What Does The Bible Say About Sabbath Rest?
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What does the Bible say about Sabbath Rest?
— Jack Mariner
You don't need to go far to see that so much had been written in the last decade or so, about mental health, emotional health, how we can cope in a world that is so busy. How we can get all the things that we want to get done and how we can cope with always being on go, go, go. Do more, be more, all these things, the rates of anxiety and depression are really high. And let's be honest, life can be a little bit overwhelming, right? It can be a little bit too much. Maybe there aren't enough hours in a day, maybe we struggle with dealing with the requirements we put on ourselves or others put on us. And sometimes it just feels a little bit like life is too much.
And it's probably no surprise that in the church, in the last 5-10 years, I'm just seeing churches preaching increasingly the series to try and help people grapple with these topics and help people slow down and put a margin and rest and why? Well, the reason is because God cares. God cares about us. And actually he has some really good things to say about how we are to live sustainable lives and not just survive, but thrive in our day-to-day and if I was to put this all down to one bottom line and it's a bottom line that I've nicked off someone, but I thought it was pretty good. The bottom line of this message is that we need to take a Sabbath. If we don't take a Sabbath, Sabbath will take us.
And for me, I found out about this the hard way really. I suffered burnout in 2016, I'd been working a bit too hard, I'd put too much expectation on myself. I was working in a environment where I struggled to take time off, often working on the weekends. And I just found myself mentally and emotionally exhausted. And I started to struggle with some friendships and my relationship at home with my wife was taking a knock as well. And someone said, Jack, you need to stop, you need to rest, you need to take some time out. And so I did. And in that space of a couple of years where I slowed down, had a better timeout, I found this rhythm of Sabbath that brought so much life to me. I thought why didn't I take this more seriously earlier?
So we're going to look at what Sabbath is, what the Bible says about Sabbath. And then we're going to look at some practical, what might Sabbath look like for me? How can I do Sabbath and have Sabbath rest in such a busy life?
The Bible on Sabbath
So let's take a look at Sabbath in the Bible. And probably the most common or known passage in the Old Testament about this is when Sabbath is mentioned as one of the big Ten Commandments. It is the fourth and longest commandment in Exodus 20, verse 8 to 11. And it says,
So here the Israelites, God's people, were to cease work, to stop work on the seventh day and have a solid day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord and that word Sabbath probably comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat, which literally means to cease, to stop, to cease from doing what you're doing. And each week, God's people were to stop from the toil, stop from doing what they've been doing for those six days to come together and to rest. And why did they do that? Well, three reasons why.
Firstly, they did it because it was an act of worship. It was an act of devotion. And it was an act of obedience. God said, do it. So they did it. But they're also doing it because God said, be like I am. Be holy, for I am holy, and God in creation, had rested himself on that seventh day, and he calls them to imitate him. And so here in this passage, he tells them to remember the Sabbath keeping it holy as He did so it's an act of worship and obedience.
Secondly, it brings restoration. It is so good for us. Remember the bottom line I shared earlier that if we don't take a Sabbath, Sabbath will take us. In Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 23, God tells people to rest so that they can be restored. And the word there actually has a deeper meaning. It means to catch breath, to be restored right to the very soul. And those who own property should rest their slaves and animals on the Sabbath day. So they too, could be restored. So it wasn't just for individuals, but it was the whole households, their slaves, their animals as well. And in 2 Chronicles 36, we read that Israel, the people of God, they were taken into captivity in Babylon, and while they were there, it meant that their land could finally get a rest. And it says that the land of Israel was laying dormant, and it finally had its rest. So Sabbath is about restoring creation and living in a sustainable way. I love that idea that right from creation, we got to put limits on everything, not just people, animals, but even the land, and we can push ourselves, we can push the animals, we can push the land too far. Imagine if we took that seriously. You know, the conversations people have around the environment and around our resources being pushed too far. And maybe we've overworked the land, not just our bodies as well. I think it's really interesting, something I'd love to look into a little bit more.
Well, the third reason to Sabbath is that it points people to the future hope of Jesus' return. Everything we've talked about so far about stopping about worshiping God, stopping about being restored, stopping and living in a sustainable way, recognising that the world, that us, that animals, that the land has limits, but all of that actually points to heaven. Right? That actually Sabbath is about bringing justice. It's about bringing provision, it's about bringing wholeness. Its a picture of the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns and God will make all things new. So practicing Sabbath is for the present, is remembering the past, but it's also looking to the future. And this is how we're going to live where we don't need to work, we don't need to toil. We don't need to strive anymore. God will provide. God is our provider. Amen.
Sabbath in everyday life
So how can we see Sabbath in our day-to-day? I'm going to look at that in a moment. But really, I want to just push on that it's not just a day of doing nothing, but it connects us to God. It restores us and points towards His coming Kingdom. So in the New Testament, that's exactly what Jesus also affirms. We've read about the ultimate testament, but it's interesting how often Jesus either teaches or performs a miracle, or preaches on the Sabbath day, and I've been reading Luke recently, and it's scattered throughout Luke's Gospel.
