The Gift of the Sabbath | Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11
Have you ever received a gift you did not know what to do with it? I have an update on a story I told you about; a few years ago, for Christmas my parents bought me a Dynatrap which kills mosquitos, no-seeums, flying insects and wasps. When I opened the gift, my mom looked at me and said, “Son, that is the best outdoor bug repellent machine, and it will change your world by your pool.” At the time, I was a little bitter (I won’t lie), that was not on my Christmas list for things I most wanted. I took the gift, smiled, thanked my parents then brought it home and put it in my garage and forgot about it. (Still hurt and disappointed.) For a couple of years, it sat in my garage, until I moved to Naples and then it made the trip down here with us; yet still unopened. When we moved here we went to the beach and were literally eaten alive by no-seeums. We then went to a friend’s house for the kids to hang out and swim and we talked about those no-seeums at the beach. They said, “We don’t have any problems with the no-seeums or bugs at our house.” I said, “Why is that?” They said, “Because we have a Dynatrap!” I said, “really, that’s great.” I went on Amazon, hit a couple buttons and guess what showed up at my house two-days later? A brand new Dynatrap! Guess what I had in my garage sitting in a box unopened? A Dynatrap. Guess what I have right now? Two Dynatraps! The update is that after I told you guys about it, it still sat in my garage UNTIL this past weekend, where I took it out and it now is outside being used. Guess what? It works. I think that when it comes to the Sabbath and resting, everyone loves the idea of it, but that don’t like the change they have to make.
The word Sabbath means to stop or cease. You may have heard of people observing the Sabbath day which is an entire day of stopping from your work or you have heard of people taking sabbaticals or long breaks from their work. This practice comes from a larger theme in the Bible. The concept of Sabbath rest is a theme that moves from Genesis to Revelation; starts in creation and continues into consummation. It is God’s design of time all culminating in a seventh day. It is a weekly reminder of what God has done and what is to come for God’s people; ultimate rest (Shabbat shalom.) The Sabbath is a pattern woven into creation and a practice that we should keep for our good.