Key Verse: “Remember the Sabbath Day by
keeping it holy.”
Exodus 20:8
Throughout much of Jewish history, as with
today, this fourth commandment was not taken seriously. One of the many reasons
that God punished His people and sent them into captivity, into Babylon, is
that the people ignored this command and treated their God given day of rest just
like the other six. It was during the exile that the Jewish leadership decided
that God really meant what He had said about treating the Sabbath as a holy
day. Then, the question became, how to do that so as to finally please God and
really make the day, “Holy?”
We’ve discussed the “Hedge around the Law,”
before. It is the series of laws that the leadership placed around the original
commandments to ensure the people that, if all these extra laws were kept, the
commandments would not be broken and God would not become angry.
As with the other nine commandments, there was
a hedge around the observance of the Sabbath as well. Who would have thought
that so many laws could be made around taking a rest, but that is what
happened. Jewish law identifies thirty-nine
categories of activity prohibited on Sabbath. Perhaps you know an
orthodox Jew who still observes Sabbath in a somewhat similar way today. They
will not even turn a light switch on or off. The food for Sabbath is prepared the day before
because cooking is forbidden. It is a day to retreat from life, attend
synagogue and then wait for sundown when Sabbath will be over for another week.
Jesus’ burial was not fully completed because
the sun was setting and Sabbath was approaching. Time must have weighed very heavily on that
particular Sabbath. This Sabbath occurred
during the feast of Unleavened Bread, so whatever food had been prepared the
day before was probably quite a simple meal, so there was not much of a feast to
keep their minds occupied with enjoyment. They weren’t allowed to distract
themselves by business. All they had was
time; time to remember, time to reflect and time to regret.
Perhaps there was self-loathing on the part of
those who had abandoned Him. Perhaps there were too many questions to even ask.
How does one feel Holy at the bottom of the pit of grief? How does one feel
close to God when the one you thought was God has just been crucified? How does
one make sense of it all? Is there any reason to be found?
I think that Psalm 13 describes well what the
followers of Jesus were experiencing on that worst of all Sabbaths. The Psalmist
asks over and over, “How long O Lord? How long will you forget me? How long will
You hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts?” (Ps.
13:1-2) The sense of abandonment, of the darkness never ending is so strong.
Hopes and plans are gone. There is nothing left to even dream. They had given
so much to His cause and now…what?
Yet, the Psalmist does a turn around, perhaps
not in his feelings, but in remembering who God is. “But I trust in Your
unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord,
for He has been good to me.” (Ps. 13:5-6) The Psalmist demonstrates for us here
what would have been one of the hardest things for those people on that
Sabbath, or for us today, to keep in mind. That is, he takes his mind off of
his problem or situation and strives to remember God’s character. We may feel
abandoned, but God is good. We may feel lost and without hope, but God is good.
God’s character is not dependent upon our feelings. He is good and that is what
we must remember when walking through the darkness as His followers were on
that black Sabbath day. Somehow, no matter how we feel, no matter what is
happening, God is good and “And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes.” (Romans
8:28)
Hymn My God I Love Thee A beautiful
rendition!
For easier to understand words: My Jesus I Love Thee
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