The Rest of Your Life

One of the most restful pleasures of my life has been visiting my parents. For the last 24 years they’ve been living in a nice house in the middle of ten acres of woods, surrounded by literally thousands of acres of mostly wooded public land. Of course, the Southern culture lends itself to rest on these visits–just sitting around with family you love, talking, playing chickenfoot, or Mexican train, or Skipbo, eating lots of good food, like barbecue and fried chicken and pecan pie. After the busyness of church life in the Christmas season, I was looking forward to this rest at my parents’ home! It would be a good environment to begin writing the first message in a whole series on rest!

We arrived on Wednesday, only to hear the news on Friday that my aunt, my mom’s little sister, had died. That was so painful, to my mom especially, that it certainly disrupted our plans for pure relaxation. Actually, it became a point of stress because they scheduled the funeral after our return home and I had to wrestle with the decision to come on home or extend my time there. And then, on New Years Day, my dad, woke up with a cold that he’d been fighting for a couple of days. Within a couple of hours, he went from simple cold symptoms to having tremors, becoming delirious, and having a fever spike to 104. That meant calling an ambulance and admitting him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with influenza. Sitting in a hospital room with a sick parent is not restful.

I was sitting in the hospital room working on a sermon on rest. When I pointed out this irony to Lisa she wisely commented: “Practice of the Sabbath gets you ready for times like this.” So true. Sabbath reminds me that God is in control and that I’m not. Sabbath reminds me of the limitations of my own abilities: I can work 24/7, and still I need God to do what only he can do.

So, Sabbath is a way of putting my trust in God to do what only he can do. Sabbath reminds me the lesson Jesus taught, that God is the one who is always working on our behalf. God rested on the seventh day as an example to us, yet Jesus says the Father is always at work. Through Sabbath we learn how to rest in that truth–to trust God for our healing, especially when the needs are beyond human capacities. We’re going to start by looking at the story of God’s provision of manna. 

Stop.

Sabbath by definition means to cease. This pattern was established in creation, as God created the earth in 6 days, then God “shabbated,” ceased, or rested, on the seventh day. Genesis 2 doesn’t call that the Sabbath, but it is later given as the basis for the Sabbath. When was the first mention on the Sabbath? You have to go all the way to Exodus 16, the story of God’s provision of manna to the people of Israel in their desert journey to the Promised Land after God set them free from slavery in Egypt. 

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way, I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.'” Exodus 16:4 (NIV)

One of the primary purposes of the Sabbath is to learn how to trust and obey God.

How does manna become a test? By its relation to the Sabbath. What is the first use of the word “Sabbath” in the Bible? It’s right here in Exodus 16. Some of the most important principles of the Sabbath are used right here in Israel’s introduction to this principle. 

A Test of Obedience

Verse 4 says, “I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.” 

A couple of instructions were given about the manna:

• The manna could not be saved overnight (except on the 6th night, as we will see)
• They were not to go out to gather manna on the seventh day, the Sabbath

What happened if they tried to save the manna for the next day? 

¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” ²⁰ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. Exodus 16:19–20 (NIV)

This was only part of the test of obedience: Don’t keep any manna until the morning; you have to get new manna DAILY. Some paid no attention to these instructions, and Moses got angry about it. That was just part of the test of obedience, though. The other aspect of the test had to do with observing the Sabbath. A lot more is said about this than about trying to save the manna.

²¹ Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²² On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ” ²⁴ So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. ²⁵ “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. ²⁶ Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” ²⁷ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? ²⁹ Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day. Exodus 16:21–30 (NIV)

It wasn’t just Moses upset over the people ignoring the Sabbath! This time, it’s the Lord who’s expressing displeasure. I think this demonstrates the relative importance of keeping Sabbath. 

Some Christians think the Sabbath is no longer a matter of obedience. We like to think that God no longer demands obedience, and that everything he tells us to do is simply a matter of doing something that’s good for us. I do think the commands of God are for our good, but obedience for the sake of obedience is still a thing with God. Obedience is still better than sacrifice. Jesus is our friend–but even Jesus said, “You are my friends if you obey my commandments.”

