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?

Ryan Sim - July 15, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Originality

Think back to your last experience of school. I'm sure it involved some good teachers, and some not so good teachers. Soemtimes we like teachers or not for trite reasons – fun, easy, etc. But think about the content - who could really teach? I remember two kinds of bad teachers. One who didn’t care. He taught the curriculum, nothing more, nothing less. One day he didn’t show up, and the students didn’t mind at all! I also remember one who tried really, really hard. But he didn’t actually know the material, so he had no credibility. The smart kids were always proving him wrong. But what about good teachers? What about the ones where they explain something, and it clicks? Now, imagine a really great teacher. Somebody who comes up with something new and original, and explains it well. This is rare indeed. I recall my favourite professor at university, who joked at the beginning of his course, "I've you've read my book, sorry, I only have so much material." But that was okay, since it reall was his material. He wrote the book because it was his authoritative, original content, and he shared it in compelling ways. Question: Who was the best teacher you ever had? What did they teach you? Why were they the best?

From Series: Sermon on the Mount | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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