Remember the Sabbath day

Remember the Sabbath Day

From out of nowhere last night, the phrase “remember the Sabbath” came into my mind, and immediately the word ‘remember’ stood out as strange to me. I thought that the word remember must mean to recall the past, so I considered the past of the Sabbath day. I have since investigated the definition of the Hebrew word that was translated as ‘remember’, (Strong’s H #2142 Zakar) and it simply means to keep in remembrance, but I would like to share my thoughts about this passage, from before I looked into the Hebrew.

The first thing I thought of was the manna in the wilderness. The children of Israel, while wondering through the dessert after being freed from slavery in Egypt, were fed by manna from Heaven. God commanded them to gather enough for one day at a time, and if they gathered enough for two or more days, it would go bad on the second day. The one exception was the Sabbath. The day before the Sabbath they were to gather enough for two days, and on this day alone the manna would not spoil. This was, among other things, a token from God of how the provision for God’s people would come from God. You might think it should have been enough for them to learn that lesson, simply because they ate a food from Heaven that no one on Earth would have ever seen or known of before, but they were hard hearted as we know. Also, please don’t make the mistake of thinking that they were foolish people, without considering the ways that you too have not learned such an obvious lesson.

Jesus told of how the ravens (the lowliest of all the birds sold in the temple), and the lilies of the field with such short spans of beauty, were all taken care of by God. Jesus then said don’t be afraid for your food or clothing, because God knows that you need these things, and you are worth much more than a sparrow or grass. He told us not to worry about our future needs, because God is not unaware, and He is very capable to provide for you. And please consider that food and clothing are the only two things labeled as needs by Jesus, not companionship, not transportation, and not even shelter. Be still and know that he is God, and seek the Kingdom of God first, and all of your needs will be met. I believe that God is constantly providing things beyond needs for His people, especially vehicles and shelter, but it is important to be aware that these are not needs, according to God. If God keeps you with a car and a house, please consider those things abundantly above your needs. I really don’t mean to suggest that God will keep you and your family out in the elements, but if you do lose your house, or your car, just know that there is most certainly a reason, and know that your basic needs of food and clothing will be met. Have faith. And if you have no faith, or little faith, then pray for more.

I also don’t want to imply that keeping supplies is evil, but I will caution those who would horde their food, money and possessions, rather than seek God for a way to utilize them for His kingdom. You don’t only bless others when you give; you also actively take an opportunity to bless God by giving Him the glory for what you do in His Name. And it cannot be ignored that there is also a Heavenly reward for those who give as well.
I feel there are two main lessons intertwined here. (1) is to learn to recognize and trust in God’s provision, and (2) is that if you have enough to eat for the day, then you are taken care of, but if you have enough for many days, then you are exceedingly blessed, not with security, but an opportunity to bless others, and to glorify God.

(1) If you have no food or money for the days needs, then turn to God, and have faith that He can and will do what He has promised. If you are not saved, then turn to God for help, but understand that He uses stewards to bless and take care of the needy. When a person comes through for you, you may be tempted to think that God had nothing to do with it, but please don’t make that mistake because God had everything to do with it.

(2) If you are radically, or even slightly over blessed, then seek God as to how to use what He has given you to bless others and glorify His Name. Your reward shouldn’t be the reason for doing good things; God’s glory is the reason. God wants people saved, and when people see God working through you, they get a sense of His love for them, which leads them to the cross; this is the reason for giving God the glory for what He does through you, it is not done to placate the ego of a megalomaniacal space cop. If you help someone out, I recommend that they not even know who helped them minus a note of some kind letting them know that Jesus is the reason for what you’ve done for them. But if that is unavoidable, and they know you to be the one who helped them out, and they thank you, than let them know that if it weren’t for Jesus you wouldn’t be helping them at all. The rest of the world helps those in need, in many cases (not in all) to make themselves feel good about who they are, even if there is empathy and compassion there for the needy as well. But Christians should be doing good for the sole purpose of showing a lost world that there is someone who loves them enough to die for them, and provide for them, even when they hate Him.

Remember the Sabbath day.