Who has time for a Sabbath? Perhaps the better question, in this age of stress-induced depression, anxiety, and illness, is who doesn’t need a Sabbath? And no, that doesn’t mean one of those harried, hurried, pack-all-the-fun-you-can-into-one-trip vacations that leave you so exhausted you need a break from your break. A Sabbath is marked more by what we don’t do than by what we do. In fact, we might say that Sabbath is more about being than it is about doing. It’s a day to stop doing so we can simply be with God and with God’s people.

And no, this isn’t just some outdated part of the Old Testament Law. As we see from today’s passage, God gave His people the gift of Sabbath in Exodus chapter 16, well before they got to Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments in chapter 20. That’s one reason that the Fourth Commandment says to “remember” the Sabbath day – it was something they already knew about.

Oh, and don’t forget that God confirmed this commandment with a miracle – the manna was especially abundant on the day before the Sabbath, and only on that day of the week was it still good if it was left overnight. No, it’s hard to argue that keeping Sabbath is very much God’s idea.

And it’s an idea that applies to everyone, regardless of our religious beliefs. For another reason we are to “remember” the Sabbath is that God wove cycles of work and rest into the very fabric of creation. After God created the whole universe in Genesis chapter 1, the first thing He did in chapter 2 was to rest. He thus set an example for all human beings, those who are created in God’s image: work six days and rest one. In short, the need for weekly Sabbath is as hardwired into all of us as is our need for daily sleep.

But the comparison to sleep helps us understand what makes the Sabbath special for those who are God’s people. For if sleep is unconscious resting, Sabbath is very conscious. It is stillness combined with an awareness of who we are in Christ: undeserving recipients of God’s amazing grace, sinners who have been forgiven and freed, children who are welcome in our Heavenly Father’s embrace. We stop what we are doing to marvel at the might and majesty and mercy of our Triune God.

And as we cease from all those activities that are so necessary throughout the week, we are making a profound profession of faith. Just as tithing trusts God with our money, Sabbath-keeping trusts God with our time. For even if we don’t know how we’ll get everything done, keeping the Sabbath means we trust that God is in charge of our schedules, so that He will provide all the time we need.

Oh, and just as we have to budget our money so we can tithe, Sabbath-keeping requires being careful with our time throughout the week. Just as the people had to make preparations for the Sabbath in verse 23, if we are serious about spending a day with God every week we’ll find ourselves wasting less time on the weekdays. We’ll want to get everything done ahead of time so we can spend every possible moment with our Beloved on our special day.

So, let’s start now to take advantage of God’s gift of Sabbath this week. Let’s do what we need to do today so we can enjoy resting in God’s presence on the Sabbath.

Exodus 16:22-30 (ESV)

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
23 he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'”
24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.
25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.
26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.
28 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.