More Than A Day of Rest

“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.” (Eze 20:12 AV)

The Sabbath was intended to be more than a day of rest.  When the LORD rested in the seventh day, it was for the purpose of fellowship with Adam and Eve.  It was for the purpose of walking in the cool of the day in the midst of the garden.  It was a time when man was separated from all other creation to a relationship that he alone could have with the Creator.  It wasn’t just a day of rest.  It was a day of identification.  It was a day of relationship.  It was a day of worship.  We have lost this over the years.  With our goal-oriented mentality, we have structured our worship services to accomplish a goal.  It went from goal oriented to rote practice.  Our service structure never varies.  We are too concerned with imposing on the attention span of our audience rather than our attitude and spirit during our services.  Something has changed and it is not for the better.

God gave the Sabbath to Israel as a sign that verified the covenant between He and them.  That covenant, simply stated, made God their God and Israel His people.  The Sabbath was the sign.  How is that?  How can a day be a sign of a covenant?  How can gathering together be the indication that God has made a promise?  What do the two have in common?  What is the connection?

A certain youth camp that ran a four-week camp would intermix the children from their different groups to make new groups.  They would break up the children from a particular church and place them with other children.  The idea was to build relationships.  They were given colored shirts to indicate their team identification.  They would spend their time together as a team.  They would sleep in the same cabins.  They would compete as a team.  How, an interesting thing happened on a particular day.  It was Pastor’s day.  It was the day their Youth Pastor or Senior Pastor came for a day to visit with his sheep.  When he did, the team identifications were all forgotten.  All the team building was put on hold.  No longer were they a member of the green team or orange team.  They were a member of a family with a shepherd who loved them.  No team cheers.  No team competition.  Just a day to spend with someone whose relationship was based on love rather than on goals or objectives.  It was a day to come apart from other relationships and identifications and enjoy the one that mattered the most.

The LORD saved me in the early eighties.  It was different back then.  Our worship services were always Spirit filled.  No one watched the clock.  Our services lasted two hours.  Something that would be considered anathema today.  I remember distinctly how much music there was.  We sang and sang.  At least six congregational hymns, if not more.  Every aspect of the service had special music in between.  The service opened with the choir.  What a way to open a service.  Then there was a congregational.  Then the opening prayer.  Then another congregational.  Then a special.  Then the announcements.  Another hymn.  The offering with a special.  The choir.  A hymn and greeting.  Another special.  A hymn.  A special.  Then the preaching.  The preaching lasted an hour.  It was equal or greater in length than all the music.  We were not in a rush to go home.  We had no more important place to be.  We were there because we were not in the world.  It was not just praising God for who and what He is.  It was more than that.  It was who we were as a people.  We need to get back to this!  We need to see the Sabbath as our declaration to the world, to ourselves, and to God that we belong to Him!