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Ezekiel 20:10-13
The sanctity of Sabbath
I don’t like the people at church and they don’t like me
I want to read two brief statements from God’s word. Both concerning a time not long after the
God of all Creation saved his people from slavery and through the Red Sea.
The first is found in Exodus and it says it is spoken at Mt. Sinai. It’s about remembering and we
call it the fourth commandment:
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
The second concerns the same time although it is found in the book of Ezekiel
10 Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the desert.
11 I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, for the man who obeys
them will live by them.
12 Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the
LORD made them holy.
13 " 'Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not follow my
decrees but rejected my laws--although the man who obeys them will live by them--and
they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and
destroy them in the desert.
(Eze 20:10-13 NIV)
Pray
Illustration:
She knocked on his door a second time.
“Its time to get up, it’s Sunday and almost time for church.”
The reply came from under the covers: “I’m not going!”
“Why not?” She entered the room.
“I’ll give you two good reasons,” he pouted. “One, they don’t like me. Two, I don’t like
them.”
Her reply was quick: “I’ll give you two good reasons why you will go to church: One,
your 42 years old. Two, you’re the pastor.”
Now, I tell you that for two reasons:
1. It’s mildly humorous and I know I can get you to at least stay with me through a joke.
2. It speaks directly to our topic this morning.
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We speak this morning in our mini-series within the book of Ezekiel about remembering God.
And according to that verse in Ezekiel that we just read, one of the ways that we forget God is in
our treatment of our special day.
Let me see if I can make it more clear from the vast array of other verses in Ezekiel
Chapter 22 begins a long list of things God’s people have done that show they have forgotten
God. It includes violence, sexual sins, bribery, loansharking and other things, but let me draw
your attention to verse 8 for a moment
8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.
He ends this section with these words in verse 12
And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.
It continues later in the chapter, verse 22
and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among
them.
It’s in 20:24 as well:
24 because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my
Sabbaths,
23:38 has more of the same:
38 They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and
desecrated my Sabbaths.
Our modern day responses to such texts might include some of the following:
1. Its just a day, how important can a day really be?
2. But dont we live under Grace, didn’t Jesus change everything?
3. Uh, what’s a Sabbath?
So what does Sabbath mean?
Let’s start with the last question first: “What is a Sabbath?”
It’s just a weird Hebrew word that means cessation. Its idea in the Old Testament is that we
should stop. Rest.
But how? We are told to sanctify the Sabbath; that is, set it apart as holy. Treat it differently than
the rest.
The commands show up in both Exodus and Deuteronomy that we
should sanctify this day, although, in truth they both give us different
reasons for doing so.
This is kind of important because it makes us question our Bible and
whether it is always truthful. For instance, Exodus says that the reason
"For in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day; therefore the Lord
blessed the sabbath day and
hallowed it." (Exodus 20:11)
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we should sanctify it is because God created the world and then rested on the seventh day. We
too, therefore should rest.
In Deuteronomy it again tells us to set this day aside but it says
that the reason we should do this is because God delivered
Israel from Egypt.
You shall remember that you were a
servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord
your God brought you out thence with a
mighty hand and an outstretched arm;
therefore the Lord your God commanded
you to keep the sabbath day. (Deut 5:15)
So the command is the same, but the reason for the command is not.
One is about creation, one is about deliverance. But this is where a
history of redemption (Heilsgeshichte) outlook is so necessary.
Salvation is Creation
We are to celebrate the Sabbath because of God’s work in creation
(Exodus) and we are to celebrate the Sabbath because of Gods work in RE-creation or
redemption (Deut). Salvation and Creation are inextricably linked throughout the Bible.
God created once and rested. Not because he was tired, but because the work was done. Until the
fall. Then he had to show himself creator again and make a new creation. He is still at full
strength to create, even to save.
Observing the Sabbath… keeping it holy to the Lord, reminds us and shows the world that GOD
is our creator and our deliverer—we did not make ourselves, we cannot sustain or save ourselves
without his grace. It is on the Sabbath that we are to “Be still and know that he is God.”
So, this leads right into the question of whether a day is really THAT important.
Apparently it is. Because setting apart this day reminds us and shows the world that God is our
creator and our deliverer—we did not make ourselves, we cannot sustain or save ourselves
without his grace.
And resting, or setting apart this day for something other than our own survival says we are
instead depending on God for our needs. It says that we will trust that his plan is best even if it
goes against all our own logic and everything the world is feeding us.
