ESOCS Devotional 20 May 2024 – Sabbath and the Lord’s Day
MEMORY VERSE: ““For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:11 NIV
TEXT: EXODUS 20:1-17
And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. On this day, God ceased His creative work. He then commanded Israel to keep this day holy as one of the signs of the covenant. They were also asked to use it for their benefit, especially for rest and worship. However, it is worthy of note that the Sabbath was symbolic of the eventual rest that God desired for His people, and this points forward to an eternal Sabbath in God’s Kingdom at the end of this present system.
It has been alleged in some quarters that the Roman authorities were responsible for changing the Sabbath Day of rest, and instituted Sunday as a day of worship, to suit their own religious tradition. However, in actuality, Emperor Constantine did pass a decree in 321 AD that all religious worship should be on Sunday (The Sun Day). This decision was, at best, a human effort to promote Christianity over and above other pagan devotions or forms of worship at the time in question. However, this view is neither biblical nor does it contain any scriptural backing.
Ironically, at the time of the New Testament, the Sabbath had become so hedged with legalistic rules that Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath often did things to restore the proper spirit of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1, 10, 11; Luke 6:5, 9; 13:15). Many Christians today, in view of both Christ’s resurrection on the first day, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost Sunday, celebrate the first day, as the Christians’ day of rest. This is also known as the Lord’s Day. The apostles and the entire early Church kept the first day of the week (Sunday), as the Lord’s Day. This day was mainly employed for preaching and teaching God’s word, or regular Church services (Acts 20:7). The Lord’s Day was also used to raise offerings for Church work (1 Corinthians 16:2). Revelation 1:10 also refers to the first day of the week (Sunday) as The Lord’s Day. In line with the teachings of Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 58:13-14), Jesus Himself kept the first day of the week for teaching, healing and other socio-humanitarian activities.
In conclusion, suffice here to say that the Sabbath commemorates God’s creation rest. In other words, it is a celebration of finished work of creation. While the Lord’s Day is a commemoration of a finished redemption or redemptive work.
- Some believe the Sabbath was a compulsory law for Judaism, while the Lord’s Day is for Christians (Those set free from the law). What is your take?
- Jesus Christ, Lord of the Sabbath, give us the enabling grace to understand and work accordingly.
Further Reading: 1 Kings 21:29-40; Mark 9:14-29, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
ESOCS Devotional 20 May 2024
