Exodus 20:8-11 Study Guide: Keeping the Sabbath Holy
Community Group Study Guide — The Fourth Commandment - Keeping the Sabbath Holy
Exodus 20:8-11
Study Information:
God commands his people to rest. The fourth command was the longest, and likely, the most refreshing word from God the Israelites could have received. The word sabbath meant to cease, and specifically they were to cease from work! God established a pattern of 6 days of work and a single day at the end of each week for rest and worship. For many of us the idea of taking a sabbath can be complicated. Some of us have images of extra rules and burdens associated with what it means to rest on the sabbath. Others struggle with the idea of losing productivity or getting behind. Most of our jobs provide two days off, but many of us struggle with being able to fully disengage from work as we check emails and sneak a little extra productivity in on the weekend to make next week “easier.” But, imaging being an Israelite newly freed from slavery and God commanded you to not work 14 hour days 7 days a week, rather God commanded you to take a day of rest and worship. The sabbath was a persistent practice that reminded them that God was their provider and as followers of Jesus today we too can take actions to put our faith and trust in him, enjoy our rest and not get caught up in thinking that our labor makes the world go round.
Keep the Sabbath Holy
Exodus 20:8, 11
We’ve already encountered the sabbath in our study of Exodus back when God provided manna for his people in the wilderness. The instruction was to collect a double portion on the 6th day because God would not provide them with the miraculous seedy/flakey manna on the sabbath so they could rest and worship. The idea of the sabbath being “holy” meant that this particular day was set apart for rest and remembrance. Notice that this command is the only one tied back to the creation narrative and the only command where there is blessing associated with it (Exodus 20:11). God modeled this patten of work and rest in his own creation activity (Genesis 2:1-3), not because he got tired but rather because the practice of standing back and admiring the beauty of his work was one he wanted his people to notice and follow. This is important for people in a go-go-go society to hear.
Over the centuries there have been many debates on whether we need to keep the sabbath on a Saturday or a Sunday or if we even have to keep it at all. These debates are not new, they were happening during the 1st century with the early church. Paul wrote about how some considered every day holy and others observed certain days as being holy, which is almost certainly a reference to division in the church about sabbath keeping (Romans 14:5-6). But maybe a better question is, why wouldn’t you want to keep a sabbath day of focused rest and worship? Do you really have too much work to do? Or is the issue deeper than that?
Regardless of whether or not you keep the sabbath with a lot of structure on a particular day or you take a stance that God has redeemed all of your time as holy, we can still learn a lot about God and his intent for us with this command. Notice for example the need for rest. We are finite creatures who cannot do everything with the amount of time we have in a single day. There will be many times we come to a limit of our human power and need to leave some for tomorrow. Likewise, notice how in this command the Israelites were not to have their kids or servants works on the sabbath. The idea is caring for those under your care to make sure that you were not working people beyond their capacity (some of you may be thinking that some people need to work harder, and you’re right, just wait til the next section!). Finally, notice the reason behind the sabbath. Taking an intentional day of rest was so that the people could be “with God” and it was a demonstration of faith in God. To take a day off in the ancient world put the people of God at an economic disadvantage since crops still needed to be harvested and work still needed to be done, to rest was an act of faith that God would provide for them and this day was a day of worship to be with God.
This command points to how being made in God’s image includes limitations and a need to be “with God.” You’re designed to depend on God and to rest in him.
Six Days You Shall Labor
Exodus 20:9
Let’s not neglect the first part of this commandment, God tells the people that “six days they shall labor!” We are meant to work and cultivate and to get tired, but within limits. Many of us have jobs that we can clock in and out of, but others have jobs that demand 24/7 availability like owning a business, caring for children or project managing. It should be normal practice for us that when we work, we work hard and as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12). Some of us have made self-care, recreation or couch sitting the purpose of our lives and we either have ignored those around us who have called us on it or we don’t have people in our lives who have spoken up yet. If you are given over to idleness, you’d do well to pay attention to the words of God here. Not only are you not carrying your weight in your family or job but you’re also missing out on a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. Take a moment to ask those closest to you to honestly and gently tell you if you’re working hard and helping those around you in your family and job.
Practicing Rest
Exodus 20:10-11
On a deeper spiritual level, the sabbath is also an image that points us to finding rest in God. The writer of Hebrews connects the idea of Jesus’s finished work on the cross our ability to find rest and restoration with God (Hebrews 4:11). Faith in Christ includes bringing your weariness to him because his yoke, his teaching, is easy and his burden is light. God calls us to active work in our lives, but not with a frantic sense of earning. God’s desire for us is to find a deep level of rest, intimacy and security in our relationship with him through Christ, probably best encapsulated in Jesus’s use of the word “abide,” which means to rest or remain in him.
