“Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.
“But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses,.. and this city shall be inhabited forever. And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem,.. bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:21-27
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14
It may be hard in our cluttered worlds to make sense of not bearing burdens on the Sabbath, but what rang clear repeatedly in God’s instructions for Israel was to keep Him preeminent. Take care for the sake of your lives. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Listen, incline the ear and receive instruction. Call the holy day of the Lord honorable. Just as He’d created the world in six days, then rested, He instituted a set apart time to remember and be renewed. Keeping the days helped to keep the priority. (Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11)
Industry and fruitfulness are good and worthy of our investment, but the Lord must come first. Long work days that lead to time-for-me weekends that blend into sleepy Mondays leave no time for pause or praise. The Sabbath was established by God as a priority for His children, so we must make arrangements to keep it as He intends.
What supremacy does the living God exhibit in our lives? Do we limit our care to physical and emotional desires, and neglect the inner soul? When do we listen to and take delight in the Lord? Have we established personal routines apart from God’s plan? How have Sabbath practices enriched spiritual pleasure and aided our knowing Him and living out His design? (Ephesians 2:10)
Lord, may I keep Your Sabbath honorable and delight in You always, so Your glory is exalted in my life.
As the rain and snow 