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Refreshment
Resting “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Robert Brand Christians have long been conflicted over the subject of rest. From one perspective, resting seems in opposition to being “about our Father’s business” with fervent activity — studying, witnessing, fellowshipping, etc. Yet all would agree that any reasonable degree of activity in the Lord’s service would be impossible without adequate rest. The same is true for making a living and taking care of reasonable family obligations. Consider Israel’s sabbath mentioned in the fourth of the ten commandments: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11). The term “sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word shabbat which means “to cease” or “to rest.” God’s arrangement for the Jewish people was that they work for six days, and rest on the seventh day. They rested for one-seventh of the time. We might infer a general principle, therefore, from the sabbath model: the ideal for the human mind and body is to rest one out of seven days. The central purpose of rest is for physical and mental refreshment. Adequate rest allows the human organism to function at an optimum level. Was the sabbath a holy day? We are told that it is “hallowed,” and yet the commandment says nothing about studying God’s word or assembling with those of like precious faith. It only speaks about physical rest. But the definitions of the Hebrew words for “holy” and “hallowed” often mean “set apart.” That is precisely what the sabbath was, a day set apart, or distinguished, from the other six days of work. We are clearly informed as to how to keep it holy, or set apart: we are to remember it. In other words, we must not forget to obey God’s arrangement of rest for his people. The heavenly Father knows that the human creation is at its best when properly rested and refreshed. (The physical, not inherently spiritual, nature of the sabbath is accentuated when we note that the command covered animals — “cattle” — as well as “strangers.”) To clearly determine what keeps the sabbath, we only need determine what breaks it: “Whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 31:15). Since only work breaks the sabbath, only rest keeps the sabbath. Indeed, every opposition to the Lord and his disciples over the sabbath had only to do with work and rest, not religious assembly or service. In Scripture the sabbath is often associated with religious activities. That is because a day of rest made it possible for the Jews to devote their time, as God’s covenant people, to a wonderful use of rest, and that was to worship their Creator. The sabbath became the primary day for the Jews to go to the temple for religious services. It was up to the faithful Jews to use their rest time efficiently in the pursuit of sacred reflections, and thus, make the sabbath both a restful, as well as a holy time. As faithful Jews, Jesus and his disciples kept the sabbath. Jesus well knew the necessity of keeping God’s law, and he also saw the value in physical rest. Some religious leaders in our Lord’s day interpreted the sabbath command to be much more than God ever intended. They expanded “work” to include even everyday necessities of life, resulting in unnecessary encumbrances upon the Jews. One such instance occurred when Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on a sabbath day and he proceeded to heal a disabled woman. Not all were pleased: “Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath” (Luke 13:14-17, NIV). The Lord responded: “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her? When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” Jesus needed to remind the mistaken religious leaders that “the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). It was up to the faithful Jews to use their rest time efficiently in the pursuit of sacred reflections, and thus make the sabbath both a restful, as well as a holy time. Likewise, Christians today primarily assemble for worship one day a week, usually on Sunday (the first day of the week — see 1 Corinthians 16:1,2 and Acts 20:7 — in celebration of the Lord’s resurrection). Christians are not under the Mosaic Law, and the apostle Paul wrote that Christians are not under obligation to strictly keep the sabbath: “Let no man judge you ... in respect ... of the Sabbath days” (Colossians 2:16; see also Romans 14:5). Aside from the wonderful aspects of the sabbath — literal, typical, ceremonial, and prophetic — we can gain a great lesson from its concept of rest. And, so that the lesson is not lost even partially, we must also note that the sabbath is also about productivity! One day out of seven for rest means that six days out of seven are for work. Just as people are at their best when rested, they are at their best being productive most of their time. In our younger years, much of our time is spent making a living and raising a family. In our later years, when we are no longer in the work force and children have left the home, new opportunities for productivity in the Lord’s service are available. They often must be sought out, but they are available. While advancing years do diminish one’s faculties, let us not fall into the trap of all too quickly saying, “I am too old,” when in fact we are not. We are at our best when we are productive and continue to make a contribution to others, even when it is more difficult to do so. One particular area of perplexity for the Lord’s people is the question of prolonged rest periods, such as vacations, or engaging in activities strictly for entertainment. It is important to realize that our decisions must be modified if those under our care are quite young, or have not consecrated their lives to the Lord. When we are free to choose how we spend discretionary time without such concerns, there is an easy method to determine what is proper. The primary function of rest is refreshment and revitalization, both physical and spiritual. Rest restores us and allows us to be our best. It enables us to be at our best level of productivity. Therefore, for a consecrated Christian, prolonged rest is appropriate only to the point of refreshment. If that point is exceeded, we can fall into the spiritually undesirable condition of overindulgence. It is important that rest serves us, and that we do not serve rest.
