Sacred Rest: Learning Sabbath in the Wilderness

Sacred Rest: Learning Sabbath in the Wilderness

When the Israelites became slaves in Egypt, they worked 7 days a week for 400 painful years. Long gone was the rhythm of work and rest that God established in the Garden of Eden.  As slaves, they knew nothing about 'being’; they only knew about ‘doing’. 

After their delivery from slavery, God had to re-establish how they would live like beings created in His image. 

In the wilderness, God had much to teach His people about rest and the Sabbath.  

Sabbath taught Trust. Before the Ten Commandments were given, God introduced a ‘day of rest’ through His provision of food.  God wanted His people to trust that He would provide what they needed each day, so he sent manna daily, and it spoiled if kept overnight.  Each week on the sixth day, they were instructed to pick twice as much manna as normal so they could rest the next day.....and miraculously each week, the manna did not spoil on the seventh day (Exodus 16:22-30). 

Through this, God was teaching His people that they could rest from their work and that He would provide. 

Sabbath taught Identity. To codify Sabbath, God included it in the original Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20.  God was serious about Sabbath--the Sabbath commandment was the longest of the ten and contained the most specific instructions. The Sabbath observance became a sign of the covenant God had established to remind the people they belong to the Creator (Exodus 31:13-17).

Through this, God was teaching His people that resting was part of being made in the image of God.

Sabbath taught Freedom. Forty years later, Moses recounted the 10 Commandments to a new generation before they entered the promised land.  This time when talking about Sabbath, he gave them an additional reason for Sabbath—he mentioned that they had been slaves in Egypt—a reminder that God’s people were no longer slaves to endless labor. (Deuteronomy 5:15).  

Through this, God was teaching His people that they could rest because God had given them salvation from bondage.

In our lives today, we can be tempted to skip Sabbath, but the reality is Sabbath does not need us, we need Sabbath.

In Sabbath we still practice trust—God is sufficient and my world will not fall apart if I stop.

In Sabbath we still declare our identity—we are a child of God before we are anything else.

In Sabbath we still proclaim freedom—we align with God’s salvation instead of productivity. 

Sabbath is the only day God blessed. He gave the gift of Sabbath for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Are you currently practice Sabbath?   If not, I invite you to choose a day for rest, worship, and gratitude.  I guarantee you won’t regret it.