Exodus 20:8,11
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 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.”
Watching old movies is a favorite pastime for me and every once in a while a little gem will pop up on the TCM network. “The Next Voice You Hear” is one of those that I could watch over and over again. Released in 1950, it tells the story of “Joe Smith, American” who lives in a Los Angeles suburb and works at an aircraft plant; he has a wife (played by Nancy Davis Reagan) and one son. Joe’s habit after dinner is to settle into his chair to listen to his favorite radio program. One night he is startled when an unfamiliar voice suddenly cuts into the program and says, “This is God. I’ll be with you for the next few days.” Joe is not the only one to hear the voice—people all over the world hear it as well, in their own language. The next night the same voice comes on with a new message and every night thereafter. By the seventh day, a Sunday, Joe and his family along with other folks from his community, as well as people worldwide gather in their houses of worship to hear God speak…but there is silence. Their expectation turns to disappointment until Joe’s minister reminds the congregants that God rested on the seventh day. Though the movie is not entirely sound in theology its sweet message has an impact for good on the folks who hear God’s voice and their lives are forever changed.
Scripture reminds us that we are to “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy “ as “the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” When Jesus confronted the Pharisees’ rigid and legalistic view of the Sabbath—which meant extreme hardship in trying to keep hundreds of rules and regulations—Jesus countered with this, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” He was making a point that the true purpose of the day, intended from its inception, was that God created the day to be a blessing, a time for genuine rest from normal labors rather than an unmanageable, overly restrictive burden. It is a time to be enjoyed, not endured. Furthermore, He said the Sabbath was created for all mankind, not just for the nation of Israel.
It may have been easier to set aside Sunday for worship and rest in years past when it was taken more seriously. Many of us remember the days when most businesses were closed and an afternoon’s diversion was a Sunday drive. In today’s contemporary society, keeping the Sabbath may seem downright old-fashioned and countercultural but, we as Christians, shouldn’t claim full schedules as good excuses to forsake church attendance. Keeping the Sabbath is still one of the Ten Commandments after all!
Many misinterpret the word “Holy” in the commandment as keeping our Sundays devoid of anything worldly or work-related. “Keeping it holy” means to set the day apart for a specific purpose—different from any other day—a time to turn our attention to the Lord. He wants us to choose to be uniquely different from our surroundings for we are not of this world. God also created it for another reason—we need time to rest, refresh, and regroup for the week ahead.
Dear readers, I trust that this devotion has been an encouragement, and given a fresh perspective on what God desires for us. As you plan your Sunday tomorrow, pray about how you can set aside your Sabbath to be different from your normal work-focused lives. Let us keep our Sabbath holy as Jesus would encourage us to do, not bound by rules and regulations, but a time of worship, genuine rest and blessing that will add a new dimension to our walk and to our week.
Father, we praise You that You know better than we do what will benefit our relationship with You and benefit our lives spiritually and physically. Forgive us if we have an attitude of going our own way because we think we know what is best. Help us to make observing the Sabbath a priority, to spend time in worship and rest. For Your sake we pray. Amen.
~ painting by Holly Irwin
