Sacred Strides: Sabbath as a Command, a Practice, and a GiftSýnishorn

DAY 1: Rest Is Part of Who God Is

The Sabbath appears as the fourth of the Ten Commandments, introduced in Exodus 20. I think that’s notable for two reasons.

First, it shows up before the commandments against murder and theft. Think about that for a moment. Before God said, “Don’t kill one another,” or “Don’t steal one another’s stuff,” he said, “Take a day off every week.” This makes me wonder if, were we to take a day off each week, maybe we wouldn’t be killing one another and taking one another’s stuff so often. That’s about 20 percent joke and 80 percent seriousness.

Second, the Sabbath commandment is the first commandment to prescribe an active behavior. Remember the Sabbath. The first three are about the holiness of God and a few things not to do because of who God is.

“Wait,” you might say, “isn’t the commandment about not working?” That’s not how I read it. Rest isn’t just the absence of work. Sabbath rest is the active reconnection of the human soul to its own humanity and the Source of that humanity. The first thing God asks people to do in light of His holiness is to rest, specifically by remembering, practicing, and keeping the Sabbath.

There are many theological explanations for why the commandments are ordered this way. For my part, I recognize this invitation and commandment is a key way to connect with God on God’s terms rather than my own.

Before it was commanded as the practice of the Sabbath, rest was woven into the fabric of reality. God decided to rest when he was finished creating the world. I don’t think God was exhausted by the energy and focus it took to create dogs and cats on the same day without pet drama. Instead, I think part of what makes this moment sacred is that God, in joy and deep satisfaction with the work of creation, chose to rest.

God acts according to who God is. Rest is part of who God is. The commandment to practice rest, then, is also an invitation to become more like the One Who Made Us and live according to who we are instead of what needs to be accomplished.

Respond

What are your general attitudes about the Sabbath? How does the notion that “Rest is part of who God is” affect those attitudes?