Day 213 Sabbath Rest

 

8/1/2026

"And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 

So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.'”  

Mark 2:27-28 

 

Remember when we were kids, and the teacher was given the excuse that "the dog ate my homework" was often used by a student who neglected to do their homework? Well, I can say that I have a kitten who is learning the new habit of chewing up the pages of my journal, and she has been honing in on my notes and Bible ribbon book markers. She's a crafty one at eight or nine weeks. Where will her mischief take her next?! 

I didn't quite make the 4 am Shabbat service at Kehilat HaCarmel in Israel at 4 am, but I did tune in at 5:30 am and enjoyed a quiet early morning worship before the global prayer call, followed by my service with Jacob's Tent Fellowship in Cleveland, Tennessee. The study continued in Deuteronomy as Moses is reminding the children of Israel about their forty years of wandering and the faithfulness of the Lord. As we began reading in Chapter 7 the subject was Blessing & Obedience, from the Torah portion entitled Ekev which means "Reward." Moses continues his speech about obedience to the Lord, and in verses Chapter 8, verses 5-6 he says "You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." 

Moses was sharing that obedience to God's commands brings blessings, urging them to listen to the reminders of the past, and to escape the anger of God and the suffering they encountered for their disobedience, grumbling and complaining. Suffering is a manifestation of God's love for His people, as it empowers us so we can face larger challenges. 

Hebrews 12:3-11 reminds us that the discipline of God is for our benefit as well:

"For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: 'My son do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.'  If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be to subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." 

Honoring the Sabbath Day to keep it holy was one of the first commands God gave, and He repeated it over and over again, reminding His stubborn, rebellious people of the importance of resting on this day, of honoring Him as the Creator of all heaven and earth. The people of Israel still honor God's word and this command to rest. I have observed this Sabbath tradition all my life, but not until a few years ago did I begin to call Saturday my official day of rest as commanded by the scriptures. I was raised attending church on Sundays, but now I honor both days. I honor the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and I attend traditional Christian services on Sunday at the local church. I have the best of both worlds which in fact are only one world if we rightly divide the word of God. I won't go there today, but I am passionate about God's word.

Today's day of rest was somewhat more placid; and I know that staying away from news as much as is possible, has done me a world of good. I know God does not want us to worry and become upset over any thing that is happening or has been threatened. Our eyes are on him.