It says that we recognize that he has hallowed this day and blessed it. That is so huge.
Blessing and hallowing a day
How does God to bless a day? Whenever we see God blessing a man, the man becomes rich with
blessings. When he blesses a land, the land becomes rich with blessings. So when he blesses a
day, that day becomes rich with blessings.
And what does it mean that he hallows the day? "Hallows" (kadosh) is the same word as
"sanctifies." It means set the day aside for special focus on what is holy, namely, God and his
holy works.
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Now consider the two words together. He blessed the day and he hallowed the day. How do
these fit together? He made it a source of blessing, and he made it to focus on himself. Isn't it
obvious that the hallowing is included in the blessing and the blessing is included in the
hallowing? When you hallow God and focus your attention on him, you receive more blessing
than if you keep on busying yourself seven days a week with secular affairs, thinking that
professional advancement and money are the route to true happiness. And (the reverse) when
you seek your blessing in God rather than in the products of human labor, you hallow him and
honor his holiness as the greater wealth.
God blessed and hallowed the day of his rest. The day that he stopped and looked around and
was satisfied with his work. And because of that act, he expects that man also stop his running
around and focus. Focus on what God has done. Stop and realize that God is the source of all
there is. That he is the one who brings blessing. And he doesn’t say stop for an hour and a half
and worship me corporately, he says stop for a day. Just one seventh of your life. It reminds us
that he is the source of blessing and not our labor, which in America is majorly troubling
assumption. Why is it hard for the rich man to trust in Jesus? Because he can take care of
himself. But God says he is fooling himself.
We treat God as holy when we sanctify (treat as holy) one day among seven. And this is not a
burden. It’s a delight. In fact, the whole law of the lord is a delight.
I know things are a bit different now. We aren’t slaves in Egypt who are greatly relieved in
finding that they have a day off work. We don’t work in the fields and bake bricks and feel the
whip on our back. Many of us like our work.
And that is great. Praise God. The eschaton is breaking in and one day your work will be
perfectly satisfying all the time, but still. . . there is a need for rest.
Please don’t ever forget Isaiah 58:13-14. There is a beautiful promise for keeping the sabbath:
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 upon the heights of the earth.
“Ride on the heights of the earth.” Awesome.
The other question that came up early on concerned whether the Sabbath was even relevant
anymore. Obviously, I do think it is relevant, but I also think it has been and is being fulfilled.
Let me see if I can simplify a pretty complex subject.
Jesus’ View of the Sabbath
Of course, part of our problem comes in being too restrictive possibly. The Pharisees put a ton of
unnecessary restrictions. I have heard it said that they counted the amount of steps that they took
to make sure they weren’t too far from home. It was so legalistic that this analogy was drawn:
Since they could only go so far from home, they would start putting things in different places
which would make that place technically a home—like a toothbrush and then they could take
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long journeys from home to home without breaking the letter of the law—their added law. I hear
handkerchiefs couldn’t be used unless they were sewn to the shirt so it was part of the shirt.
But Jesus was different. Do you remember Jesus’s disciples in Matthew 12? They were hungry
on the Sabbath and picked some ears of grain to eat. Jesus argument against the Pharisees was
that David ate from showbread in the temple and this wasn’t lawful. Jesus then says that he is
greater than the temple, greater than David. “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” In other
words, I am not just a greater king, than David. I am the maker, owner, and rule-giver for the
Sabbath. It’s mine. He even healed on the Sabbath and permitted people to rescue their fallen
sheep on the Sabbath
The Pharisees couldn’t see the delight of the Sabbath and condemned the innocent for doing too
much because they didn’t understand the spirit of the law.
Even Hosea 6:6-7 says "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." In other words the whole law exists for
the sake of mercy. All the law is summed up in these words: Love God and love your neighbor
as yourself.
The Pharisees couldn't see the true meaning of the sabbath because they didn't have hearts of
love. Jesus says in Mark 2:27, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath". So if
your heart isn't a heart for man—if it is not a heart of love—you cannot see the meaning of the
sabbath. For the sabbath is a gift of love to meet man's need, not an oppressive burden to make
him miserable or proud.
