WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday September 17, 2017
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138,000 readers worldwide
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TAKING
TIME TO REST AND RENEW
(The
command to observe the Sabbath day)
(Exodus
20:8-11 and 31:12-18)
The
section of the “Mosaic Law”, that is chronicled in the book of Exodus, consists
of three parts, “the Decalogue”, or, “Ten Commandments” (Exodus 20:1-21), the
covenant of “civil and religious ordinances” (Exodus 20:22-24:11), and the
covenant of “ceremonial regulations” (Exodus 24:12-31:18). In this week’s
lesson we’ll look at one of the Ten Commandments that is, perhaps, the most
ignored and disregarded of the whole Decalogue, and that’s saying something
when we consider how often we violate the other nine.
The fourth command by GOD in HIS Decalogue is
that we “honor the Sabbath (seventh day)” with “rest” from all of our labors. On
the surface it seems like it would be the simplest of all the commandments to
obey. However, because of our “ignorance” about GOD Law, that is powered by “our
deep desire to do what we want to do”, and then, couple that with “greed” and “envy”,
and the mismanagement of the companies we work for, we can go weeks and months
at a time without taking the time to rest and renew our bodies as GOD seriously
calls for us to do. In fact, GOD was so serious about this command that HE actually
imposed a “death penalty” (total separation from GOD) on anyone in Israel who
did not adhere to it.
Some Christians may argue that all of the
Ten Commandments, and indeed, all of GOD’s laws period, are a part of the “law
system” which the New Testament (Romans 6:14) says, we who are under “grace”,
are no longer bound by, and, that our relationship with GOD doesn’t depend on
our adherence to a list of laws, but rather, on how we respond to the
promptings of the HOLY SPIRIT in us. However, the HOLY SPIRIT will only prompt
us when we are about to move “out” of “the Will of GOD” that is manifested to
us in “HIS Law”.
GOD’s Law actually reveals HIMSELF to us as
being a deeply moral and loving personality. And so, all those who say that GOD
is their FATHER, should be deeply interested in “being like HIM in our behavior”.
And so, the only way that we can fulfill our goal of “living like CHRIST wants
us to live, is by obeying the laws of GOD. JESUS says that, “If you love ME,
you will obey ME”, and GOD the FATHER says the same. In other words, if we don’t
obey GOD, we, at one the same time, show that we don’t love HIM either, and it’s
just that simple.
To understand this rightly, in CHRIST, we
can receive a “free gift of salvation” that we can’t earn by obeying the law,
however, at one and the same time, also in CHRIST, we are freed to “express
that salvation” by living a life that reflects, and is in full harmony with,
the high standards that were revealed, first, by the Word of GOD, and then
later personified in the person of JESUS CHRIST, our LORD, while HE served here
on earth, as a 100% human being. The true goal of a Christian should always be
to adhere to the standards of CHRIST JESUS, WHO adheres to the standards of
GOD, lest we prove within ourselves, we are not really “True Christian” at all
(those who have GOD in their hearts/minds).
The word “Sabbath” is derived from the
Hebrew root meaning of “rest”. It is a term that suggests, not only physical
rest, but also suggests a time of concentration, contemplation, and focus on
the goodness of GOD. In Exodus 31, verses 12-18, the LORD reminded the people
of Israel that obedience to HIS command to observe the Sabbath is a religious duty,
and if it were violated, would mean “death” to the perpetrator, or “total
separation from HIM”. It would represent a violation of “the covenant” between
HIMSELF and Israel, a covenant that made them the world’s first and only “theocracy”.
GOD wanted Israel to understand that being “set
apart” was not just “a privilege”, but more importantly, it was “a
responsibility”, a responsibility that called for them to be like HIM, and, to
do like HE had done, “rest on the seventh day”. Observance of the Sabbath
highlighted, and is associated with, three distinctive acts of GOD, “the
Creation account”, “Israel’s deliverance from Egypt”, and finally, it is “a
reminder of the bond GOD placed between Israel and HIMSELF, and that, as a
theocracy, Israel belongs to GOD, and GOD is Israel’s only GOD”.
And so the commitment between GOD and anyone
else who claims HIM as their GOD, should be outwardly expressed in their desire
to keep the Sabbath promise by setting “the seventh day” apart for rest and
contemplation on the goodness of GOD. In fact, all of GOD’s commands should be
paramount to those who claim that they pledge themselves to CHRIST JESUS, and
desire to follow HIM WHO follows the laws of GOD the FATHER.
And remember,
although we are made right with GOD only by “faith”, our faith is measured only
by our desire to obey GOD. And so, only when we have faith, do we truly desire
to fulfill the laws of GOD (Romans 3:31) (James 2:14-26). In that respect, “faith”
and “obedience” become synonymous with each other, and thereby, there is no
escaping, “obedience to GOD”.
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
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