Sleep An important aspect of rest is sleeping. At times the need of sleep in a busy life seems like an inconvenience. However, sleep is truly an amazing phenomenon. Our bodies require sleep to maintain proper function and health. In fact, we are “programmed” to sleep each night to restore our bodies and minds. Technically, sleep is divided into two broad types: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. Sleep is an integral facet of a person’s daily rhythmic activity. The optimum amount of sleep required varies from person to person, but there is no uncertainty regarding its vital necessity as a key component of rest. Everyone should be attentive to this important part of a healthy and productive lifestyle. On one occasion we are given an interesting insight into Jesus’ perspective on physical rest: “He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:31). This occurred in the midst of our Lord’s earthly ministry. It was a “prime time” for Jesus and his apostles. We might imagine the Master saying something like, “I know you are tired, but we have a lot of work to do. You can rest some other time.” Jesus, however, knew that an integral part of their ministry was physical rest. They needed to be refreshed and revitalized to be their most productive. There are times when the best thing we can do in the Lord’s service is to stop and do nothing, to simply rest. Once our mental and physical strength is restored, it is likely our spiritual strength will have been restored as well.
Rest for the People of God In Hebrews the apostle speaks of God’s displeasure with his people when they were in the wilderness: “Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest” (Psalm 95:11, quoted in Hebrews 3:11). He wrote: “We which have believed do enter into rest” (Hebrews 4:3). Although Israel had the law of the sabbath, there was another rest available to them, one they never experienced because of their lack of faith. In Psalm 95, David spoke of that rest long after the nation had entered the promised land. So the apostle argued that that rest must still be available to the Lord’s people today: “If Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:8-11, NIV). The rest he speaks of is experienced by those who through faith come into Christ and completely rely on the heavenly Father and follow his leadings wherever those might direct. Jesus as a role model demonstrated the serenity that is experienced by the one who does that. Regardless how much tumult and confusion engulfed him and his followers, he lived above it. What a wonderful example he has given to us. As the apostle Paul wrote: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8, NIV). Earthly life is entirely too transitory for us to be overly concerned about its vicissitudes. As the Master wisely instructed his followers: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25,27, NIV). As we endeavor to serve the heavenly Father, let us follow the model given to us for regularly ceasing from our labors and rest. We will find that a period of physical refreshment is often the best time for spiritual refreshment. We thus nourish our new creatures, as well as our physical and mental abilities.
On the Other Hand ... The sabbath day was not merely a day of repose. The ordinance stipulated that the day be observed as “an holy convocation” — a holy assembly. In order to focus on spiritual values and the worship of Jehovah, it was necessary to cease normal business pursuits and secular activity incident to the work week. “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:3). The same concept applied to the sabbath year. On that year of rest from labor in the field, the law was to be read to the people in the month opening the sabbatic year. This set a reverent tone to focus their minds on spiritual values during their year of repose. “In the solemnity of the year of release ... thou shalt read this law before all Israel … men, and women, and children … that they may hear ... learn, and fear Jehovah your God” (Deuteronomy 31:10-12). The observance of these commands, as with tithing, depended upon the integrity of the Israelites. This accentuated the value of service and obedience from the heart. As the Law was “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12), Christians look to the principles in the Law and adopt from them patterns of worship that have become hallowed with accrued benefit. In honor of our Lord’s resurrection, the custom was early adopted to worship on the “Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10). This lovely practice has been instilled even into the fabric of our culture. “We urge that nothing be done that would in any sense or degree break down or cast aside this great blessing which has come to us indirectly through the Jewish Law” (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 6, page 388). — David Rice |