The Lord’s Day as Sign – The Kingdom Curriculum VIII (2)

The Lord’s Day as Sign

“Remember and observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12

And the LORD said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, “Above all you shall keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.” Exodus 31:12, 13

“This means something.”

“This means something.” Every time I think of that phrase I see Richard Dreyfus piling mashed potatoes onto his plate and shaping them to look like a mountain in the American West, studying his sculpture carefully, and repeating those words, as his astonished family looks on. The creatures from outer space in Close Encounters of the Third Kind were, indeed, sending a sign to Richard Dreyfus, and to thousands of other “believers.” They wanted him to “get” something and to do something as a result.

That’s what signs do: they create or renew understanding and direct action. Watch those coaches on the sidelines giving signs to the quarterback. They want him to understand something, and they want him to do something. His ability to read, understand, and obey the signs can make all the difference between winning and losing.

Our text tells us that the Lord’s Day is a sign. What do you suppose He wants us to “get” and to do? The rationale for remembering and guarding the Lord’s Day is twofold, as the continuation of our Exodus and Deuteronomy texts tell us. First, the Lord’s Day reminds us that He is our Creator (Ex. 20:11). He made the heavens and earth and everything in them, and they all belong to Him and are His servants (Ps. 24:1; Ps. 119:89-91). By resting in the Lord on His Day we “get” the sign and take up our duties as His servants with renewed focus and strength.

The Lord’s Day also reminds us that God is our Redeemer (Deut. 5:15). We were slaves to sin, as Israel was a slave in Egypt, but God in His wondrous grace came to us through the Redeemer and purchased and secured us unto Himself. The reason for this was that we might be His holy people, living to His glory. So the Lord’s Day should also remind us that we belong to the Lord and are called to know the fullness of life and joy, to the praise of the glory of His grace. Such full and abundant life is only available through our Lord Jesus Christ and within the framework of God’s Law (Jn. 14:6; Lev. 18:1-5; Rom. 7:12). As we diligently remember and guard the Lord’s Day, it can speak to us of who we are, what God has done for us, what we have in Jesus Christ, and what the Lord intends for us as we follow Him here and now. The Sabbath, indeed, “means something.” It is a sign to refocus and renew us; but we must pay careful attention to understand and obey this sign.

Get your copy of The Law of God today, and begin making meditation in God’s Law part of your daily discipline. Go 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.