January 11

From: Continual Burnt Offering: Daily Meditations By: Henry Allan Ironside

Exodus 20:8

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” —Exodus 20:8⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8).

THE Sabbath was given to Israel not only as a memorial of God’s creation-rest, but as a reminder of their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt in order that they might enjoy the rest of Canaan (Deut. 5:12-15¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁴But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:12‑15)). In giving them one day out of every seven for physical rest and spiritual upbuilding, God had their needs in view. His Sabbath was made for man. He designed it for His people’s blessing. It is a sad commentary on the perversity of the human heart that many of them saw in this gracious provision a restriction upon their liberty, against which they rebelled, saying, “When will the... sabbath... be gone?” (Amos 8:5⁵Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? (Amos 8:5)), because of their desire to indulge in trade and the acquisition of wealth.

On the other hand, long ere our Lord appeared on earth, they had hedged the Sabbath about with so many of their own rules and regulations that what God intended to be a joy and a delight had become a heavy burden and an oppression of their spirits.

Similarly do men treat the Christian day of rest and worship, which for intelligent believers has displaced the Sabbath of the law. But how we would miss them were our Lord’s Days taken from us and if we were forced to labor seven days a week with no respite for spiritual, cultural or physical upbuilding!

“O day of rest and gladness.

O day of joy and light.

O balm of care and sadness,

Most beautiful, most bright,

On thee the high and lowly

Through ages joined in tune

Sing, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy!’

To the great God Triune.

On thee at the creation

The light first had its birth;

On thee, for our salvation.

Christ rose from depths of earth;