Exodus 20:1-11

“Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work…” vss. 6-10a

Of all the commandments that the Israelites brought with them out of the wilderness and into the promised land, the most important was probably the first, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This commandment established them as a monotheistic people, an identification that they have held proudly to this day. But the commandment that had the most significance for them in their daily living was “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.” No work was to be done and through the centuries various rabbis established extensive lists of permitted activities for this holy day. When Jesus began his ministry, his repeated violations of the sabbath were the major cause for the rift that occurred between him and the religious leaders. They just could stomach his lackadaisical attitude! Of course it’s not just the Jews who have rules for the sabbath. There was a time when church leaders had their own lists of things you could or couldn’t do on the sabbath. Since it’s a blessing for humans to have a holy day every week, we can understand the intention of the lists. But it’s been getting harder to get any consensus for community wide standards. Every family is on its own, and blessed are those who are able to establish a day of rest for themselves, and to follow through!

Thought for the Day: Why is a sabbath day a blessing?