Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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

“Q. 49. Which is the Fourth Commandment?
“A. The Fourth Commandment is, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ ”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Catechism (Scripture proofs in bold above)

“Q. 57. Which is the Fourth Commandment?
“A. The Fourth Commandment is, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ ”

• The Shorter Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

“Q. 115. Which is the Fourth Commandment?
“A. The Fourth Commandment is, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ ”

• The Larger Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

The Larger Catechism, Shorter Catechism and the Spurgeon Catechism are identical in wording.

This commandment explains the parallel between God creating everything and the day of rest.  We are made in God’s image, thus, we need that day of rest also.

While the extension of the commandment seems odd, we can see how God anticipated rich land owners’ backyard lawyer schemes.  If I can’t work, I can still have my son work.  No? Then my maidservant can do it. No?  Okay, it really isn’t me working if my team of oxen are plowing the field.  (Yes, I know, if you ever plowed like that, it is a lot of work, but play along…)  Not that either?  I guess you mean no work at all then.  How can I make a dollar?

But now there are all these essential workers that have to work.  There are all these processing plants that never shut down, some being unsafe to do so.  And then, it is the pastors big work day. (Again, I know, a good pastor that is great at pastoral care never quits working, pretty much 24/7.)

And then, what are the things that we can do on Sunday, Saturday, or whenever our Sabbath is?  We can do things that glorify and worship God, thus the pastor gets busy, but also the Sunday school teachers.  Often one of my busiest half-days of writing is Sunday afternoon due to the absence of distractions.  I can hear God talking better on Sunday afternoon.

And Jesus even taunted the Pharisees by saying that they would rescue a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath.  Not that the activity was allowed by the Commandment, but in the moment, you have an emergency.  I remember going home with my parents as a teenager after Sunday night worship and seeing cattle on the highway (actually two different instances).  My mother stayed in the car while my Dad and I herded the cattle back to the break in the neighbor’s fence.  On one occasion my Dad and I got the fence fixed – sorta.  On the other occasion, I guarded the gap while my Dad went to the farmer’s house and told him that the gap in the fence required wire that we could not find.  Things like that happen and it isn’t just a dead cow on the roadway as a result; it is possibly a totaled car and maybe even someone dying in the crash.  These were the days when seatbelts had just been invented, but practically no one had them in their cars.  When you hit a cow at highway speed, you stop … rather quickly.

And I have written about people who always ate out at a restaurant on Sunday to avoid doing any work, but the stranger staying in your midst would cover any restaurant employees.  I grew up in the country, but I have heard about how the Jews did their best business on Sunday, being the only people with an open shop, but the Jews would visit the other stores on Saturday, at least in some big cities.

God did not design us to work 24/7.  Some seem to handle it better than others, but we will fall apart at some point.  As I write this, I had few hours of sleep last night.  I trust in God even in my sleep patterns.  If not tonight, then tomorrow.  I will get a great night sleep because it is needed.  The day of rest needs to come also.  In these fluid times, does it matter which day?  If we are glorifying God, it may not matter much.

And now let us sing.

The following song is This is the Day that the Lord Has Made as sung by Itzhamar10 (???).  I grew up on this one.

“This is the day. This is the day.
That the Lord has made. That the Lord has made.
I will rejoice. I will rejoice.
And be glad in it. And be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice. and be glad in it.
This is the day. This is the day.
That the Lord has made.”

• ?, This is the day that the Lord has Made

Composition of a hymn by this title was composed by Thomas A. Arne, and the lyrics were derived from Psalm 118.  This youth group version has few words, but in many different settings other verses have been added.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need You.  We do not give You of our first fruits that often, and then we do not even give You much of our time.  Help us to realize that without You we can do nothing and we can be nothing.  We need to give You more than a portion of what You have given us in our earthly blessings, but also in our time.  And make us wise in our time management so that we include needed rest.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.