In the beginning, when God looked upon the vast chaos of eternity and the darkness of the water, He said, “Let there be light,” and He saw the light was good. He divided the light from the darkness and christened the day and night. He divided the waters from heaven and the earth and gathered the dry land into one place. He planted seeds for every plant known to man, and He saw that it was good. He spanned heaven and covered the blackness with stars and the moon to rule the night and regulate the seasons and hurled the blazing sun into the sky to rule the day. “God saw that it was good.” In the next days, He brought living creatures upon the earth, and finally, He placed man and woman on the earth.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. —Genesis 2:1-4 KVJ
God set apart the seventh day to stop, renew and remember for Himself and all mankind. He knows we need time to stop and take notice of where life is going and to notice what He has done for us. His request to remember Him and the wondrous miracles of His creations reminds us that He has power to help in any time of trouble. He knows if we do not stop and take notice, we take His power and creations for granted and start imagining that somehow we are responsible for our own creation.
Noah’s time is a good reminder. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5 KJV). They didn’t remember who had created the earth, and they probably denied the existence of God. The Lord destroyed the wicked with the flood, giving the world a new start.
When the Lord’s finger penned the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone on Mount Sinai, He included the admonition: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work” (Exodus 20:8-9 KJV).
The children of Israel were led through the wilderness by God’s mercy. Daily, they were given manna for food and were taught to gather only enough for the day, except on the sixth day. On that day, they gathered twice as much so they would not have to work on the Sabbath. The Lord was reminding them. Stop. Renew. Remember.
Years passed, and the Jews became excellent at stopping on the Sabbath. Many observed the Sabbath with pure intent and grew closer to the Lord, but others became so concerned about counting how many steps they took and what they could not do on the Sabbath that they forgot the Lord entirely. Along with the list of don’ts, there was a list of things to do. There were always questions about what was right and what was wrong. How much of this can I do and still be considered to be keeping the Sabbath? Then there were the finger-pointers. Did you count your steps? Did you pick up a hammer? This behavior led Jesus to explain, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27 KJV). The ancient Jews were excellent at stopping but not very good at remembering who and why. Are we any better?
When I grew up, shops were closed, the fields were empty of equipment, and church parking lots were filled with cars. Sabbath day observance was at a premium. People respected and remembered the Sabbath as God’s special day.
The news of world events contained sad stories of tragedies on the world stage, but fewer close to home. There were few stories of abandoned children, divorce and dysfunctional families. There were problems, but schools, theaters and churches were safe places to be. School shootings were unheard of. Police and military personnel were respected, and the law was upheld, for the most part. We proudly stood for the flag and held our hands over our hearts when “The Star Spangled Banner” was played. People felt accountable to God, and they looked to Him for protection and miracles in times of need, and we saw miracles and reaped the blessings of the Sabbath.
Today, the trends of the media lead us to the plight of Noah's day. The imaginations of media's heart are pointed toward evil continually. We watch the news and find fabricated stories and character slander. In many cases, the government has ruled against the sanctity of life and moral principles. They have outlawed God in the public arena. We listen to the minority and silence the majority. There are more people in the parking lots of casinos, theaters and sporting events than there are in churches. Many of our children know more about the NFL lineup than they know about Peter, James and John. They can recite superhero chants, but they can’t recite the Lord’s prayer. Many have not even heard of the Sabbath day, let alone have reason to keep it holy. In fact, “holy” has become a slang word meaning nothing.
People have forgotten that keeping the Sabbath day holy has great blessing attached to it. Honoring the Sabbath isn’t a bunch of rules spelling out the dos and don’ts. Rather, it is a simple process that brings rewards. We center our thoughts and actions on the Lord and His goodness. Isaiah makes it clear:
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. —Isaiah 58:13-14 KJV
In modern language: If we find joy in doing the Lord’s work and speaking His words without seeking our own entertainment, we will be honoring the Sabbath as God wishes. He will give us His highest blessings to guide us and protect us. If we honor the Lord, He will give His honor back to us.
If those promises were not enough, he told the children of Israel that if they would keep His Sabbaths, He would give them the following blessings:
Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary … Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. … And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. —Leviticus 26: 2,4-7,12 KJV
In the past, our nation has been protected because we have remembered the Sabbath day and our God. Think of the Revolutionary War where a ragtag army stood against the greatest military power of the world, the Civil War where the nation was torn so badly with wounded hearts that it seemed irretrievable yet was brought to unity, and remember the miracles of World War I and World War II. God was with us because we stood with Him. Let us stop, renew and remember, as God has commanded, that we may be blessed by His almighty hand.
