Still Figuring

In the book of beginning the Word says, "And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that He had done in creation."  (Genesis 2:2-3)  Some time later on Mt. Sinai God spoke again and said, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord Your God; you shall not do any work."  (Exodus 20:8-10)  It is, therefore, not hard to figure from these words that there is something special about one of the days God created.

 

When I was growing up in South Georgia, the special nature of the seventh day was defined by a list of things which could not be done.  You could not shop (stores were closed), you could not fish (my father said the fish needed a day off), you could not go to the movies or go swimming (fun was disallowed), but you could go to Sunday School and Church on Sunday morning.  Visiting uncles and aunts and cousins was also acceptable.  Mostly, though Sabbath was defined by what could not be done.

 

Certainly, it is different today.  As far as the marketplace is concerned, Sunday is just like any other day.  Doing most anything from fishing to swimming to going to the movies is no problem as is doing work around the house like yard work and household chores.  What has come to be difficult for many a believer is coming to some workable understanding about what it means to rightly observe the Sabbath Day.  One thing is certain.  According to the Word, the Sabbath Day is to be a different day.  It is to be a day which is to be lived and experienced in a way different from the other six.  Holy is how the Word described that seventh day.  It has been a long time since Moses went up Mt. Sinai, and even longer time since the book of beginnings, and we are still trying to figure it out.