In Luke chapter 13, we read Jesus healing a crippled woman. And then a group of Pharisees approach them and say, try and catch him out. These Pharisees, the keepers of the law, they're like, you're working on the Sabbath. And Luke 13:14, we read,
But of course, Jesus understood that God didn't just rest on that seventh day. It wasn't like he'd done all his work. And then he just had a lie down. No, on the Sabbath, although it means to stop and to cease, what it says to stop and to cease from is the busyness of life, from building your empire, from toiling away, from selling and buying. It doesn't just mean to stop and do nothing. And Jesus understood that.
God is always loving. God is always restoring. God is always bringing life and that's what Jesus came to do. And he's clearly upset that these religious leaders missed that Sabbath is, at its essence, about bringing life. It's not that we ought to do it, or should do it, or we must do it. I don't think it makes us a better Christian, or it gets us saved if we Sabbath. But it's that we get to, its a gift from God. So obeying Sabbath to the letter just results in strife, it just results in more work. Strife, as opposed to rest. Death, as opposed to life.
So let's get a bit practical. And to do this, I'm going to be using Peter Scazzero's book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and he also writes about Sabbath and other areas as well. But he uses four key things to say these are what you need to do to have a good Sabbath. This is what makes Sabbath holy and biblical. And he talks of Sabbath as a 24-hour timeframe where we stop work, enjoy rest, practice delight, and contemplate God.
#1 - Stop Work
So this is the hardest part, that we actually stop, it takes effort. If you imagine a car driving on a motorway, it is much easier for that car to just continue. But a good car owner, anyone with any common sense really will know that a car cannot just keep going. A car needs an MOT occasionally, a car needs to be refuelled. It needs petrol. A car will need minor repairs occasionally. If not, it's going to break down, it's going to run out of fuel. And we are exactly the same and the world is exactly the same. We need to take seriously that we have limits and it takes a conscious effort to stop and to slow down and to think you know what, I'm going at too fast a pace. And I get so encouraged that Jesus had limits on earth you know, he didn't heal everyone, he didn't stay in Capernaum, when people said stay, stay, stay, plant a church here. He didn't do everything that people asked him. Yet at the end of his life, he prayed, in John 17:4,
So Jesus was fully human, he was also fully God. But in his full humanity, he had limits. And so do we. Now, for Jen and I, we have patterns that we've developed over some years. We work up until Friday evening, and then we Sabbath Friday evening to Saturday evening. We do a simple meal, we light a candle, get the family together. We make sure that we're home, just for that evening meal on the Friday. So we make a special effort there. And we bless the week that we've had. And we say thank you Lord for that. We share our highs and lows, and any funny stories. And then we bless the day of rest together. And we just have quite a chilled Saturday, as a family time. We try and make it not too busy, not too full of activities or the children's activities, we try and limit them as well. And we want to be refreshed.
And there is this debate in Christian circles, but in other circles as well about whether we need to Sabbath on Friday night to Saturday evening, or whether as a New Testament, the early church practiced. Well, they didn't practice this, but they had something called the Lord's day, which is something slightly different, on a Sunday where the people of God gather together to praise and to worship and to remember God. Well, there are differences. And what I like about Peter Scazzero's language is he says it's a 24-hour period. It's a 24-hour timeframe, where we do need to stop, we do need to rest. So I know Christians that Sabbath Friday night to Saturday evening, me and my wife do it just because that works for our lives, because I'm often working on a Sunday.
I know Christians who Sabbath on a Sunday. I know Christians who Sabbath on a Wednesday. But you get my point that you can Sabbath at any time. But it's got to be a 24-hour period where you stop and you rest and you do these things.
#2 - Enjoy Rest
So number two - Rest. Once we've stopped, we need to accept God's invitation to rest. Now one of the major obstacles I think, to resting is technology. And technology is great for things like connecting and sharing and being informed. But we how can we stop when we're always on? How can we stop when we're always connected, informed and stimulated? There are many studies that say that actually too much technology is bad for our mental health, having too many smart devices pinging messages, actually we can get addicted to the adrenaline or the endorphins or the oxytocin or whatever it is that is stimulated and is formed in our brains when we get a message, we can get overstimulated, we can get addicted to these things. And Sabbath, if we let it, can be resistant to these things.
And I know a growing number of people who are practicing Sabbath by coming off their devices once a week, and we do this, me and my wife, we try and do most Sabbaths. And we do make that special effort to get home on Fridays, and we put our phones to the side for the day, or as best as we can. And do you know what, since we've been doing it, not only have we been more attentive to ourselves and understanding ourselves, how we are really doing, our emotions, our souls, we're more aware and attentive and connected to each other. But also, we're connected with God and to the kids. The kids love us not being on our phones all day. And yes, they want to get on their devices a little bit more than we let them on though, on the Sabbath. But actually, we've bonded so much better as a family. So there's all sorts of benefits to coming off technology. So I'll just encourage you to think about your own use of technology.
