THE SABBATH IS NOT YOUR OWN

THE SABBATH IS NOT YOUR OWN

‘Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day, no one is to work – neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. In six days, I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the sea, and everything in them, but on the seventh day, I rested. That is why I, the Lord, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy’ – Exodus 20:8-11

We are all very familiar with the law of the Sabbath as above, but how many of us care about the Sabbath and its observance? For many, Sunday is just like any other day of the week, except that it is not a formal working day. And for many others, it is a day to prepare for the coming week; a day for washing and cleaning. No, Sunday is different from every other day of the week because it is the Sabbath. And God, who created the seven days of the week, who created the universe and holds it in existence, who created us and all that we are and can be, sanctified the Sabbath and claimed it as His own. He commanded that we should do no work on the Sabbath, but that we should rest and dedicate the day to Him. So, the Sabbath is not your own, it is a Special Day and different from other days of the week.

The issue is not whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday, but that we should respect and reverence the ‘Sabbath’ because God said so. God created seven days, and of the seven days, He gave us six for our use and of the seventh, He commands us to (a) Rest and (b) Share what is left of it with Him. He gave us six out of seven, and of the seventh, He still shares with us. Who could be more generous than God, and why are we refusing to obey Him? He is our God and Creator, and yet, He gave us six out of seven.

The Sabbath is not your own. It belongs to God, and as the rightful owner, He has given us instructions on how to use it so that we may find peace, happiness and fulfilment in our endeavours. He commands that we honour Him and rest on the Sabbath, for it is a Sacred Day and wherein we are enjoined to replenish our (a) body and (b) our spirit in obedience. We revitalize our body and our spirit through our obedience to the command of God for the Sabbath, and in the same way, we dissipate our health and spiritual wellbeing through our disobedience to the law of the Sabbath. It is not a matter that is at our discretion, but a command of the most high God, and we disobey to our peril.

The Sabbath is a special day because, of all the days of the week, it is claimed by God as His own. It is a Day of Blessing for those who obey and observe the Sabbath, and unfortunately for those who refuse to obey, they sin against God and will answer for it. God commands us to WORSHIP HIM and REST on the Sabbath, but as usual and as in every other thing, we refuse. We treat the Sabbath as it pleases us; as if it were our own, whereas it is not. For many of us, we labour all days of the week in utter disregard to this command not to work but to rest on the Sabbath. We labour every day, day and night, and more often than not, committing all sorts of atrocities against God, neighbours and self. Must we also do the same on a holy day? I do believe that every sin we commit on the Sabbath, in disobedience to the law of the Sabbath, carries a double punishment because the Sabbath is a Holy and Sacred Day.

In the days of Moses, (Exodus 16:22-30) God commanded the Israelites, in observance of the law of the Sabbath, not to pick manner on the Sabbath but to rest. They should pick what was needed for Sunday on Saturday, even though it is a known fact that those who picked more than what was needed for each day on other days of the week laboured in vain as the manner got spoilt at the end of each day despite all efforts to preserve it. But for the Sabbath, and in obedience to the will of God, the manner picked on Saturday remained fresh till after the Sabbath. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His words remain the same. So when we labour on Sundays in disobedience, we only succeed in (a) offending God and (b) dissipating our health and spiritual wellbeing. Know that we can never gather or prosper in disobedience, for like the manner in the wilderness, such effort is always a waste and the products there from useless. 

It is not sufficient that simply because we have gone to church on Sunday morning, we have kept the Sabbath, and are thereafter free to do whatever we like. No, you have not fulfilled the Sabbath. What happens at the Church Service and after the Church Service? How often do we get to Church on time as a proof of our love and desire to be in the presence of God and in fulfilment of the law of Sabbath? Do we really go there to worship, or we go there for other reasons apart from to worship. Do we thereafter go home to rest, or go outing to relax and rest? Do we go there in joy and humility, like a people going joyfully to worship their God with their brothers and sisters, or we go there to display our pride and arrogance. 

For many, we go to Church on Sundays for every other reason except to be with God. If we are not the perpetual late comers, we are there for meetings, to felicitate, to buy or to sell, to network, and to do every other thing but to worship the Lord. Some of us jump from one church to the other, looking for miracles, or to avoid getting involved in church and community programs. For others, they roam from one church to another to sell articles or are special guests for special programs such as raising money for God because they are specialists in raising funds for God. But how dare you? When did He ever ask you for a dime or to raise funds for Him? You are a thief, and as you have turned the House of God to your Business Center, so shall you receive your reward from the Master of the House.

How can you claim that you are there to worship when you know within yourself that you are there to show off your body, your clothes, your hair and your shoes? How can you claim you are there to worship when you have no respect for God or for things of God? When is the time for Service, and when did you arrive at the Church? You are there, but on your phone, pretending you are reading the Word, but we know the contents of your phone cannot be said to be holy. You are staring at the clock or your time piece, because the sermon is boring, too long, or irritating, and you have a very important engagement somewhere. Is the engagement much more important than your once-a-week appointment with your Creator? You are there, but not there, for you are not involved in the worship or in the liturgy as you have no connection whatever with the Sanctuary; you are there to look and or to steal; you shall receive your reward.

