Lesson 4
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*July 21 - 27 |
Keeping the Sabbath Holy |
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THE SABBATH BLESSING. The Jews have a saying: "More than Israel kept the Sabbath—the Sabbath kept Israel." Though somewhat exaggerated, the point is well made. There's a blessing in the Sabbath, not in the day itself but in the blessing that God has placed in it. By keeping the Sabbath, we partake of that blessing. Only those who obey the commandment can know just how rich, deep, and real that blessing is. Those who keep the Sabbath understand, too, how much, in a sense, it "keeps" them.
Though in the past two weeks we have hooked at some theology of the Sabbath, and the reasons we keep it, this week's study looks at how to keep it, and the blessings that come from doing so.
THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: What is Sabbath preparation all about? Is it just doing the cleaning and the cooking, or is there something deeper? How does the Sabbath help us enhance our relationships with other people? With God? The Bible tells us to delight in the Sabbath. What does that mean? Lord willing, by the end of the week, after you study this lesson, your next Sabbath will be the best one yet!
MEMORY TEXT: "'If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lords holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.' The mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isaiah 58:13, 14, NIV).
*(Please study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 28).
These three verses, though all referring to the day of preparation prior to the Sabbath, don't give many details regarding the practical aspects of the day. The Bible really doesn't give us much information on how to prepare. However, because the Sabbath is a day of rest, and we are commanded not to work on that day, it seems logical that the day of preparation should be one that enables us to keep the Sabbath most effectively as commanded.
List a few things that one can do on the preparation day that would best
help a family obey the commandment to rest on the seventh day.
| "God requires that His holy day be as sacredly observed now as in the time of Israel. The command given to the Hebrews should be regarded by all Christians as an injunction from Jehovah to them. The day before the Sabbath should be made a day of preparation, that everything may be in readiness for its sacred hours. "—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 296. |
Following are some ideas on how to prepare for the Sabbath. What might
you add to the list?
1. Each family member should have a specific responsibility in preparing for the Sabbath. Even younger children may perform work suitable for their age and ability. Such involvement prevents the work load from falling on one person.
2. So that there is not so much to do on Friday, it is a good idea to spread some of the preparation throughout the week.
The Jews, for thousands of years, have viewed the Sabbath, including the
preparation, as a family affair. Think of the benefits of the family
working together to prepare for the Sabbath. What can you do in your
own home to make the Sabbath not only a joy but the preparation a joy, as
well?
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Our physical preparation for the Sabbath isn't an end in itself; it should head us to a deeper spiritual experience with the Lord. If, on Sabbath, we are freed from the mundane aspects of daily life, we should, ideally, be in a better situation to commune with God. That's so much of what Sabbath is about. If obeying the fourth commandment doesn't strengthen our walk with the Lord, we're not keeping the Sabbath holy; we're merely taking a day off from work.
Anyone can "observe" the Sabbath, but it takes the six other days of the
week to help make the seventh holy. List some practical things that
we can do, not just on Friday, but all week, that can help us prepare
spiritually for the Sabbath day.
In Isaiah 58:1-13 the Lord connects works of kindness, mercy, and sacrifice with the Sabbath. The first verses deal with helping those in need; the text then immediately jumps into the Sabbath. Could the Lord be saying that the quality of our daily work and how we treat people during the week have a direct bearing on the quality of our spiritual rest on the Sabbath? If our work and relationships during the week have little or no spiritual foundation, how will we be able to experience to the fullest the spiritual benefits of the Sabbath?
| Jesus was condemned by people who then ran home to keep the Sabbath. What lesson does this teach us about how little the Sabbath can mean if our hearts are not right with God? |
Sabbath preparation is for welcoming not just a day but the Lord of the day. This preparation isn't something that is done just on Friday afternoon alone. It should be done all week. By dwelling on the Sabbath and the truth that it contains, a person can prepare for a special wonderful experience with the Lord that he or she can't have any other day.
