Having a Weekly Holiday Holy Day
Imagine this: After years of working every single day of your life, a new boss comes in and says that you can have a day a week where you stay away from work! In fact, you are to ensure that you deliberately do not do any work on that day. 52 days of holiday where there was none! And, furthermore, you were to use that day to spend time with the one who loves most! You’d be lost for words, wouldn’t you?
Sometimes we get things wrong because we start thinking about it the wrong way. We need to start afresh. And for many of us, brought up in Christian homes, we’ve started thinking about Sunday as the set of things we ‘have to do’, or maybe the set of things we cannot do, rather than the liberating time God intends us to have. The result? We move from the joyful rest God intended into a slavery of family visits, day trips, sports, ‘must watch’ TV and more, creating a busy, hectic day so unlike God’s intended day. Rather than find the freedom God wants, we’re back in slavery again.
So, lets recall some principles from God’s word to help us rethink and go on to recapture the joy of the holiday Holy Day God gives us every week.
1. It’s a part of God’s created order
When God created all things He rested on the seventh day, blessed it (Gen 2:1-3) and “made it holy” – set it apart for special use. This day was part of His design for our best, both in having rest and in having time with God. And God underlined the importance of this day even before the commandments were given (Ex 16:22-29).
2. It’s the command with the longest explanation
Of all the 10 commands we might think that the Sabbath day was the simplest. But God spends more time explaining it than any other (Ex 20:8-11). In doing so God again ties in the command to His creative order (Ex 20:11), emphasising it’s importance to our well-being.
3. His commands are given for our good
Our God is our Father who loves us dearly. His commands are given for our good (Deut 10:10-12). Our response? We’re told “circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer” (Deut 10:16) because He wants our best.
4. Our salvation leads us into relationship with God
In the same passage we are reminded that it was God who set His affection upon us and chose us (Deut 10:15). We were created for relationship. Relationship needs time. Knowing the busyness of life, God has given us a day of rest from work so that we can spend time with Him.
5. Jesus led us by His example
Time spent with His Father was a joy for Jesus. And so we read “As His custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day” (Lk 4:16). The Spirit’s work in us is to conform us to the image of Jesus, having the same joy in spending time with God, in worship and His word.
6. It was joyfully celebrated by the early church
Although the day was changed, the creative order of having a day for rest and rejoicing in God remains for our blessing. We are free from condemnation of breaking the law (Rom 14:4-5, Col 2:16) but the Law is now written on our heart (Heb 8:10) and therefore the church joyfully met weekly for worship and fellowship (Acts 20:5, 1 Cor 16:2, Rev 1:10).
Conclusion
God’s provision of rest and time for relationship with Him is a huge expression of His love for us and His desire for our good. They’re not given to bring captivity, but to provide freedom. They’re given, above all, so that we have a vibrant, living, passionate relationship with Him.