““And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—” Isaiah 56:6 ESV
Reflection: why is the Lord so adamant about keeping the Sabbath? And should we still keep it today?
One of the commandments given to the Israelites – about the Sabbath day – seems a bit strange. Not sure how much you have thought about it. But let’s first read what the Lord actually said ““Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8 ESV. Interesting. What does that mean, to keep it “holy”? The Lord continues, “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, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:9-11 ESV. So how are we to take this, as followers of Christ? We remember Jesus made an interesting observation about the Sabbath, saying “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”” Mark 2:27-28 ESV
But, still, why was, and is the Sabbath so important to the Lord? What is the big deal?
One obvious aspect is practical, our need for physical rest. But associated with the rest is perhaps the more important part, that we are to give that day to the Lord, almost like “tithing”. He says we are to labor for 6 days, to make a living. If we “work all the time”, we not only get physically exhausted, but we lose focus on what is important. So He says the seventh is His, or reserved for us to be in relationship with Him, almost like a father saying to his family “Friday night is family pizza night” or whatever we are used to setting aside to build relationship with each other. Now, “rest” also has multiple meanings, clearly the physical rest from work. But the deeper meaning is spiritual rest, pointing to the finished work of Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can do, no “work” of our own to earn righteousness. We have to rest in what Jesus did; and we all know how hard that is for many. Whole religions, and even some so-called Christian denominations, have added something that we must do.
But in the verse today, we see an even further twist on this already interesting commandment. We tend to think the Lord was only talking to the Israelites, with His commandments and covenants. True they were given to the Israelites, but here we see the Lord expanding this to “foreigners”, most likely referring to non-Israelites. Now, keep in mind that this is hundreds of years prior to the arrival of Christ, before Jesus sent His disciples into all the world, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””Matthew 28:19-20 ESV. And we need to read carefully the verse today, which says ““And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—” Isaiah 56:6 ESV. So we see here that relationships between the Lord and people outside of the house of Israel started long before Christ. He is calling all people into relationship with Him.
And, you know what? He even makes promises to these “foreigners” who join themselves to the Lord, saying “these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7 ESV.
There is something so very comforting to see that God never changes; He is the same God He was for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for Moses and the prophets, that we saw in Jesus Christ, as He is for us today, and will always be. Regardless of race or nation, Jesus has made it possible to have peace with God. As the good Father He is, He wants to have time with us, to help us navigate this world, and to ultimately bring us home. The Sabbath gives us a chance to take a break, to focus on our relationship with the Lord and our fellow man, and to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
