How Important Is Keeping the Sabbath?

Bob

Exodus 20:8 (KJV)-“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Keeping the Sabbath is more than spending an hour in church on Sunday. It's about putting your busyness aside for one day out of the week and putting God first. I can understand why that is a good thing to do. But why does observing the Sabbath makes it into God's "Top Ten?" It's listed right alongside things like "Do not murder" and "Do not commit adultery." This suggests that in God's eyes, it is equally serious. But that is certainly not how we view it now! I remember a time when it was important in America. When I was a child nearly every store closed on Sunday. Everyone filled up the gas tank of their car on Saturday because the gas stations were closed on Sunday. Only one pharmacy in town stayed open on Sunday for emergencies. Very few people worked a job on Sunday. This gave most people, Christians and non-Christians alike, a much-needed family day and an opportunity for their soul to catch up with their body.

Flashback. I'm a new Christian. One Sunday afternoon I'm reading Jeremiah 17, which talks about keeping the Sabbath. As the words soak in I (inwardly and silently) say,

"I'm sorry! And a bit scared! I didn't realize how SERIOUS You are about this! From now on I will take the Sabbath seriously!

Within seconds my wife walks into the room and asks me to pick up a convenience item for her from the grocery store. Her timing is uncanny! There is no that way she could know about my resolution. I "connect the dots" and recognize that I am being tested by an evil spirit. If I cave in now, I will establish a precedent to cave in on every new committment I make to God. I must draw the line now!

"I will be glad to pick it up for you tomorrow, but not on Sunday. It's not an emergency item."

My wife is persistent. First she tries sugar, "Please do it for me."

When that doesn't work she tries logic, "The store is already open on Sundays. You won't make any difference by staying home."

When that doesn't work she tries anger. "**##^%%!!"

When that doesn't work she stalks out of the room and gives me the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

Summary -

  1. Spiritual Warfare 101: If the devil can't get at you directly, he will try to use someone who is close to you.
  2. If evil spirits think that the Sabbath is worth fighting over, it must be a lot more important than I realized.
  3. From that day on, I have been careful to observe the Sabbath properly.