In the hope that my fellow citizens may appreciate the gift of the Sabbath and enjoy sabbath as a lifestyle, a series of thoughts will be delineated in the frame of a few questions on the significance of the Sabbath, its continuity and discontinuity, and ways to enjoy sabbath as an everyday lifestyle.
The word "Sabbath" came from the Hebrew verb "Shabbat" that means "to cease, to be completed; to desist from labour, to rest; to exterminate, to destroy; and to remove." One of the major meanings of the Sabbath is "to be completed." The noun, "Shabbatu," in Babylonian, refers to a cycle in a chronological sense; the day on which the moon completes its cycle, the day of the full moon. Thus, the Sabbath notes that things are completed. From this meaning, it can be deduced that the Sabbath is the day to enjoy God's completion.
There are two "completed" and two "had done" in NASB translation of Genesis 2:1-3. After the completion of creation, God rested. However, though God separated one day for human beings in this context, their rest differs from God's. God rested after his work of creation was over. For God, rest is a testimony of his absolute independence. In contrast, the first day for the human being was the day of sabbath, the day of enjoying God's gift. The first human being, Adam rested on his first full day, before he started his work. Human beings' rest lies on the completion of God's work, not on theirs. The Sabbath for the Old Testament people was based on God's creation (Ex. 20:8-11) and salvation (Deut. 5:12-15). The foundation on which we, the people in the New Testament era enjoy the Sabbath rests on Yahweh's mighty works in Christ Jesus. Yahweh defeated the Enemy on the Cross of Jesus, and resurrected Christ on the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day is the day of Yahweh's victory over the power of evil and darkness. As a result of Christ's resurrection, the foundation of true Sabbath has come to us.
This foundation is found not only in what God has already done, but also in what God will do for us in the future. Hebrew 4:9-11says "a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God." The complete sabbath is ahead of us waiting to be entered into. In the eschaton, God will move us into his perfect sabbath and will change our whole beings into glorious ones, like God the Son. When we see the Son, we will be like him (1 John 3:2). True believers will be partakers of the Divine nature, and have eternal communion with the Triune God. As the son of God the Father, as the bride of God the Son, and as the temple of God the Holy Spirit, we will dwell in the holy city (Rev. 21:1-7). In anticipation of this glorious future, we taste the eschatological rest and glory on the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, the coalescence of God's three tenses, God's mighty actions in the past, present, and future come to us as a life-flowing reality. So, Abraham Joshua Heschel called the Sabbath "a sanctuary in time" and "the palace of time."
Through rest on one day in seven we ascribe all deeds to God. If we ignore the sabbath principle, it would mean that God's salvation and provision are not enough for our being and happiness. Instead, by resting on one in seven, we confess that God is our Master, Sustainer, Savior, and Provider, from whom our happiness come. The Sabbath is a testimony that Yahweh has done sufficient deeds for our life here and hereafter.
Sean Kim is the minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Thompson.