Legalism vs. Taking God Seriously

Of course we know that the Pharisees were legalistic about the Sabbath. They ignored mercy for a harsh interpretation of Sabbath law. They were enraged that Jesus would work–by healing–on a Sabbath. So Christians easily say it’s just religious legalism to observe the Sabbath — really? Which of the Ten Commandments are we no longer required to obey? Only the fourth commandment, the one about the Sabbath? Lisa shared with me a quote to the effect that a pastor would be removed from ministry for violating just about any other commandment–but would probably get a raise for violating this one!

A fairly recent holiday tradition in my family is a “goody table,” full of homemade candies and pies. My sister is keeping the tradition going, and for our visit I bet she made at least 20 pounds of candies. And my mom made a pecan pie for me, too. And I would frequently pass by the goody table and think, “I shouldn’t have a slice of pecan pie, I shouldn’t have anymore peanut brittle, I shouldn’t have another chocolate/coconut candy.” I would say these things to myself, and then I would!

Unfortunately, we often have such an approach to breaking God’s commandments–especially the Sabbath. “I shouldn’t break it,” but I do. We have come to the point that we can break one of the Ten Commandments, and it’s little more than just self indulgence at the good table. Would it be OK if we got a little bit serious about obeying this commandment? 

It’s not just a matter of God saying, “Do it because I told you so.” Behind our disobedience to God, there’s usually a deeper issue. Same with refusing God’s command to take a rest. More than any other issue, behind the disobedience is a lack of trust. 

For the Sake of Trust

Sabbath by definition means to cease. Can you trust God enough to cease?

God provides daily. Just like with manna, you don’t have to store up. Nothing is wrong with savings, but Jesus talks about not storing up where moth and rust destroy and thieves can steal (Matthew 6)–but to store up treasures in heaven. That’s a lesson about money–but it’s a lesson from the manna that Jesus was elaborating on! The petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” also in Matthew 6 makes the same point. Can we trust God for what we need? That what we need tomorrow will be there? Can I trust that I can cease from my work for one day and I will still be OK? That God will provide even when we rest?

We trust God for eternal life. Do we trust him for life here on earth? We show it by our approach to Sabbath. Same with money. What is most precious to us (beside relationships)? Time and money. For some people, these are even more precious than any relationship! What an opportunity to demonstrate not only obedience, but trust. Sabbath is about trusting God with our time. Tithing is about trusting God with our money. 

Do we believe that God is our provider? The more we have, the more likely we are to think that it is of our own doing! Deuteronomy 8 contains a warning for this. The more prosperous you are, the less likely you will trust God with your time. “You have to work!” “It all depends on you, so you better not let off!” “Your importance ties in with your busyness, so you better work!” “Work is your identity!” What if Sabbath became your identity?

Holy to God

A test is part of a learning process for us. God doesn’t test our trust and obedience just for the sake of testing us. He wants to teach us something too! Manna teaches us about the Sabbath, that it’s holy to God, and for your benefit.

Sabbath is holy to God, but Sabbath is for you. It’s actually necessary for you!

²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. Exodus 16:23a (NIV)

Here, we see the first use of the world “holy” in the Bible. Everything else was good or very good. Seven times the Bible declares that God saw what he created, and it was good, or very good. The Sabbath was holy. God made the day of rest, the day of ceasing, holy! 

The Sabbath is holy to God! We honor the Sabbath because God does.

Sabbath is For You!

Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. Exodus 16:29 (NIV)

I have heard people say “Jesus is my Sabbath” as an excuse not to rest. Jesus is also the bread of life, but if I don’t have physical food I will die. Jesus is the living water, but if I don’t drink enough water (or, in my case, coffee!) I will die. Jesus is my Sabbath rest, but if I don’t actually observe a Sabbath physically, I will be in poor health. I might not die in as short a time as with going without food or water, but it will be death to my soul.

If we say Jesus is our rest, but we don’t really observe Sabbath, we are saying, in effect, that we aren’t trusting him like we should. That leads to more stress than God intends you to bear. We don’t need to elaborate on the poor choice to live in disobedience to a command of the Lord. 

What if we made most of our decisions from a place of rest? 

Hear this message and others in audio form here!