September 8 – Hebrews 4:1-11

This week we’ll look at yet another facet of Jesus’s way of life: rest. While the primary sermon text is Hebrews 4:1-11, we’ll turn to supporting passages in Genesis and Exodus to get a bit more grounding on the primary vehicle through which God gifts his people with rest in this life: the Sabbath.

We’ll start at the end of Genesis 1 to see the very end of God’s creative works. Genesis 1:31 gives us the framing for the end of the sixth day before describing the seventh in chapter 2; God labors, then he rests. But, as we’ll discuss, God “laboring” isn’t quite the right way to put it since God’s power is utterly limitless. Note how he creates in Genesis 1: he speaks a word and things come into existence from nothingness. Work is not effortful for God like it is for us. Nevertheless, God “rests” from his work. Why is that?

The word there for “rested” is a word for ceasing or stopping your labors. It’s the same word from which we get the word Sabbath, the name of the seventh day that God blesses and makes holy. So while God wasn’t exactly in need of rest, he did cease his activity of creation. However, the bulk of the importance of what God does here is intended for his creation; we’re meant to learn, from God’s own participation in the first Sabbath, that God has a way for his creation to function, a way that recognizes both work and rest.

This in part recognizes our finitude as creatures; we need to rest because we simply cannot function on a biological level without it. However, as we discuss why God rested on the seventh day, keep in mind that this isn’t just to instruct us creatures in our need for creaturely replenishment. It’s also meant to teach us something about God, about his ways and priorities.

We’ll see that a bit more when we turn to Exodus 20:8-11. This is the fourth commandment, to practice the Sabbath. As an aside, there’s some debate among Christians about whether the commandment to observe the Sabbath is still binding on God’s people after Jesus’s death and resurrection. Some see it as a part of the ceremonial law that was done away with through Jesus, much like the food laws (see Mark 7:18-19) or the sacrificial laws (see Hebrews 10:1-18).

Christians who practice the Sabbath would counter with God’s appeal to his work in creation here in Exodus 20; that created order hasn’t been altered through Jesus’s sacrifice like the Law of Moses has. Those folks would also be careful to point out that Christ has satisfied the demands of the law for us, such that Sabbath keeping is not an act of legal observance or righteousness earning but simply an act of obedience to the God who commands it.

Regardless of the debate, what we see in the biblical presentation of the Sabbath is an invitation to enjoy God’s goodness in fellowship with him and in appreciation of his created world. In discussion we’ll look at the specific wording of the command—we’re told to Sabbath “to” or “unto” God. This is the most crucial part of Sabbath keeping, finding our ultimate rest not in fun activities or good company or a nap (i.e. resting unto ourselves) but to find our rest in the Lord of the Sabbath.

We’ll start closing out discussion by talking about the challenge of practicing the Sabbath and how God might use the Sabbath and other rest rhythms to grow and change us. Stopping from our labors isn’t easy, whether you’ve got a fast-paced life, kids demanding something from you every moment of the day, or you simply have no idea what healthy rest might look like. Add onto that the challenges of finding rest not in worldly pleasures or disconnect but in connection with God.

And yet God gifted us with the Sabbath, and even in this challenge you might be able to sense the good things God has for you in being able to lay down your striving, log out of your email, set aside chores and tasks that can wait till tomorrow, and to simply be. We’ll close by exploring more of these benefits and seeing how Jesus intends to instruct us in his slow-paced way of life, helping us live unhurried and gracious lives that stand out in a hurried world.

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