“If, because of the Sabbath, you restrain your foot
From doing as you wish on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
Then you will take delight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 58:13-14

The Sabbath was an interesting practice that we as modern Christians may not fully understand. Some may see it as a restriction or a chore of some kind, something we are now “freed” from in a sense. Modern people tend to hate limitations of our activity.

In reality, the Sabbath was a celebration and a time of praise in the Lord’s original design. One day a week, free from toil and worldly concerns, in which work was set aside in order to spend time dedicating the heart and mind to the affairs of God.

Modern Christians don’t have a commanded equivalent, even in the Sunday day of worship which has been designated for us. The principle of the Sabbath remains for us, however. Jesus described fasts as something that we ought to practice as his followers, and that is what Sabbath is: a fast from work.

My encouragement for all of us: look at how you spend your time and consider setting aside a special, personal time of rest from this world’s affairs in order to meditate on the relationship you have with God.

“Then you will take delight in the Lord.”

Ethan Kirl

Originally Published February 1, 2021