Observe the Sabbath – The Fourth Commandment

Observe the Sabbath

Exodus 20:8

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

We are to “remember” the Lord’s Day–to give diligent attention to preparing for it and keeping it holy. But in Deuteronomy 5:12 Moses changed the word from “remember” to “observe.” And if we thought “remember” was important, “observe” is even more important.

The Hebrew word is, literally, “guard.” It’s the same word used in Genesis 3 to describe the cherubim with the flaming sword barring the way to the Garden of Eden. We are to guard the Sabbath against anything that threatens to rob it of its holiness. Any diversion or activity that breaks our focus on God and His work, that impedes our resting in and worshiping Him, or that continues the activities of the rest of the week into this holy time and space must be guarded against.

And the threats are coming at us from every angle, all day long, telling us not to be so strict about all this, loosen up a bit and just enjoy the day like everyone else. We’re not everyone else. And this is not just another day. God calls us to “remember” the Sabbath and to “guard” against losing it to other things.

To what do you seem especially vulnerable as a threat to your Lord’s Day rest? How will you begin to guard against that threat with greater diligence?

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.