Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 NTL
I have often said that God gave us the sabbath because we needed it. I still believe this but recently I have been concluding that this is only part and a small part of sabbath. It is far bigger than us taking a day off.
First, before I go any further, I want to say that I’m not saying we need to institute the blue laws again as a cure to our problems. The problems in the world require changed hearts not changed laws. Nor am I arguing which day of the week should be the sabbath. This according to Paul (Romans 14) is not worth arguing over and is actually a stumbling block. Sabbath at the end of the day should bring freedom, not bondage.
The sabbath as I see it was given to help. The problem I think many have today is thinking that the sabbath is taking a day off to rest for ourselves. I have said and have heard others say, “I took a sabbath.” The problem here is that if we really look at the commands the sabbath is something we don’t take, we give.
So, who are we to give the sabbath to?
- The Lord God (Exodus 31:15)
- Family (Exodus 20:10)
- Servants/employees (Exodus 20:10)
- Foreigners (Exodus 20:10)
- Livestock/land (Exodus 20:10)
- Ourselves (Exodus 20:10)
Sabbath means far more than taking a day off. It means giving others a day off and of course doing it to honor God.
we would need less from others and nature. This would be a good thing.
I recently read a book called Subversive Sabbath and though I don’t agree fully with some of the concepts the author puts forth, it helped me cement a concept, I hate to admit, I fall very short in, giving an honest sabbath to God, others, and myself.
Side Note: There are more scriptures than the ones I listed I was just listing one of many.
Pastor Charles Areson
Selma Christ Global Methodist Church
Selma, IN 47383