Episode 44: Remembering the Sabbath
Remembering the Sabbath Podcast Outline
- Meaning of Sabbath
- My Childhood Sabbath
- Why Did God Create the Sabbath
- Podcast Transcript:
Welcome to Healing Our Brokenness Episode 44: Remembering the Sabbath.
What does the word Sabbath mean?
Sabbath means to rest or to cease. Sunday, the Sabbath, was my favorite day of the week as a child. It still is. It was a time when I knew that I had that “rest easy” deep down in my soul kind of feeling. Sundays could be enjoyed to the fullest because Saturday was used as a preparation day to deal with meals, clothes, hair, cleaning, and laundry. On Sundays, we went to church for a good portion of the day, and if there were no other programs going on at church, we bought a soul food meal from the church, along with pop and pound cake and headed home. Other times, we stopped at the grocery store’s deli department to pick up Kaiser rolls, crab meat or tuna, and muffins. The rest of the day was filled with reading, listening to music, and enjoying family time.
Why did God create the Sabbath? God created the Sabbath for our benefit. God didn’t need to rest, but he rested on the Sabbath as an example to us, to remember to take time out to worship and rest in Him on this holy day: “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Genesis 2:3, NASB)
Another reason why God created the Sabbath is to make sure that we don’t go back into a slavery mentality: “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: 15, NIV) When you are slaves, there are no breaks. You’re constantly on the move. You wear yourselves out to the point of exhaustion. Sabbath puts a boundary around this mentality. Observing Sabbath demonstrates to God that we know he is more than capable of giving us the strength and endurance that we need to get things done during the remaining six days. It forces us to meditate on the fact that God’s gift of freedom given to us via the cross is enough.
Dear God,
Thank you for the Sabbath. Thank you for the realization that we don’t have to work ourselves to the point of exhaustion in order to keep up. We praise you for your promises, and the freedom that only you can give.
In your name we pray,
Amen
Thank you for listening to Healing Our Brokenness Episode 44: Remembering the Sabbath. Have a blessed week!