Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 5:15

Imagine getting freed from slavery and immediately turning around and making your hired help work seven straight days. That seems to be the issue that the Israelites had when they got the Law as they waited to enter Canaan. God doesn’t need to tell me to take a day off, and I hope he never needs to remind me to keep rest as a holy principle for my employees too, if I ever get into that sort of position. What he was saying was not just “worship me on the seventh day” but “remember the value of rest as you pray and learn the Scriptures.” Therefore is the operative word here; God freed them for the purpose he called them to fulfill. Work the Promised Land, but rest!

Ethan Kirl