For Just a Moment, Consider

Consider the seventh-day Sabbath for just a moment. What a beautiful creation of God! When God created this world, He wanted to be with His creation. To show them how much, He created a space in time to be with them. They would learn of Him, walk with Him and worship Him. 

I suppose in one sense it’s like a wedding anniversary. You’ve made a commitment to one another, but it’s good to be reminded of it, to have a special time with your soulmate to renew and refresh your commitment.

As Jesus says in Mark 2:27-28, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God realized that man needed a weekly anniversary, if you please, to walk with God and worship God, to build a lasting relationship. Throughout history, God has always come back to the Sabbath as a means to help us understand His desire to be with humanity and to build those bonds with His creation.

For example, when Israel came out of bondage, God used the experience of manna to help Israel to learn of God as a God who supplies our needs and who is worthy of our worship. 

Isaiah 58 reminds us that our relationship with God is more important than our own pleasure when it comes to being with Him on the Sabbath. 

But probably the best example of Sabbath rest is Jesus Himself. Not only did Jesus worship in the synagogue from Sabbath to Sabbath, but I believe Jesus gave His best example during His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus died and was buried on Friday afternoon before the Sabbath began. Luke says that Jesus arose on the first day of the week very early in the morning. But He spent all of Sabbath resting in the tomb. What a testament to the day He created to be with mankind. Jesus, you might say, celebrated the Sabbath even in death. It was that important to Him. He could have easily been raised not long after He died, but He didn’t in order to give us a lasting example. God made the day holy, and Jesus observed it. 

The reason I take time with this is simply because I am concerned that too many believers are treating time with God as only a way of culture or preference instead of a relationship. 

Our time with God is what’s important on Sabbath. It’s our weekly anniversary with Him, a must for our relationship. We love Him. We adore Him. Therefore, we can’t wait to be with Him and worship Him on Sabbath. During this time, we rest with Him away from all our cares and labors during. We grow and become more deeply committed to Him because of the time we spend with Him. That is the joy of a relationship! 

It’s no wonder Hebrews 4:9 says, “Therefore, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” 

You can’t build a relationship without time, and our God has given us that time. It’s called the Sabbath. Let’s make the most of our time with our Creator, Redeemer and Friend!

By Richard C. Dye Sr.

President

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