Read: Exodus 20:8-11 (NRSV)
“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.”
We live in a world that never stops. The notifications, the deadlines, the endless scroll—they all push us to go faster, to do more, to be constantly “on.” In this environment, the fourth commandment feels less like a divine instruction and more like an impossible request. We’ve been taught that success is measured by hustle, and ambition has become a god we worship.
We look at the other commandments and they seem straightforward, rooted in common sense. “Don’t murder,” “don’t steal,” “don’t lie”—these are easy to get behind. But “rest”? That feels like a sin against our culture of productivity. Even if we advocate for “self-care,” we often treat the Sabbath as a nice idea, not a firm command.
Perhaps we also wonder if this commandment is even for us. It feels so tied to ancient Israel, a reminder for a people freed from slavery in Egypt. But Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5:17 that he didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He wasn’t dismissing the Sabbath, he was revealing its true purpose.
The Sabbath is a gift. It’s not a legalistic burden meant to trip us up; it’s a provision from a loving God who knows we need to rest. Just as God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, giving them a double portion on Friday so they wouldn’t have to work on Saturday, He has given us this day of rest. It’s an opportunity to pause, to breathe, and to remember that God is the one who sustains us, not our own work.
The Sabbath is about so much more than simply “not working.” It’s about recognizing that God’s work is finished, and in doing so, we enter into His rest. It’s a day to celebrate our freedom from the bondage of sin and the tyranny of a busy, relentless world.
Pray: Lord, thank you for the gift of rest. Forgive us for our ambition and our tendency to worship work. Help us to see the Sabbath not as a chore, but as a provision for our good and a celebration of your finished work. Amen.
