselves completely to God – that is, our bodies, our minds, and our souls. We immerse ourselves in God’s presence. We surrender ourselves to God.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1

In God’s presence, we find our true rest. Our thoughts and desires that tell us to be productive and successful lose their power. We experience deep inner peace. We feel rejuvenated and renewed. We gain clarity and strength.

God made the sabbath for us. God blessed the sabbath day to bless us. God’s blessing is experienced in the context of worship. That’s what Jesus said to the Pharisees—

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

In your life, make the sabbath the most important day of the week. Treat it as the most precious day than any other. One of our young adults intentionally refrains from doing any work on Sundays. She makes worship her first and foremost priority. When you go through the six days of your week, look to the sabbath that awaits you at the end.

The sabbath is not an option. It is not a matter of convenience. It is not an obligation either. It is our GIFT and CALLING. It is our SPIRITUAL STOP and ANCHOR. We need the sabbath to live.

On the sabbath, focus on being connected with God. Don’t worry about yourself. Simply worship God. God who cares for you. Everything else will take care of itself. That is how you keep the sabbath holy.