So Jesus didn't come to abolish the sabbath but to dig it out from under the mountain of legalistic
sediment, and give it to us again as a blessing rather than a burden. It is a day for showing mercy
and a day for doing good (verse 12). It should not be governed rigidly by narrow definitions of
what is work and what is not. It is a day to focus on the Lord. And now Jesus is the Lord of the
sabbath (according to verse 8), so it is a day to focus on Jesus. And it is impossible that a day
focused on Jesus should be a burden to the believing heart—"Come to me, all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest!"
Why on Sunday
Often people argue that it used to be on Saturday, how do we rationalize doing this on Sunday
now? Are the Jews and the Seventh Day Adventists right?
a. Some individual verses that show worship took place on Sunday
We do know that there was worship taking place on Sunday. Acts 20:7 says, "On the first day
of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them,
intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight." This seems
to be a formal gathering for the Lord's Supper on Sunday evening, the first day of the week.
The other verse that points in this direction is 1 Corinthians 16:2. Paul is trying to prepare the
Corinthians for a collection that he is taking up from the churches for the saints in Jerusalem:
"On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he
may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come." It seems that the first day
of the week is now the day when Christians are performing special religious exercises.
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b. Broader picture of history
In the beginning we celebrated creation rest. After the fall God began working again and this
time for Israel’s re-creation—their redemption. So then we celebrated redemption from
Egypt. But now we celebrate both of those rests (which are in many ways the same) through
the lens of the more immediate rest.
We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord on Sunday. This is the new creation—up from the
dead. This is the new redemption, his blood atones for me.
And that work of redemption and new creation was finished decisively on the cross. And
three days later Jesus rose from the dead to celebrate the victory he had won and the new
creation he had decisively obtained and inaugurated. Now he could take his seat with his
Father on the throne of the universe and enter his Sabbath rest. So we celebrate on Sunday
the same thing that they celebrated on Saturday, but with more redemptive history to
consider—that Jesus has come and fulfilled the Sabbath.
Christ Is Our Final Sabbath Rest
The point of all of this is that our rest has begun with the resurrection of Christ. We enter into it
when we cease from our works and trust Christ and his finished work for us on the cross. This is
the great and final meaning of the Sabbath. Christ has become our rest, our Sabbath. This is what
Hebrews 4:9-10 is saying, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for
whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” Past tense.
We have entered. But then the writer adds in verse 11: “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest.”
In other words, we have entered it, and we must yet enter it. Redemption is accomplished. It
must now be applied and consummated. Our eternal Sabbath is begun but is not fully present.
I cannot escape what seems to me compelling evidence that the Lord’s Day remains till Jesus
comes and that it is set apart for the glory of Christ and the good of our souls.
We cannot forget God.
But it’s only the Sabbath, not God himself.
Perhaps, but I like what Ryle says:
“Begin with not honoring God’s day, and you will soon not honor God’s house; cease to
honor God’s house, and you will soon cease to honor God’s book; cease to honor God’s
book, and by-and-by you will give God no honor at all. Let a man lay the foundation of
having no sabbath, and I am never surprised if he finishes with the top-stone of no God.”
J.C. Ryle, Thoughts For Young Men, 55.
If he is right, allow me to meddle in your actual everyday life. Since what we believe should
affect the in and out of everyday life.
We in America are overscheduled. I have taught in other countries and none that I know of
compare with ours. Not just America either, but the DC area makes most of the other places even
in the United States look calm by comparison
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Here, we work hard and we play hard. Even our playing can become burdensome to you because
of the schedule.
The Sabbath Day is a divine provision of a sacred space of time. It is like a sanctuary of time
designed to save you from yourself.
AND, Please don’t forget that our time is not our own. None of your time is actually your own
(that’s another sermon) but specifically one-seventh is reserved for special observance. For rest.
And when we rest it reminds us again that God is the one who will provide for our needs, not my
ability to do work.
But what are the challenges to us? Well, I want to suggest three.
1. Worship? Let me ask some personal questions.
 Are you keeping the Lord's Day?
A Sunday School teacher was telling her children about the importance of
observing the Sabbath Day. "I never go FISHING on a Sunday!" piped up little
Johnny. "VERY GOOD, Johnny!" said the teacher. "Won’t you tell the other
children why you don’t go fishing on a Sunday?" Johnny replied: "Because my
Daddy won’t let me go along!"
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Are you keeping the Lords Day or are you keeping the Lord's morning?
Or even the Lord's hour?
Is it the Lord's Day for you, and if you are keeping the Lord's Day, what are you
doing on it?
“But its so stressful…” Well the Jews had something called a preparation day.
