Ten Commandments Repeated

Once again the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets and gave them to me. They were the same words the LORD had spoken to you from the heart of the fire on the day you were assembled at the foot of the mountain. [Deuteronomy 10.4]

This verse stood out to me today. I am not exactly sure why, but it did.

Perhaps it was that God repeated His action of writing on the tablets the Ten Commandments. Perhaps His repeated action of doing so signified His commitment to the Ten Commandments and His expectation that they be obeyed. Perhaps these Ten Commandments are important to God. And, perhaps then, just as the Ten Commandments are important to God, they just might be important to us!

It remains a bit puzzling that of the Ten Commandments, Jesus broke the Sabbath commandment. It just seems wrong to even write this, but it is indeed what happened. I suppose it could be argued that Jesus did not actually break the actual Sabbath law as was written by God on the tablets, but the incidental laws assumed by man in his religious pursuit.

However, Jesus' explanation of the Sabbath might tell us what to do with it ourselves. He was very clear that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man. So, if the word "Sabbath" means rest, then "rest" is the goal. It could be concluded that if rest is the goal, then that goal could be accomplished on any day - but it must be accomplished because it is a commandment.

Regardless of the argument of whether to go to church on Saturday or Sunday, I think we entirely miss the point of God's intention that his people rest. Perhaps those who observe Saturday as their Sabbath (which is historically correct) may have more tendency to actually rest on the day because of their non-conformity with the norm of society (that Saturday is a day off from work to get things done). A person whose attitude is more relaxed about the actual Sabbath day is consequently more relaxed in their estimation of what the Sabbath is about! REST!

It has been on my mind a lot lately about what we do with the Sabbath. We must however remember that Jesus is our Sabbath. But, my question is real and heartfelt: do we really rest in Jesus? Do we rest because of Him?

Father, I am looking to You to reveal more about the Sabbath to me. I am grateful for Jesus. But let me not take the rest He offers for granted...