For many Pastors and Priests, they are there for the offerings and to display their oratory skills as motivational speakers, advocates of rationalism and preachers of the gospel of Satan. They have turned the house of God into a Social Centre where they promote the will and wisdom of man for the satisfaction of their flesh. They have turned from shepherds to wolves, and I dare say, woe betides those who have turned the House of God into a den of thieves and His worship into a jamboree. Woe to you who preach the gospel of Satan in the House of God, leading souls astray and denying God the faithfulness of his flock. Is it that you have forgotten the pain and sorrows of the Master on behalf of each soul, or what? It is stated that ‘there was not one spot of His body that was not in torment, and that the flesh on His shoulders were torn apart on account of the weight of the Cross which now rested on the bones of His shoulders’. He was crucified, suffered, died, and was buried for the salvation of our souls, yet, you scourge Him again, again and again? Why are you leading astray the souls for which He suffered so much? 

For many, every Sunday of the month is a ‘meeting day’, and they argue that it is for their future security. But have you not heard that help comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth? The meetings starts in the Church (before or after Service), where nothing but money and things of the flesh are the issues for discussion, and thereafter, they proceed to other different venues for other meetings. Many will not return home till very late; tired, hungry, drunk, completely fagged out and totally dissipated. For others, from Church they proceed to special weekend lectures, workshops and seminars to improve on their resume, some go to shops and businesses, and or engage in business activities through the social media. For some, Sunday is just part of the weekend, and as such, Church and Worship is not in their schedule. Their Sundays is for shopping, washing and cleaning the house. This is wrong, sinful and a profanation of the Sabbath. You are stealing from God and will pay for it. 

Note that to rest on Sunday is not at our discretion, but a command of God, and so, we disobey at our peril. The Blessings of Obedience and The Consequences of Disobedience are well spelt out in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 &15-68, and God is not a liar. But can we not do anything else other than worship and rest on Sundays? Yes, we can. Sunday is a holy day, sanctified by God, and so we are called to exhibit the holiness of our father God by being good, holy and kind to all. When we worship God on Sunday, we amongst other things re-establish our union with our Father, and we cement this union with our charity towards our brothers and sisters, starting with those around us. Allow everybody in your household and in your employments to enjoy the peace and rest of the Sabbath else, you are not keeping the Sabbath if you deny others the joy of the Sabbath. Forbid those who do not know, from working in your fields on the Sabbath so that they may know and for God to be glorified. This is love for God and neighbour.

To do good works on Sunday can never be frowned upon by God. Instead, such is a pleasing offering so long as you have paid your homage through worship, while charity for neighbour could disrupt your Church schedule. So, you could visit the sick, the lonely and the afflicted after Church service. Pray with them and listen to their pains and sorrow, let them know they are not forgotten. Put a smile on someone’s face with your love and reflect on God’s goodness upon you despite your situation. Thank Him for yourself and for those who have no regards for Him. Beg Him for pardon and mercy for we are all sinners, and light a candle for those who in their pains and sorrow have turned away from God, and for those who have forgotten that God exist. And in obedience to Him, give rest to your body on Sundays and avoid anything and every occasion that does not improve your spirit. If you must touch money on Sunday, in any way whatsoever, it should be for offertory, Thanksgiving and or for charity, and I dare ask, what is the volume of your offertory, your Thanksgiving and your charity? 

The Sabbath is not a day for merry and social engagements, but a blessed day for our rest and spiritual rejuvenation. It is a known fact that in our merry making and celebrations, we succeed, more often than not, in nothing else, but in dissipating our energy and in injuring our spirits. From Monday to Saturday, we labour to satisfy the flesh, and rightly so, but must we also do so on Sunday despite the Lord’s command. Do you really think that you know your body better than He who created you out of sand, and has commanded that you should rest the body once a week? Can the clay dictate to the Porter or refuse the will of the Porter and survive? We must learn to be conscious of these simple but true facts so that we could moderate our Sabbath activities to be in line with the will of our Creator and thus experience the goodness of God in our wellbeing.

We must be very careful of what we do on Sundays; else instead of reaping the benefits and blessings of the Sabbath, we will continue to incur the wrath of God. We owe God obedience in everything else, as a result of our disobedience, we will continue to suffer and labour in vain. The Sabbath is not our own, and so, when we labour on the Sabbath in disobedience to the will of God for the Sabbath, we succeed only in scattering what we had gathered previously. But when we learn to obey the law of the Sabbath, out of piety, we will attract the blessings of God upon our endeavours of yesterday, of today, and on our hopes for tomorrow. And since obedience is the greatest sacrifice we can offer to God, let us learn to obey and respect the law of the Sabbath, for it is not our own. It belongs to God our Father, and He will demand an account from each one of us on how well we used it.

Did you enjoy this article? Don’t let the conversation end here! Join the JESAI community, a vibrant space where like-minded Christians come together to discuss, ask questions, and engage deeply on topics just like the one you’ve read.

By becoming a part of our community, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Engage in Faith-Based Discussions: Dive deeper into the subjects that strengthen your faith with others who share your beliefs.
• Ask and Answer Questions: Share your spiritual journey and learn from the insights of other community members.
• Stay Inspired: Keep up with the latest articles, devotionals, and discussions that uplift and encourage your walk with Christ.

We believe in the power of community and the exchange of ideas rooted in our Christian faith. Your voice matters to us, and we would love to hear your thoughts and insights.

Don’t wait! Click here to join the JESAI community today and be part of a growing network of believers. Let’s learn, share, and grow together in Christ! https://jesaicommunity.com.ng/Group/