"The Israelites must observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout their generations as a permanent covenant." Exodus 31:16, CSB

"Is it Sabbath yet?"  It was Tuesday morning, and my youngest had just hopped out of bed and walked over to my room with a smile of anticipation.  These were the first words out of her mouth.  I love the innocence of that age when the mind isn't immediately flooded with to-dos and deadlines.  It can gravitate instead toward the things that most naturally bring joy.  So for Giselle on a Tuesday morning, what was uppermost on her mind?  The joy of Sabbath.  And that's not a singular occurrence.  Giselle frequently asks if it's Sabbath today or when it will be Sabbath.  Sure, our soon-to-be Kindergartner might need a refresher on the days of the week, but more than that, this little one loves the day God set apart.  And I think that's exactly how God designed it to be.  It's something God wants us to be "celebrating" (Ex. 31:16, CSB) time and time again.  How can we refresh the joy of Sabbath so that it becomes a weekly celebration to look forward to?  

A DELIGHT LIKE NO OTHER

“If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable..." Isaiah 58:13, CSB

In Isaiah 58, God promises His people the best life ever -- a life of finding our greatest delight in Him, of riding on the heights of human experience, enjoying the fulfillment of God's purposes for us (Isa. 58:14).  And this promise of the good life is directly tied to our willingness to "call the Sabbath a delight" (v. 13).  The Hebrew term translated as "delight" here has a connotation of luxury and royalty.  Interestingly, it's only used one other time in Scripture as an adjective describing the "luxurious palaces" of Babylon that would eventually be brought to judgment.  But God has an exquisite, luxurious delight waiting for His people that is enduring and eternal.  The royal delight of Sabbath is a temple in time that creates space for relationship with the King of Kings.  It's different than anything this world can offer.  Refreshing the joy of Sabbath starts with an awareness of how precious the day really is and that it's meant to be embraced not out of duty but out of delight.  When the seventh day rolls around, what will we call it?  I want to take God up on His invitation to call it for what it truly is:  a royal delight that nothing else in this world can compare to.  The world may offer a lot of counterfeit delights, particularly on that sacred day, but when we choose to value what God values, we'll find our greatest, most soul-satisfying delight in Him and His day.

A DAY TO GUARD

"Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath..." Exodus 31:16a, NKJV

The rare and royal delight that God designed us to experience in the Sabbath is a rest that refreshes us as it refreshed God Himself (Ex. 31:17).  And this rest doesn't come to us naturally or as a matter of course.  That's why God calls us to "keep the Sabbath," a verb that carries the idea of preserving, protecting, even guarding like a watchman.  The implication is that Sabbath rest can so easily be encroached upon by the worries and work of the other six days of the week. 

Have you ever noticed that the most restful vacations are the ones we've worked hardest to prepare for?  I remember my first quarter of college being a bit of a shock to my system.  The multiplicity of professors, syllabi (is that a word?), books, assignments, deadlines, did I say books?, etc., etc. -- it was all a bit overwhelming.  And I remember sitting in my last class before Thanksgiving break with a rising eagerness to unplug, sleep in my own bedroom, and enjoy some home cooking.  Rest was just around the corner...but that hope was interrupted when our professor reminded us that our first term paper was due the Monday after we returned from break.  You can imagine how restful that Thanksgiving break wasn't.  Why?  Because I hadn't looked ahead to adequately prepare for rest.  

The gift of refreshing rest is available to us each Sabbath, and that gift can be guarded by thoughtfully looking ahead to prepare.

Keeping and guarding the day is an invitation to look ahead at what might rob us of our ability to be refreshed in our relationship with God, and then intentionally taking care of that project, purchase, phone call, recipe, etc.

A DAY TO MAKE

"...to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant." Exodus 31:16b, NKJV

God's people are called both to "keep the Sabbath" and to "observe the Sabbath" here in Exodus 31:16.  But what does that second action really involve?  It's got to be more than just making observations about the day.  The Hebrew verb here translated in most versions as "observe" is actually used in the very next verse to describe what God did in the creation week:  "the LORD made the heavens and the earth..." (v. 17).  In other words, God invites us not only to keep/guard the Sabbath but also to we make the Sabbath.  Think about this, He wants us to make the Sabbath in like manner as He made the heavens and the earth.

Just try to picture God during that first creation week.  Do you imagine Him creating in a monotonous, emotion-less, formal, robotic fashion?  Or do you picture Him with an eager sense of wonder and the passionate creativity of an artist splashing color here and inspiring beauty there?  I imagine the latter, especially since the Bible seems to indicate that the angels were singing and shouting for joy as they watched God create this world (Job 38:7).  

God actually invites us to make every 7th day with that kind of passionate creativity and inspiration.  

This too involves a level of preparation, preparing not only to guard the gift of rest but preparing also to make something special and beautiful of the Sabbath we enjoy with Jesus.  The reality is that this day of delight isn't something that just happens by chance; it is for us to create.  Or as one of my spiritual mentors once said:  Sabbath delight is not by evolution but by creation.  Just as God creatively and joyfully filled the heavens and the earth, we can creatively and joyfully fill the Sabbath not just with amusements but with those things that will honor God and strengthen our delight in Him.

God has a royal delight awaiting each of us.  I invite you to embrace this gift not out of duty but out of desire, not because it has been prescribed but because it's our passion.  Let's be the kind of people who find joy in intentionally guarding Sabbath delight and creatively making Sabbath delight.