During the time of Jesus groups like the Pharisees had made practicing the sabbath anything but restful. They added a bunch of human rules to the sabbath so you would’t unintentionally break it. The Pharisees would regulate how much weight you could carry, how far you could walk and whether you could prep food with heat or no heat. Jesus asked them a pointed question, “if your ox fell into a ditch on the sabbath would you rescue it?!” The implication was that they’d struggle with whether they should or shouldn’t because of how legalistic they had become. Jesus desired for us to understand was that the sabbath was made for humanity to be life giving. It was made for us to find life and joy in God and to embrace our human limitations as we depend on God.
How can you put this into practice? First, make sure you have space in your weekly rhythm and calendar to rest. This rest doesn’t mean complete inactivity but it is a saying “no” to work. Carve out time with family and friends on a particular day and plan ahead so that it doesn’t become burdensome. Second, keep it simple. There is a lot of wisdom with having your day of rest be on the day you go to worship since one of the main reasons to keep the sabbath is to experience time with God and God’s people. This is not always possible in our culture considering many in our community have jobs in the helping and service professions like first responders, but as much as you can do not make things complicated. Do not be like the Pharisees and create a bunch of rules around the sabbath, make sure that what you do is restorative and worshipful. Third, consider being out in creation as part of your sabbath keeping patterns. This is the only commandment tied to the pattern of creation. You may not be an outdoorsy person, but there is something unique about being in the world God made and experiencing the beauty of it. Finally, ask is this life giving and does it build up your faith? If so, make it a priority on this day of rest and worship. Have Christian friends over, spend time with family, do some recreation and be ok leaving some work that needs to be done to another day. You’re only human and that means there is only so much you can do, and resting can be a way to remind yourself that God is in control and you can trust him. Remind yourself of God’s provision in practical and meaningful ways.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 20:8-11
What does this commandment teach the Israelites? Why do you think God tied it back to creation and talked about the implications of keeping this commandment as a community?
Some people need to hear the first part of this commandment, “six days you shall labor” and others the last “on the seventh day do not do any work.” How does a pattern of work and rest reflect what it means to be created in God’s image?
The writer of Hebrews used the image of sabbath rest to talk about what we have in Christ through faith. Read Hebrews 4:1-3 and 4:8-11. What do these verses teach us about what we have in Christ?
What are some things you find restful and worshipful on your off days? What next step can you take to create a rhythm or pattern of work and rest?
Exodus 20:8-11
Study Information:
God commands his people to rest. The fourth command was the longest, and likely, the most refreshing word from God the Israelites could have received. The word sabbath meant to cease, and specifically they were to cease from work! God established a pattern of 6 days of work and a single day at the end of each week for rest and worship. For many of us the idea of taking a sabbath can be complicated. Some of us have images of extra rules and burdens associated with what it means to rest on the sabbath. Others struggle with the idea of losing productivity or getting behind. Most of our jobs provide two days off, but many of us struggle with being able to fully disengage from work as we check emails and sneak a little extra productivity in on the weekend to make next week “easier.” But, imaging being an Israelite newly freed from slavery and God commanded you to not work 14 hour days 7 days a week, rather God commanded you to take a day of rest and worship. The sabbath was a persistent practice that reminded them that God was their provider and as followers of Jesus today we too can take actions to put our faith and trust in him, enjoy our rest and not get caught up in thinking that our labor makes the world go round.
Keep the Sabbath Holy
Exodus 20:8, 11
We’ve already encountered the sabbath in our study of Exodus back when God provided manna for his people in the wilderness. The instruction was to collect a double portion on the 6th day because God would not provide them with the miraculous seedy/flakey manna on the sabbath so they could rest and worship. The idea of the sabbath being “holy” meant that this particular day was set apart for rest and remembrance. Notice that this command is the only one tied back to the creation narrative and the only command where there is blessing associated with it (Exodus 20:11). God modeled this patten of work and rest in his own creation activity (Genesis 2:1-3), not because he got tired but rather because the practice of standing back and admiring the beauty of his work was one he wanted his people to notice and follow. This is important for people in a go-go-go society to hear.
Over the centuries there have been many debates on whether we need to keep the sabbath on a Saturday or a Sunday or if we even have to keep it at all. These debates are not new, they were happening during the 1st century with the early church. Paul wrote about how some considered every day holy and others observed certain days as being holy, which is almost certainly a reference to division in the church about sabbath keeping (Romans 14:5-6). But maybe a better question is, why wouldn’t you want to keep a sabbath day of focused rest and worship? Do you really have too much work to do? Or is the issue deeper than that?
