Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Lesson for September 29

Bible Studies for Life Sunday School Lesson for September 29

By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University

A Slower Pace
Exodus 20:8–11; 31:12–17

In his book on the Sabbath the great scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel argued humanity lives simultaneously in two realms, a world of time and a world of space. Our exploits in the world of space — the physical world — are truly astonishing. 

Our factories are filled with machines that precisely cut this, sort that, twist this, flip that and send a finished product out the door with blinding speed. Our medical researchers perfect on an almost daily basis new medicines, new devices and new techniques that keep us alive and keep us healthy far longer than we once imagined. We dig tunnels, build bridges, crisscross the globe in airplanes, bounce signals off satellites we put into space and so on and so on.

Our prowess in controlling the world of space only throws into sharp relief, however, our inability to control the world of time. Unlike the physical world we do not experience time as a fixed entity. One moment seems to last forever; another seems to pass in the blink of an eye. And despite our best efforts time marches past us endlessly, eating up our days until our time on earth is finally consumed altogether. 

Heschel would say this aspect of time causes us to shrink away from the world of time to find refuge in the world of space. We try to accomplish in space — by making more money, buying a nicer car, building a bigger house — what we cannot accomplish in time. 

The Bible stands steadfastly opposed to this bait and switch. It insists time be dealt with on its own terms and it gives us precisely the means for doing so: Sabbath.

A day of rest is a command. (20:8–11)

Some argue that observing the Sabbath is part of the law and thus, to their minds at least, no longer applicable to Christians. The law itself insists, however, the Sabbath is set on much more ancient foundations. When Sabbath observance is demanded in the Ten Commandments, for example, the text clarifies this is not a new ordinance but one grounded in creation itself. 

When God Himself observed the Sabbath in the creation week He wove the dynamic of observing the Sabbath into the very fabric of the world He had fashioned. 

A Sabbath rest is holy. (31:12–14)

Exodus 31 underscores the Bible’s insistence the Sabbath is to be a holy day, a day set apart from the regular time of work and toil. The word “holy” is one that is often misunderstood in modern contexts. In the Bible it means simply “set apart.” What made a place or a person or an object holy was the abiding presence of God. 

In the tabernacle, for example, there was a place called the Holy of Holies. When God was present this room was so sacred a person entering it without permission would be struck down instantly. And yet when God’s presence was removed to a different locale the priests could walk right in, dismantle the structure and carry it on to the next destination. 

It was the presence of God that made it holy. The same can be said about the Sabbath day. When Scripture declares it to be holy it tells us God is available to us on the Sabbath in a way that transcends ordinary time.

A Sabbath rest reflects our relationship with God. (31:15–17)

At its heart Sabbath observance is an admission of our inability to conquer fully the world of space around us. Our lives are so busy and the roster of tasks demanding our attention is so lengthy that no human could ever really “do it all.” 

Sabbath is a means of surrendering to God and admitting we know this is the case. 

In our own strength we will never be able to accomplish all we would like. Through the Sabbath we ask God to do what we could never do without Him.