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đź“– A Biblical history of Sabbath
What does the Bible tell us about the Sabbath?
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What does the Bible tell us about the Sabbath?
I’m pleased that VeggieTales is getting the meme treatment it deserves.
If you don't know, VeggieTales was a 90s cartoon in which talking, computer-generated vegetables acted out stories with Christian themes.
It’s as absurd as it sounds and that’s what makes it great.
Anyway, this scene from the show went viral a while back; it portrays the internal conflict of the Israelites on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land.
And it was during the journey to the Promised Land that the Sabbath took root in biblical history.
Sabbath in the Old Testament
The Israelites, the people God chose to heal a broken world, were enslaved in Egypt. God delivered them from this and led them to a land that would be their own. On the way, in the “Wilderness,” God instructed them on how to be His chosen healers.
And Sabbath was a big part of that.
God guiding His people through the Wilderness.
On the journey, God told the Israelites to rest on the last day of the week, every week. In doing so, He called them to follow His rhythm of creation. He was calling them back to a world untouched by sin.
In practicing the Sabbath, the Israelites would be brought closer to God and transformed into a healing example for the world around them.
But, somewhere along the way, they lost the plot.
Sabbath in the New Testament
God gave the Sabbath to the Israelites as a means of following Him, of being complete in Him.
Unfortunately, they were unable to stay with it.
As time progressed, the Sabbath became less about resting and more about empty religious exercise. It became legalistic and concerned with status, a shell of what God intended it to be.
That was the context Jesus stepped into.
Jesus was the fulfillment of what God was doing through the Israelites. He was the One to heal what was broken in creation. He is the perfect embodiment of what the Sabbath leads to.
As Jesus famously said in Matthew 11v28-29:
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jesus fulfills the Sabbath, He is the rest that brings a wounded soul back to God.
“Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” -Augustine of Hippo
But if Jesus is that long-awaited fulfillment, why bother practicing the Sabbath anymore?
Come back tomorrow and find that out.
For now, be blessed.
Jon,
Theophilus Newsletter
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