Description

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Last time
 

• The fourth commandment is the last of the ten amplifying what it means to love the Lord with all our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).
• Along with circumcision and keeping kosher, Sabbath observance was a unique marker identifying the Jews as God's holy people.
• The fourth is the only commandment not to reappear in the New Testament. See The 10 Commandments in the N.T. below. This constitutes an anomaly in scripture.
• While some groups hold that we are still bound by the Sabbath, most attempt to honor the principle even though the commandment is obsolete.
• You will notice that the text is relatively longer than that in the other commandments. I suspect that this reflects the greater difficulty of observing this commandment.

Text

• Fourth commandment
• Exodus 20:8-11: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Comments

• Natural rhythm.
• Most of the world works a six-day week.
• "Remember God" -- the commandment is relational.
• Applied to family, servants, resident aliens , and even animals.
• For the Jews, this is a day of study, not indolence.
• Technically, Sunday never was nor ever could be a sabbath, though several centuries after the time of Christ the government mandated Sunday as "Sabbath."
• As it was a workday, Sunday was inconvenient! Early 2nd century: believers assembling before sunrise and after work in the evening.
• The Sabbath is reflected in the semi-poetic six-day creation week of Genesis 1.

The 10 Commandments in the N.T.

1. No other gods - Mark 10:39; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 2:5
2. No Idolatry - Gal 5:20; 1 John 5:21; Rev 21:8
3. No taking God's name in vain - Matt 5:34-35; James 5:12
4. Remember the Sabbath -  [Col 2:16!]
5. Honor parents - Rom 1:30, Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20
6. No murder - Mark 7:21; 1 Pet 4:15; Rev 21:8
7. No adultery - Mark 7:22; Heb 13:4
8. No theft - Mark 7:21
9. No false witness - Mark 7:22; 1 Tim 1:10
10. No coveting - Gal 5:21; Col 3:5; James 4:1-3

Thought questions
 

• How Jewish do Christians need to be? Acts 15 sheds some light on this matter, as does Colossians 2 and the letter to the Galatians.
• Am I a working machine? How would my life change if I took the Sabbath principle seriously?
• Am I beholden to a vision of leisurely retirement? Do I know, or even care, about the work experience of most humans on the planet?
• Am I setting aside "sabbath" time to deepen my relationship the Lord? weekly? daily?
• Does my view of the Sabbath cause me to look down on those who disagree with me (Romans 14:6)?
• Further study:
  • Notice how Nehemiah enforced Sabbath observance.
  • Reflect on the issue of special days in Romans 14-15.
  • Please listen to the podcast on The Sabbath.

Next time: the fifth commandment.