They got ready for the Sabbath the day before. Fixing food, washing clothes,
getting to bed on time. Thinking and planning so you can best delight in the
Lord
What else is done on Sunday?
 Is there ever family discussion about the things of the Lord?
 Is there time together catechizing?
 Or is there private time reading the Bible along with rest?
 Are you coming to our small groups?
 Are you beginning and ending the day with the Lord's people, longing for their
fellowship, nourished by it, delighting in it?
The Lord's Day is under assault in our culture from people and even from Christians who don't
want the day to be His. And what happens? Ezekiel makes it clear:
and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among
them.
But the alternative, sanctifying this day, tells the community what is most important in your life.
We make Poolesville look at us and wonder what is going on here.
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I don’t know if God is disappointed when you decide to begin your vacation at 9:00 on Sunday
morning, but since the bride of Christ is such a priority for him, my guess is he thinks it should
be for you.
But I am not talking about burdens, I am talking about delight. People who so love Jesus, that
they want to be with the people of God and they prioritize it even when they don’t want to (it
does happen). I am talking about being stricter for the purpose of making the community wonder
why are we so committed.
2. Work?
Are you working on the Lord’s Day unnecessarily? Both the Old and the New Testament
recognized that there was such a thing as necessary work. When Jesus allowed for His disciples
to provide food from themselves on the Sabbath Day as they walked through the grain fields. He
went back to the example of David, but he could have just as well spoken of the law of Moses
and the contingency for deeds of mercy. In fact, it was necessary that acts of mercy happen
I'm thankful that there are health professionals, there are doctors and there are nurses, there are
firemen, and there are paramedics and policemen who work on the Lord's Day doing necessary
work. But, have you begun to do work on the Lord's Day that is not necessary? Students, is that
your catch-up day for work for the work that you could have been doing on Saturday but you
were partying with your friends? Yes, there's legitimate work but are we allowing unnecessary
work to crowd and ruin our lord's day? I suspect I know the answer to that question.
3. Sports/Ativities?
Are the multiplying youth sporting programs on Sundays ruining your family's Lord's Day? Once
your schedule belongs to someone else, you are back in slavery again and you do not experience
the freedom of the Lord's Day.
We see a new event every week or so. Good people trying to do good things and serve the
community but they have forgotten God.
Cuginis now has breakfast on Sunday morning.
A new exercise group meets on the commons just when you
come here to gather.
But it’s not just “them”, it’s us.
A certain minister had a weakness for golf. But he had no
time for it. Searching his busy schedule, he found one day in a year’s time when he could
play. Unfortunately, that day fell on the Sabbath. The minister apologized to God and
traveled some distance to a golf club so that no one who might know him would see him.
As he teed up the first ball, an angel looked down from heaven aghast: "A minister
playing golf on the Sabbath!" He immediately told the Almighty about it. On the third
hole, God sent down a gust of wind that made the minister’s ball sink into the cup. . . a
hole in one! The angel watching was puzzled. "You call that punishment?" “Think about
it," the Lord replied . . . "Who can he tell?" - [Hopewell Herald, June/July 1997]
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We do this to ourselves. One seventh of our town attends the five churches right here in the
center. At least that many again go to church outside of town. What kind of difference could a
fourth of the town make in directing its future? Not out of rigidness but out of commitment to
something bigger than ourselves.
Why have we stopped delighting in rest? Why have we so stripped the hours away from our time
with God and with believers? Is it because we have become forgetful of what he has done?
Look I don’t have all the answers.
If you want to know how many days you can skip church, you are talking to the wrong guy
If you want to know what constitutes work vs rest, I wont be much help.
If you want to know what church is the best to worship at, I don’t know [someone on a
microphone saying “Poolesville Baptist Church” and my responding as if its God]
I am just saying, there are a lot of things I don’t know the answer to, but I generally feel like we
are asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking what are we permitted to do, let’s ask, how can
I best remember God.
If a prophet of God had such rebukes for the people of that time, is it possible we need an equally
firm reminder that God is not to be marginalized
We come before the Lord’s table today to remember that again. As we pass the cup and the
bread, I want you to take these few minutes to contemplate how seriously you take the law of the
Lord. How seriously you take his sacrifice on the cross. If it really means what we say it does,
we would be willing to obey regardless of how we think it will affect us. But please don’t forget
Isaiah
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 upon the heights of the earth.
Let’s pray