But the thing about rest really is that it's going to look different for all of us. We're gonna have different needs, different demands on us. And so, one good way of thinking about it is, do the things that bring you life and help you rest. So that's napping or hiking, reading, eating nice food, whatever it is. One opportunity that my wife Jen likes is on a sunny day, just go to the park. She often takes the kids, if it's a sunny day, she likes just to play and enjoy the flowers and just go for a walk, it fills her up. Yes, she is in full-time parenting mode, but she's doing something that helps her rest and switch off from the busyness of life. So what does it look like for you to rest in your circumstances? And I'd encourage you to think weekly, and also longer term, because there are some things you can do annually, or maybe once a term, that you can't do weekly, like a camping trip, or a fishing trip, or whatever it might be.
#3 - Practice Delight
Thirdly, delight. Do the things that you can delight in. Let's be clear, God didn't need to rest, right? He didn't need to, on the seventh day, say, do you know what, I've just created the whole universe, I need a rest. I'm gonna go upstairs and lie down, you guys crack on with things. He didn't say that. And that's not what he needed. God has unlimited energy, he doesn't need rest. After creating the world, he said, It is very good. And like a child who makes a cake, they can't wait to eat what they've created. They can't wait to delight in what they created. And on the seventh day, God delighted in creation. And I think that's a really good practice for us that once a week we delight in what we've created, we look back at our week, and we say that was good. That was good. Or at least say God, that was good what you've been up to, if we can't see anything good that we've made, but usually, if we stop, we'll actually be able to do it. And it's a really good practice in a world that always says we can do better, and there's more and there's progress, to stop and say that was good.
So as part of preparing for Sabbath, one of the most important or another really good question to ask is what gives you joy and delight? Once you've delighted in your own creation, what else can you delight it? For me, it's silence. Its nature. It's playing games. It's being silly. It's making things. It's making food, and it's eating food as well. So what about you?
#4 - Contemplate God
Now finally, contemplate. This is the final thing. And this is what separates a normal Sabbath and a day off with a biblical Sabbath, that really reconnects us, reorients us and helps us to really be replenished. The final aspect of Sabbath to think about, is contemplating God. And simply put contemplating means being aware of something, it's good to stop, it's good to rest. It's good to practice self care. But there is so much written about that. And what makes us distinctive as God's people is the presence and awareness of God, its contemplating him. Its about drawing close to him and growing in our awareness of him.
So let's face it, there is so much bad news out there. There is so much to get us down and drain us all the time and practicing remembering God and contemplating his goodness is really good for us. And Deuteronomy 5 tells the people of God, remember the Sabbath, observe the Sabbath, remembering what God has done, remembering how God has led them out into the wilderness, how he's provided for them, how he'd saved them, how he'd been good to them. And that is a good practice for us, at some time and throughout our Sabbath, to just observe and contemplate God. As we do this regularly, we will be reminded of his promises, we will be reminded of his goodness. And I think it's really helpful for us to fill ourselves with good news, and the good news of the gospel, and of God, in a world of so much negative news, as well.
Conclusion
And just wrapping up, in Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, these brilliant words, this is the Message translation.
Doesn't that sound good? He's talking not just about that one day a week. I think he's talking about a Sabbath lifestyle, one of a rhythm of work and rest, one of constantly coming into awareness of him, of knowing our limits, embracing our limits, and fixing our eyes on him, living in an awareness that orientates us to God because let's face it, we're in a disorientating world, where the life and get too much. God is our North Star. He wants us to be oriented to him so that he can show us the way forward. And the truth about Sabbath is that it is countercultural in the world that is always saying to do more and be more, stretch yourself a little bit more.
Well, actually, maybe God is calling us to slow down and go a more sustainable pace and actually, maybe we will achieve more. Maybe we'll achieve less, but that's okay. The bottom line is we need to take a Sabbath otherwise Sabbath will take us. So as we go into a time of chat now and as you think about this this week, my question to leave us would be, how are we observing the Sabbath and are we getting restored?
CONVERSATION STREET
With: Matt Edmundson & Dan Orange
What is Conversation Street?
Conversation Street is part of our live stream, where the hosts (in this case, Matt & Dan) chat through Jack's talk and answer questions that were sent in through the live stream. You can watch the conversation in the video, it starts at 35 min 43 seconds into the live stream, or you can go straight there by clicking here. This week’s questions and topics of conversation are:
How easy do you find it yourself to do the Sabbath rest?
God commands His people to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. What does "keep it holy" mean?
Do you, on your Sabbath day, switch off technology?
What if the content of my Sabbath began to set the pattern/tone for my entire life?
What are some of the things you've found that bring you life?
Why do you think God rested on the seventh day?
Is Church on a Sunday part of your Sabbath?
More Bible Verses About Sabbath Rest
Hebrews 4:9,10 - There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Luke 4:16 - He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
Isaiah 58:13,14 - “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Genesis 2:3 - Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Matthew 12:12 - Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
Romans 14:5 - One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Matthew 11:28 - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.