The Ten Commandments

4th

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it Holy”

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11)

How often have we wished our boss or our family would give us a break?  Just some “down time”. Some time alone without any obligations or duties.

Well, God didn’t “suggest” that exact thing for us, He COMMANDED it!

He commanded us to spend unhurried time in worship and rest each week. To spend a day after a long work week to show how important God is to us and to refresh our minds and spirit before beginning a new week.

Now what that day looks like in your family may be significantly different than my family. For us, we go to church because I have found that I cannot lead my family in accountability and worship like my church can. Maybe you are a musical family that can worship the roof off your home, or you have keen biblical knowledge that you can set aside time to teach your family sound doctrine every week. Perhaps there is a close-knit and open relationship with all in your household, that when one struggles with sin, it is either apparent to all or at least shared openly to be able to battle over it.

We are no longer bound by Old Testament directives with the birth and death of Christ. We are commanded to keep the Sabbath Holy but even Jesus plucked grain and healed the sick on the Sabbath.  Paul wrote in Colossians Chapter 2 (v16-17) that our traditions and celebrations would bring us closer to God, but we should never criticize fellow Christians whose traditions differ from ours. More important than HOW we worship is that we DO worship Christ.

Jesus on the 4th Commandment:

• Jesus declared he was the “Lord of the Sabbath”-Matt 12:8
  • He meant that He had the authority to overrule OT traditions.
  • The Creator is always greater than the creation.

• Told the religious leaders that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)
  • God created this day for OUR benefit, not His own.

Roxanne Harlien