Though our weeks are busy with work, what practical things can you do
on Friday, as the Sabbath draws near, that can help you be better prepared
spiritually for the Sabbath day?
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What relational elements does the fourth commandment suggest?
Exod.
20:8-11;
Deut.
5:15-21.
T he first three commandments of the Decalogue encourage a right relationship with God; the last six encourage a right relationship with other people. In between the first three and the last six is the fourth, the Sabbath commandment. Therefore, the Sabbath links our relationship with God to our relationship with humanity.
How does this link fit with the words of Jesus regarding what He called
the two greatest commandments? See
Mark
12:30, 31.
Because of its double focus, both on the divine and the human, the Sabbath commandment has been called the "hinge" of the law tables. It holds together not just the two tablets but the two foci of human relationships, our relationship to God and to fellow human beings.
How might the Sabbath enrich and deepen the following relationships? (a)
husband-wife relationships; (b) parent-child relationships; (c) member-to-member
relationships; (d) relationships with nonmembers.
While the Sabbath enriches our relationship with God, it also gives us practical opportunities to gather with friends and family in more meaningful ways than one would have without a Sabbath each week. If we're not working, not fixing the roof, not allowing earthly world demands to consume our time on this day, we will have opportunities for revitalizing our relationships with other people if for no other reason than we will simply have the time to spend with them.
| Good relationships don't just happen. They need to be worked at. Often
time together can do more to strengthen relationships than anything else,
which is one reason, no doubt, why God gave us the Sabbath. Yet unless we
take advantage of this special opportunity, those twenty-four hours will
pass by us as nothing but another day. Think about how you could use the
precious gift of the Sabbath to strengthen your relationships with others.
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"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure
on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight"
(Isa.
58:13).
Seventh-day Adventists have often struggled with the question How do we keep the Sabbath? After all, the commands against stealing, killing, or worshiping idols are pretty clear. The Sabbath commandment, however, doesn't come with any built-in instructions. We're told to rest from all work, but even on Sabbath everyone has to do some work, even if just putting a bowl of cereal on the table for breakfast.
One thing the Bible does teach about the Sabbath is that however individuals keep the day, it should be a good experience. In Isaiah 58:13 we are told to call the Sabbath a "delight." The word translated "delight" comes from a Hebrew term oneg, which is rich and deep in nuance. Oneg means something that is "soft, delicate, exquisite." It appears in the next verse, Isaiah 58:14, which says to "delight thyself in the Lord." It's also in Psalm 37:11: "But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Can you see in this verse how the Sabbath should be a foretaste of the new earth?)
How do you resolve that apparent contradiction in
Isaiah
58:13, which tells us to refrain from "thy pleasure" on the Sabbath day
and yet tells us to call the Sabbath a "delight"? Or is there even a
contradiction?
However one keeps the Sabbath, besides resting on it we are told to call it oneg, "a delight." (The Jews often have what they call Oneg Shabbat, a time of joyous fellowship at the synagogue.) In short, God wants us to enjoy the Sabbath. It should be the high point of the week. The best food, the best fellowship, the best of everything, should be brought out on Sabbath. If we are not enjoying the Sabbath, if we can't call it "a delight," then there's something wrong with how we are keeping it.
How do you define your own Sabbath experience? Is the day something you
look forward to?
| Is the Sabbath a "delight"? If not, what steps can you take
to change how you are keeping the holy day?
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"Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to
ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of
Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it"
(Isa.
58:14).
In Isaiah 58:13 God tells us to call the Sabbath a "delight," to keep His holy day holy, and to honor Him. He asks us not to do our own things, not to speak our own words—and not even do our own "pleasure."
| "If we call the Sabbath a delight, then shall we delight ourselves
in the Lord; He will more and more manifest himself to us as the delightful
subject of our thoughts and meditations and the delightful object of our
best affections.
