In this week's episode of the Text-Driven Podcast, we discussed the topic of rest and its relation to work. One concept that we brought out in the conversation was that rest is the way we show our trust in God. Therefore, today's article will unpack this concept further.
God's purpose in commanding rest is so that man would learn to trust God.
Background on the Sabbath
The Sabbath is a complicated topic. Many different interpretations of how the Sabbath should be applied as New Testament Christians have been debated in recent years. Expounding on these different interpretations would be unfruitful. Rather, the basics of what needs to be understood about the Sabbath is that God values our rest. God, as the first to take a day of rest, saw it proper to command Israel to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. God desired his people to rest. Now, whether that's the Sabbatarian view that Sunday has become the new Sabbath or the view that the Sabbath is a principle to apply, the question of why still remains. Why does God command His people to rest? Mark 2:27 gives us our first insight into this answer.
Mark 2:27
"And He said to them, "'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'" In understanding why God commands rest, we first need to understand that He does it for our good. God created the Sabbath for man. God desires His people to rest because it is beneficial for man. If God meant for man to be for the Sabbath, God's purpose in the Sabbath would be to control man and put a heavy yoke upon him. As the creator of the universe, God has every right to make such a command, but He doesn't. He doesn't create the Sabbath so that man has to suffer under it; rather, the Sabbath is for man's good.
Yet, that raises another question: How is the Sabbath for man's good? In Numbers 15:32-36, God commands a man to be stoned to death for collecting sticks on the Sabbath. Such a simple task led to someone's execution. That doesn't sound like the Sabbath would be very restful! It actually sounds like the Sabbath, under tight rules, could be quite stressful. So, how is the Sabbath meant for man's good? Leviticus 25:1-7 sheds light on this.
Leviticus 25:1-7
"And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food."
The most ignored Sabbath in Israel was the Seventh-Year Sabbath. While many obeyed the weekly Sabbath, the command to let the land rest every seven years was seemingly ignored. If the people of Israel had followed the command, though, they would've understood why the Sabbath is made for man.
The command is very simple. For six years, you could work the land, sowing and reaping as much as you'd like. Except for other restrictions on how to work in the field, there was great freedom during these six years. You could grow grapes, wheat, barley, or other fruits. For six years, you had complete freedom to farm, but in the seventh year, all of that work was to cease. In the seventh year, the farmers weren't supposed to sow, reap, or even prune the vineyard. Further, any excess harvest from the sowing of the sixth year had to rot on the vine. A complete cessation of work on the land was supposed to be observed. The Seventh-Year Sabbath would be the strictest Sabbath there is. If a person's livelihood was completely farming, every seven years, they'd have no work to do. While our modern desire to be lazy makes that sound really nice, at this time in history, farmers taking a year off would lead to mass famine. Farmers obeying this command would be taking a great risk. Yet, God makes a provision. God does not expect people to go hungry. Rather, in verses 6-7, God allows for the reaping and harvesting of what grows wildly. Uncultivated trees, wild vineyards, and plants were free game to eat. God provides in the seventh year with the food that He would sow and provide. Wild food is the provision of God, and God says to Israel that if they obey the Seventh-year Sabbath, then God will ensure provision for them.
The Seventh-year Sabbath, then, teaches us why God wants His people to rest. God wants His people to trust Him enough to let Him fully take care of them. In the Seventh-year Sabbath, the people would discover that God would cause wild food to grow for them to such an extreme extent. If the people had trusted God to provide, then they would've experienced this provision. Yet, their lack of trust made them miss out on that sweet provision.
So the answer to "How is the Sabbath made for man?" is that the Sabbath teaches man to trust God. More specifically, resting from productive work teaches man to trust God's provision. The ever-present need and desire for things prevent man from trusting God. God commanded the Sabbath so that Israel would learn to trust in His provision.
Rest Is Trust
God created rest so that people would trust Him to provide. In a world where it seems like the only way to provide is working 12-hour days, seven days a week, choose to rest. Don't rest because you're tired, though. Rest because you trust God to provide for your every need.
Written by Klayton Carson
The "Text-Driven Work" series is also on the Text-Driven Podcast. You can listen to the Text-Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at www.textdriven.org/podcasts. New episodes are released every Monday, just in time for your morning commute.
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