You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
In the new covenant we often don’t give much place to sabbath and how it relates to us. We often associate the sabbath with the excesses of the Pharisees and their regime of rules that went with it.
But are there sabbath implications for the new covenant believer? Of course there is.
One of the purposes of the day of rest laid out in this passage is very relevant to us today. It is an opportunity to stop, remember and reflect on deliverance of the Lord that brought us out of Egypt.
Remember, each believer has been delivered from Egypt – spiritual Egypt where we were in bondage to sin in our old, pre-Christ life. Before Jesus, we lived under heavy bondage to sin, slaves to Pharaoh (satan) and on the path to destruction. But, “the Lord your God brought you out”!
Why do we need to stop, remember and reflect on this? There are many benefits for us to do this. Here’s three:
- To Give God the Praise He is Due – we need to continue to marvel at the wonder of His amazing Grace
- To Keep a Believing Heart Soft – Israel were condemned for their unbelief because they overlooked the deliverance of God
- To Prepare us to the Promised Land – we all need regular “life” maintenance and readjustments to keep us on course for the purposes of God.
PRAYER: Father, I thank you and praise you for the gift of my salvation. My heart is moved and thankful for all you’ve done. I love you and worship you Lord. Amen.