Shabbat Shalom
The Jewish people celebrate Sabbath on Friday night through Saturday. Sabbath was the command and practice given to us by the LORD, the God of Israel. Sabbath literally means to stop. It is considered, by many, the defining spiritual discipline of the Jewish people. When God rescued his chosen people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt he commanded them to Sabbath. It was a reminder that they were once slaves, but they are not now. In a re-telling of the story of the commandments, we are told to Sabbath not just as a reminder that we are no longer slaves but also to help us free those that we are leading or as an example to the world of the freedom-giving Lord, the God of Israel. Sabbath is sacred. Sabbath is holy. Sabbath is life. Sabbath is an active resistance to the evil and crushing nature of the idols of this world.
Last week, Hamas, a terrorist organization, determined this day, the Sabbath, to be ideal for an attack on Israel’s citizens. The phrase that seems to define Hamas is, “We love death like our enemies love life.” This ideology has never been clearer than at this moment.
They tore through people who were practicing their faith and some who were dancing. They raped women and killed children. The inhumanity and the savagery are almost unspeakable.
The Jewish people have begun trying to put the pieces back together. They have pushed the invaders out of their land and are beginning to do the work necessary to protect themselves in the future.
But, we come back to Friday night, Sabbath. I will guarantee you that the Jewish people who can prepare and practice the Sabbath are. This practice has been taken for granted and ignored by so many Christians. It is a discipline we forget or do not practice because it is inconvenient. Or, we have bastardized it to the point that it is not even recognizable as a spiritual discipline. Sabbath is the very essence and discipline of life under the rule of YHWH. His peace and freedom are remembered and rehearsed in this practice of stopping, no matter what.
I challenge you tonight, as the sun sets and Sabbath begins, to stop, even if it is just for a moment. Sabbath for just a moment and rest in the power and presence of God as a reminder that YHWH has overcome them all, no matter how evil this world can seem and how powerful the idols seem. He is on the throne and is making all things new. They are resting and we can rest in that promise.