We saw yesterday how God rested, and set out a rhythm for work and rest. Here we see God giving some of the reasons why it’s important for us to rest, and how it’s still God’s gift for all creation even though many years have passed.
“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:12-15 ESV)
He wants the Israelites to practice it, and to share it with those in their employ. Even their animals are included. But it’s more than that. It has to do with showing who their God is. God reminds them they were once slaves. The day of rest, the Sabbath, is a weekly emancipation from slavery.
They were being reminded by God, weekly, that they were created human beings, not pyramid building resources. Sabbath was part of their freedom – they belong to God, not pharaoh.
This is so important today. We can live in self-imposed slavery to career, money. Or fear. Or a form of slavery to work can be imposed by an exploitative company, a sex trafficker, a manipulative boss, etc.
Sabbath is a way for people who spend all week working to announce they are not just money making machines, they are God’s beloved children, and so they are free.
Yes, this is a limitation on work – it limits profits and production. And it wasn’t just weekly, the idea of Sabbath rest also applies to every seven years – when no fields could be worked. Imagine the statement of a nation that planned ahead like that, and took a year of rest to focus on other kinds of work. It would be very risky, but it was a way to show their trust in God, not themselves or their own risk management efforts. They may have been less productive, but they were free.
Question: How do you break free from the sense you are a slave to work? How can you show colleagues that there are more dimensions to your life than work?
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Yesterday we saw how King Herod was clinging to power using violence and fear to rule. Such times were described in book of Isaiah, prophetically, as a time of great darkness.
But contrast him to Jesus. Jesus also claims to be King of the Jews. But for him, that is a position he has not taken by force or manipulation, but by right. It is a position he hangs on to not by violence and fear, but by peace and love.
This is why he’s described by the Prophet Isaiah, 500 years before Jesus, as the light rising in the darkness.
What a contrast!
Herod has gone down in history, Christian and otherwise, as a brutal tyrant, a false king who never belonged in power.
And by contrast, Jesus is still known as a king. The sign above his cross – king of the Jews. Sing this Christmas: glory to the newborn king.
Then he got in the way of a different kind of power – the religious power of the scribes and Pharisees, and eventually Rome, who had him executed. And yet, Jesus is still known today as alive and active in people’s lives.
Jesus scares the powerful, because he is truly power. He is the source of all power and authority in the world. All power is given by God. All the ways people exert power rely on God having created and sustained world in the first place. When people who are abusing those means encounter true power, they are afraid. Like an employee who has been claiming to speak for the boss will suddenly shrink when the boss actually enters the room.
Jesus had that kind of true power, he scared those with false power.
The question is how will we respond to Jesus? Will we cling to power like Herod, or do everything we can to find and worship him, like the Magi?
Question: What do you think true power and authority looks like? How would you recognize it?
Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party. Hope you're coming!
In preparation for Christmas, our Daily Challenges are going to explore the lifechanging significance of Jesus' birth so long ago. It's more than a sentimental story, or a time for generosity, Christmas celebrates The Night that Changed Everything. We'll explore the original Christmas story from the Bible, and its impact on five kinds of people.
