Ten Words to Live By
KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY

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God spoke these words to live by ...
Exodus 20:8-11 -- "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 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."

Years after the time God spoke these words, Moses recalled them saying to the people: "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." (Deuteronomy 5)

The first four words to live by focus on our relationship with God. If the first three are a three course meal, then this fourth word is the table setting. The first three words reveal to us who God is and who he isn’t, but the fourth word creates the environment for the relationship with the God who delivers, the God who cannot be manipulated or made into our image. We are to keep the Sabbath by keeping it holy. A special day for the whole community.

It seems so ancient and meaningless, this command to set aside a special day. Hasn’t this command been repealed? Isn’t this the command that hasn’t been repeated or carried over into the NT? We typically think of Jesus as the one who emphasized the enduring significance of the Ten Words. Here’s what Jesus had to say about the Sabbath ...

Principle 1: The Principle of Remembering [Honoring God, listening, holiness]

Principle 2: The Principle of Trust [Created Order – Exodus 20]

Principle 3: The Principle of Humanity/Spirituality [Justice – Deuteronomy 5]

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 21 October 2007


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