CHAPTER 15:
Sundays are such a day of rest at my house. I sip coffee in the morning while I leisurely get dressed for church. Dinner is waiting for me and my family when we arrive home hungry. We eat and nap and discuss the sermon . . . and I am seriously pulling your leg. Sundays are just as crazy as every other day. Sundays are my catch-up day. The fourth command in the 10 Commandments is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Why is it that I try to observe all the other commands to the best of my ability, but I disregard this one?
What is a Sabbath, anyway? The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew verb sabat, which means to stop, to cease, to keep. The concept of Sabbath was established in Genesis during the Creation week.
Read Genesis 2:1-3.
Seven is the number of fulfillment in God’s economy. He had created the world in six days, so on the seventh, He rested. It was finished. Of course, God didn’t need to rest, but He was establishing a pattern for us. Work for six days, rest on the seventh. This shows up in the 10 Commandments as the fourth command.
Read Exodus 20:8-11.
Who is not supposed to work on this day?
What is God’s reasoning (v. 11)?
God, in all of His wisdom, gave us a day of rest and a day to worship. We need rest. Our bodies need time to regenerate. Our minds need time to refresh. Without rest, we cannot properly function. I’m old enough to remember the days when nothing was open on Sundays. My parents actually rested. We went to church. Mom did cook Sunday dinner, which brought a pack of my brothers’ friends to eat with us. I still remember the aroma of her roast cooking as we opened the front door, home from church. After the dishes were cleaned and put away, we rested by taking a nap or just sitting around talking. People would come by and visit. Relatives. Friends. Sunday was a day to be still. No stores were open. No places to go. Just rest, worship, and catch up with friends. Why do I make my Sundays so hectic?
The Israelites made upholding the Sabbath very complicated. Absolutely no work. You could only walk so many steps. Certain types of work were punishable by death. Jesus was not so legalistic about the Sabbath.
Read Matthew 12:1-8 and Mark 2:27.
What did Jesus and his disciples do that caused controversy?
What Old Testament account did Jesus remind them of?
Jesus says, “something greater than the temple is here.” What does he refer to?
What does Jesus desire in our observance of this commandment?
What does Jesus mean by the Sabbath was made for man?
Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He desires that we are loyal and compassionate, not that we restrict ourselves from lots of work. This day was made for us – a day of rest and worship. Like all the other commandments, it is a heart thing. Jesus wants our hearts, and that means that we should desire to worship Him on this day.
Deuteronomy 15 is all about the Sabbatic year, where debts are forgiven and the whole land rests.
Read Deuteronomy 15:1-6.
What does Moses instruct them to do? Why?
Read Deuteronomy 15:7-11.
How are they to give to the poor?
Read Deuteronomy 15:12-23.
If they owned a slave, how were they to set him/her free during this Sabbatic year?
This chapter reminds me of a poem title “Choose” by Carl Sandburg. It’s short, so here it is:
The single clenched fist lifted and ready,
Or the open asking hand held out and waiting.
Choose:
For we meet by one or the other.
The poem holds two contrasting images: the tightly clenched fist and the open, inviting hand. It represents people and their attitudes. It think that’s what God is saying here: we can be tight-fisted, or we can have the open hand.
Over and over, all throughout Deuteronomy, we have seen God’s open hand giving protection, giving provisions, giving forgiveness, giving and giving and giving. God is always willing to give. As God’s people, we should mirror His character. Our giving is a reflection of God’s blessing on us. We should be open-handed people, always willing to give to Him and to others. It is the Luke 6:38 principle: “Give and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, and shaken together will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
You can’t out-give God! When we know this, there is no fear in opening our hearts and our hands to our Lord, first of all, then to those around us. Freely. Generously. Sufficiently. These are the adverbs that should describe our giving. The poor will always be with us . . . but so will our giving God. Love. Remember. Fear. Observe. Be blessed.
Would you consider yourself tight-fisted, open-handed, or somewhere in between?
What holds you back from giving?
What is it that God is calling you to give?
Pray and ask for His help.
Lesson to Remember: God is our giving provider.
A Way to Walk: Remember that giving is not all about money. It could include a plethora of things: time, your talents, worship to name just a few. Be giving toward your Creator and others because God has given generously to you.
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