If we go about duty with cheerfulness, we shall go from it with satisfaction and shall have reason to say, 'It is good to be here, good to draw near to God. '—Isaiah 58:13-14" in Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1991), p. 1197. |
What do you think it means when the text tells us not to seek our own
"pleasure"? It doesn't tell us not to have pleasure on the Sabbath; it tells
us not to do just our own pleasure. Where, instead, would that pleasure
come from?
Isaiah 58:14 lists the promises given to those who keep the Sabbath. Write
them down and think about what each one could mean for us today.
| The bottom line with the Sabbath is that, besides being a commandment
of God, it is also an experience. It's something that we have
to do in order to understand. Trying to explain the Sabbath
to someone who doesn't keep it is like trying to explain the joy of salvation
to an atheist. As Seventh-day Adventists, we should delight in the
Sabbath or, more important, in the Lord of the Sabbath. What concrete
steps could we take, not just as individuals but as a church family, to help
enrich and deepen our Sabbath experience?
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FURTHER STUDY: Read Testimonies for the Church, vol.
6, pp. 349-368.
At the approach of the Sabbath we indeed welcome Royalty. The great King, the Almighty, comes to be with us—or better, invites us to be with Him—for 24 hours of celebration and fellowship. Does not this thought transform preparation for the Sabbath from a frenzy to keep a commandment to a joyous expectancy in awaiting the arrival of a royal Guest? Does not such a concept transform the observance of the Sabbath from a legalistic duty into an exquisite delight?"—Richard M. Davidson, A Love Song for the Sabbath (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc., 1988), pp. 21, 22.
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SUMMARY: God tells us to delight
in the Sabbath. But to do that we first have to keep it. Both physical and
spiritual preparation will better enable us to do just that. Sabbath should
be a joyous occasion because it's there to help us strengthen our relationships,
both with the Lord and with other people. We should take advantage of that
time and use it as God has intended. Then not only will we be able to call
the Sabbath a "delight," but we will enjoy the other blessings that God promises
for those who "turn away thy foot from the
sabbath."
J. H. Zachary
As a child Colin Kharkongor attended an Adventist school in northeastern India. But Colin made no decision for Christ at that time.
During the intervening years God saved his life several times. Colin recalls how he lost control of his jeep while driving on a lonely road through a steep canyon. The jeep spun around and headed for the cliff and certain death. Then Colin felt someone or something pull him back.
On another occasion a gas cylinder exploded in Colin's auto repair shop, spewing bits of metal through the air. But miraculously none of the flying bits struck him or his workers.
When Colin heard that a foreign evangelist was holding meetings near his home, he decided to attend. While attending the meetings Colin felt the Holy Spirit touch his life, and he and his wife answered the call and were baptized.
"I owe my life to Jesus," Colin says. "While I was still a Hindu, He saved me." In response to God's providence, Colin has given his energies to evangelism. During the week he works in his auto repair shop, but his weekends belong solely to God.
On Friday afternoon Colin may travel by jeep as far as he can by road, then hike an hour just to visit a few isolated Adventists in a remote village. While there he looks for people in need of help or hope.
He visits people, makes friends, and gains permission from the village chief to hold Bible meetings. But his greatest evangelistic weapon is prayer.
Through his efforts as a self-supporting missionary, he has won 150 people to Christ. But he is quick to give the glory to God.
While visiting in one village he met Kong Ti Mai, an elderly woman who had not walked for ten years. "Do you believe in Jesus?" Colin asked her.
"Yes, I do," the elderly woman answered. "Can you pray for me?"
Colin prayed for the woman, and the Lord Jesus answered his prayer. Kong Ti Mai can walk and is able to care for herself she even works in the rice fields with her neighbors. But her greatest joy is working with her new Adventist friends.
During the week Cohn Kharkongor is a happy mechanic; but he lives for the weekends, when he can pursue his true love—evangelism
J. H. Zachary is coordinator of international evangelism for The Quiet Hour and a special consultant for the General Conference Ministerial Association.
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