There is a very big difference between how the Jews celebrate the Sabbath day with the way gentiles do. If you have been to Israel or talked to a Jew, you will agree with me that to Jews, Sabbath is a day of rest, a day to stay in-doors enjoying with their families. It is a time to bond with other family members. This is the main theme of the day to Jews.
When Jesus said, ‘But pray you that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day’ (Mt 24:20) He knew what He meant. Sabbath to Jews is a day when everything comes to a stand-still; no vehicles on the streets, no any mode of transportation is available or any business takes place on that day.
Sabbath day is a full day not hours
But to the gentiles, Sabbath day is totally different day. The main theme of Sabbath day to gentiles is to go to church. Gentiles take Sabbath day to be a day to go to that place they call church, which is not the true church, but a gathering of sinners. Please take a look at this article; what is a church. There is a big problem with the gentiles view of Sabbath day.
The church services on the Sabbath day takes only few hours with the remaining larger hours of the day left for exploring or ignoring the day. The command says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy’. This command talks of a full day not only few hours of the day.
You can say that the early church used to go to the temple on Sabbath day. Yes! They changed their worship from Saturday to the Lords day, which is Sabbath, but did they go to temple for few hours? Did they ignore or go to explore the day after attending service?
And because Sabbath day theme to gentiles is going to church, many of them do not go. It is a choice to go or not; it is not a command or routine.
What Sabbath day is not
- Sabbath day is not a day of exploring
Sabbath day has been transformed to be a day of exploration. A day when cars are fueled for man to carry out his/her Sabbath plans (weekend plans). It is a day when roads are crowded, traffic jams are the order of the day as people travel from one place to another. It is a day of travelling, meeting new people, doing what you did not do on other week days, what you did not have time to do, doing what you haven’t done of late; a day to explore.
It has become a day to explore what world offers and its pleasures. Alcohol, sexual immorality, adultery, and all sorts of evil . A day when man searches for more idols to worship and serve in his/her life, a day to fulfill bodily fleshly desires, fantasies and needs.
How many times have you had someone ask you, ‘what is your plan for this weekend?’ Realize that weekend to them includes the Sabbath day which has to be planned for not a routine.
- Sabbath day not a day to be planned for
Sabbath is not a day to be planned for but a resting day which always has to be in our minds. The problem with planning for the day is that each Sabbath day, you will plan to do something different which you do not do on other days.
Resting is an option not a priority to many people these days. Many cannot commit to this day. They are busy, totally occupied with no time to rest. They cannot take the day as it means but when time comes and they are not busy or have no plans for the day, they choose to explore it.
- Sabbath day is not a suggestion
Sabbath day is not a suggestion or a question that after six days you’re going to rest or not. It is not an experiment if you can rest a whole day or not. But it is a command; a day set aside after six days, the seventh day.
- Sabbath day is not experimenting or trying but a command
Let;s say your lover has cheated on you and when you ask him/her if s/he is going to cheat again, s/he does not answer no but instead s/he tells you that s/he will try not to cheat on you. Trying does not mean that s/he will not cheat but it means s/he is just testing or experimenting if s/he will not cheat on you; it is not a guarantee that s/he will be faithful to you.
This is how many of us are taking the Sabbath day to be. We try on one Sabbath day to obey the day but this does not guarantee that next time we will also obey it and when you ask a person s/he tells you s/he will try.
Let’s wake up and stop disobeying God. Sabbath day is not a day of exploring, trying, experimenting, a suggestion, a question but it is a day to rest; a command to obey.
