During my time at Kedesh Sanctuario in Mozambique, I was introduced to observing the Sabbath. It actually comes from Exodus 35:1-3 which says,
“Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, ‘These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.’”
Do we really use/appreciate the Sabbath as the LORD originally intended it to be?
At Kedesh, the Sabbath began at sundown on Friday night with Shabbat Shalom and a sharing of communion and then a Bible Study. On Saturday, we were able to sleep in which was a nice change from the weekly 5:30am wake up call. Bread and hardboiled eggs were all made on Friday in anticipation of breakfast and lunch on the Sabbath. No fires were lit to cook food before sunset which meant dinner was later. While at Kedesh, I don’t think I really appreciated the Sabbath for what it was. I was too interested in making the most of my time by hanging out with the boys while I was able to. My mindset wasn’t on resting in the Lord and spending time with Him.
Now during our time in Swaziland, I am making the most of the Sabbath. The weeks here are busy, between ministry, tutoring and team time, I always seem to be busy and tired. And so when the weekend is approaching, you can bet I am looking forward to the Sabbath.
I’ve realized the Sabbath is mine. The Sabbath is a time for me to do what I want or not to do anything. A motto they had at Kedesh was ‘no expectations’. And I like that. I like the idea of not having expectations to do anything or for anyone to expect anything of me. It’s great. The Sabbath is a time for me to rest, be rejuvenated and be refreshed before the next week begins. The Sabbath is also a time for me to rest and enjoy the presence of the Lord. When else will I be able to have this amount of uninterrupted time to devote to the Creator of the Universe?
The Sabbath is a day I am learning to appreciate and observing this day is definitely something I am going to take back home with me. Though it may be a little more difficult in the fast pace of life in America verse the slow pace of life here in Africa, it is something I will fight for knowing how important it is.
(the view from our house in Swaziland)
The Sabbath is a time to devote time to the Lord.
The Sabbath is a time to break from work and have a rest of the responsibilities and stresses of life.
For introverts, the Sabbath is a time for me-time.
The Sabbath is a time to extinguish fires in your life.
The Sabbath is a time to enjoy life as God made it.
