שַׁבָּת Shabbot, The Sabbath is the second
concept from the world of the Old Testament which helps explain the concept of
self and wholeness. In the Old Testament is the idea of שַׁבָּת “sabbath”
Shabbat or rest and cessation of the world’s routine that drags us down. A chance to unplug from the world and plug into eternity. A time to sharpen our axes and saws. Sometimes you just need to go offline. I stopped doing this blog for over three years. I powered down. I had to. Time and life circumstances didn't allow me the time I needed to do exegesis and study properly. Sabbaticals save resources, recharges batteries and renew spirit/Spirit.
While, for some, the sabbath and
church going as an institution may conjure up painful memories of religious
dogmatism, polemics, legalism, exclusiveness, charlatanism and intolerance, in reality it is
the opportunity to re-examine one’s life weekly or at times daily. When we look
at it as an avenue to health, renewal, and freedom the sabbath opens more doors
than it closes. The sabbath wasn't intended by God to be a confining
encumbrance, but rather as a wholesome resource for blessing. It was given a
prominent role in Israel’s covenant tradition and laws / commandments. It was
thereby borrowed and carried on by Christians.
It is only the sabbath a festival of
ancient Israel significant enough to be included in the Ten Commandments (Exodus
20:2-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21). Like the other nine commandments, the sabbath is
considered constitutional and basic to Israel’s continued life and well-being.
The violation of the sabbath, as with most of the rest of the Ten Commandments,
was to result in the death penalty (Exodus 31:14-15, Numbers 15:32-36). You
could literally be put to death or incur a death penalty for not resting. The
irony here should not be lost. A failure to not rest, to stress and not relax
causes anxiety which in turn shortens one’s lifespan. To not stop and rest (and
worship) was detrimental to one’s health anyway. Literally.
Can any one of you by worrying add a
single hour to your life? Mark 6:27
The sabbath literally gives a person
time to reflect. On what? Time...the future and past of course. Reflect over one’s life but what
God had done for the individual and their community/ nation. Call it a weekly day of
memorial. Just as any good believer acknowledges God’s true ownership of the
earth/land so to the Sabbath acknowledges God’s ownership over man, time and
eternity. The Sabbath brings to the fore not just spatial but also temporal.
When we look at the institutions of
the sabbatical year(s) as a whole (when the land was to lie fallow for a year)
and the seven sabbatical years plus one, the fiftieth year of jubilee (when all
property was ideally to revert to its original owners), so through the sabbath
Israel had opportunity to acknowledge God’s lordship and ownership of space,
time, and life and be reminded of it weekly. God would never be far from the
believer in either space or time in their lives. A living constant God. A God
who had rested on the seventh and final day of Creation. God is commanding man
to emulate Him in their labors, service and…their rest.
The deep significance of the sabbath
to believers should be clear, from the beginning, in the observation that the
sabbath (Genesis 2:1- 3), not the creation of humanity (1:26-31), constitutes
the real climactic outcome of the opening chapter(s) of Genesis. In the godly
mind, God’s primal sabbath rest provided insight into and anticipated the very
goal the Creator set for the ongoing creation or labors of men. To bring glory
to God Himself.
Essentially the sabbath stood as an
agent of restoration, health, and wholeness for Hebrew society as a whole. As
Exodus 20:10 stated:
“…in it [the sabbath] you shall not
work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant,
or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates”. The motivations are
clear, “…so that your ox and your ass may have rest, and the son of your
bondmaid, and the alien, may be refreshed.”
In the sabbath we see time itself as
sacred. Time is God’s. We all live on borrowed time that is God’s. Time which
He can reclaim at any point He wishes. The sabbath day was understood to be a
“holy day”. It was a day set apart from all other days of the week. It was to
be kept “holy” and not to be profaned. Just as a believer was to be set aside
and holy for use by God. In this way we see the sacredness of saved believers
existing and living within time…both being creations of their Creator.
Existence of man is not possible without the time to live a life within.
The observance of the sabbath
therefore bound the creation and the Creator temporally and each week would be
a renewing invitation of a Hebrew/Christian society to respond in praise to the
One who created time and space. In the covenant relationship initiated at Sinai
God said to Israel:
“You shall keep my sabbaths, for
this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may
know that I, the LORD, sanctify you....It is a sign forever between me and the
people of Israel... ” (Exodus 31:13, 17)
The Tale of Two Woodchoppers
Once upon a time there were two woodcutters named Peter and John. They were at loggerheads over who chopped more wood. One day they held a competition. The rules: Whoever produced the most wood in a day would win. The next day both started chopping wood. An hour later Peter stopped. When John realized that there was no chopping from his opponent’s side he continued to cut down his trees with renewed zeal. After 30 minutes passed, John heard his opponent chopping again. Both carried on synchronously. John was starting to tire when the chopping from Peter stopped once again. Sensing victory John continued fervently. This continued all day. Every hour, Peter would stop chopping for 30 minutes while John kept going. When the competition ended, John was confident that he had won. To John’s astonishment, Peter had cut down more wood. “How did this even happen? I heard you stop working every hour for 30 minutes!”, queried John. Peter replied, “It’s actually simple John. Every time I stopped work, I was sharpening my axe.”
The Tale of Two Woodchoppers
Once upon a time there were two woodcutters named Peter and John. They were at loggerheads over who chopped more wood. One day they held a competition. The rules: Whoever produced the most wood in a day would win. The next day both started chopping wood. An hour later Peter stopped. When John realized that there was no chopping from his opponent’s side he continued to cut down his trees with renewed zeal. After 30 minutes passed, John heard his opponent chopping again. Both carried on synchronously. John was starting to tire when the chopping from Peter stopped once again. Sensing victory John continued fervently. This continued all day. Every hour, Peter would stop chopping for 30 minutes while John kept going. When the competition ended, John was confident that he had won. To John’s astonishment, Peter had cut down more wood. “How did this even happen? I heard you stop working every hour for 30 minutes!”, queried John. Peter replied, “It’s actually simple John. Every time I stopped work, I was sharpening my axe.”
#sabbath, #time #resurrection
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