Read Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-11
Discover
1. After six days of work, what does God do on the seventh? (Note the other word for ‘rested’ in the footnotes.)
2. What two things does God do for this seventh day in verse 3?
3. What commandment are the Israelites then given as one of the Ten Commandments?
Respond
1. The Pharisees are an example of taking the Sabbath command to one extreme. Have you allowed your freedom in Christ to swing you in the opposite direction and totally dismissed the idea of Sabbath? How do you need to get back to Sabbath’s true intent? How can you begin to better appreciate it as a gift from God?
2. Start small this week by giving thought to the word ‘cease’ or ‘stop’—the actual word behind the word ‘rested’ in Genesis 2:2-3. What might you need to dedicate at least a few hours of your week to stopping? Working? Thinking about work? Worrying? Striving? Wanting the next thing? Ask God what He has in mind for you and set a time to cease, to stop, and to surrender those things this week.
For Further Reading: The Gift of Sabbath by John Mark Comer
For Parents with Kids at Home
Our kids are hearing not just the words we say, but they’re watching the ways we live. Today, remind your kids that they are loved just as they are because of Jesus and Jesus alone, and that they don’t have to strive to earn God’s love.