Make Us Human - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

They would worship God and make sacrifices, but they would also have a party and not work. And of course, we know that the Sabbath was a time that was instituted by God. This was one of the great commandments. It made it to the top 10 friends. As God was forming the people of Israel in the wilderness after they had left captivity in Egypt, one of the commandments was, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

 

Now, I was taught growing up that that meant that you go to church on Sunday, so congratulations, you all have fulfilled the commandment. But that's not actually what God talks about at all when he institutes the command to remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. When God institutes the commandment about the Sabbath, he tells these people for one whole day not to do anything.

 

No work. Don't be useful for a whole day. Be useless. It's a commandment from God. Who are you to resist this? Right? And I'm not even kidding, because when you think about it, right, the people of Israel have been in captivity for over 400 years. They've been slaves in Egypt. Their whole identity for the last 400 plus years has been wrapped up in their productivity in what they accomplish for the empire...