Regardless of whether or not you keep the sabbath with a lot of structure on a particular day or you take a stance that God has redeemed all of your time as holy, we can still learn a lot about God and his intent for us with this command. Notice for example the need for rest. We are finite creatures who cannot do everything with the amount of time we have in a single day. There will be many times we come to a limit of our human power and need to leave some for tomorrow. Likewise, notice how in this command the Israelites were not to have their kids or servants works on the sabbath. The idea is caring for those under your care to make sure that you were not working people beyond their capacity (some of you may be thinking that some people need to work harder, and you’re right, just wait til the next section!). Finally, notice the reason behind the sabbath. Taking an intentional day of rest was so that the people could be “with God” and it was a demonstration of faith in God. To take a day off in the ancient world put the people of God at an economic disadvantage since crops still needed to be harvested and work still needed to be done, to rest was an act of faith that God would provide for them and this day was a day of worship to be with God.
This command points to how being made in God’s image includes limitations and a need to be “with God.” You’re designed to depend on God and to rest in him.
Six Days You Shall Labor
Exodus 20:9
Let’s not neglect the first part of this commandment, God tells the people that “six days they shall labor!” We are meant to work and cultivate and to get tired, but within limits. Many of us have jobs that we can clock in and out of, but others have jobs that demand 24/7 availability like owning a business, caring for children or project managing. It should be normal practice for us that when we work, we work hard and as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12). Some of us have made self-care, recreation or couch sitting the purpose of our lives and we either have ignored those around us who have called us on it or we don’t have people in our lives who have spoken up yet. If you are given over to idleness, you’d do well to pay attention to the words of God here. Not only are you not carrying your weight in your family or job but you’re also missing out on a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. Take a moment to ask those closest to you to honestly and gently tell you if you’re working hard and helping those around you in your family and job.
Practicing Rest
Exodus 20:10-11
On a deeper spiritual level, the sabbath is also an image that points us to finding rest in God. The writer of Hebrews connects the idea of Jesus’s finished work on the cross our ability to find rest and restoration with God (Hebrews 4:11). Faith in Christ includes bringing your weariness to him because his yoke, his teaching, is easy and his burden is light. God calls us to active work in our lives, but not with a frantic sense of earning. God’s desire for us is to find a deep level of rest, intimacy and security in our relationship with him through Christ, probably best encapsulated in Jesus’s use of the word “abide,” which means to rest or remain in him.
During the time of Jesus groups like the Pharisees had made practicing the sabbath anything but restful. They added a bunch of human rules to the sabbath so you would’t unintentionally break it. The Pharisees would regulate how much weight you could carry, how far you could walk and whether you could prep food with heat or no heat. Jesus asked them a pointed question, “if your ox fell into a ditch on the sabbath would you rescue it?!” The implication was that they’d struggle with whether they should or shouldn’t because of how legalistic they had become. Jesus desired for us to understand was that the sabbath was made for humanity to be life giving. It was made for us to find life and joy in God and to embrace our human limitations as we depend on God.
How can you put this into practice? First, make sure you have space in your weekly rhythm and calendar to rest. This rest doesn’t mean complete inactivity but it is a saying “no” to work. Carve out time with family and friends on a particular day and plan ahead so that it doesn’t become burdensome. Second, keep it simple. There is a lot of wisdom with having your day of rest be on the day you go to worship since one of the main reasons to keep the sabbath is to experience time with God and God’s people. This is not always possible in our culture considering many in our community have jobs in the helping and service professions like first responders, but as much as you can do not make things complicated. Do not be like the Pharisees and create a bunch of rules around the sabbath, make sure that what you do is restorative and worshipful. Third, consider being out in creation as part of your sabbath keeping patterns. This is the only commandment tied to the pattern of creation. You may not be an outdoorsy person, but there is something unique about being in the world God made and experiencing the beauty of it. Finally, ask is this life giving and does it build up your faith? If so, make it a priority on this day of rest and worship. Have Christian friends over, spend time with family, do some recreation and be ok leaving some work that needs to be done to another day. You’re only human and that means there is only so much you can do, and resting can be a way to remind yourself that God is in control and you can trust him. Remind yourself of God’s provision in practical and meaningful ways.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 20:8-11
What does this commandment teach the Israelites? Why do you think God tied it back to creation and talked about the implications of keeping this commandment as a community?
Some people need to hear the first part of this commandment, “six days you shall labor” and others the last “on the seventh day do not do any work.” How does a pattern of work and rest reflect what it means to be created in God’s image?
The writer of Hebrews used the image of sabbath rest to talk about what we have in Christ through faith. Read Hebrews 4:1-3 and 4:8-11. What do these verses teach us about what we have in Christ?
What are some things you find restful and worshipful on your off days? What next step can you take to create a rhythm or pattern of work and rest?
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